22nd November 2017
The Office of the Equal Opportunities Ombudsperson has established that current legislation regulating the conditions and procedure for admission to social welfare institutions discriminates against people who are living with HIV or AIDS.
The investigation began with a person’s complaint stating that the care facility refused to accept him because of the fact that the person is infected with HIV. The complaint states that such a decision violated the rights of the person to receive the necessary services, adapt to society and live a fulfilling life.
The care facility’s regulations stipulate that people who are infected with HIV / AIDS cannot be admitted to care facilities.
In Lithuania, the conditions for the admission and accommodation of people in care institutions are set out in the regulations of social care norms approved by the Ministry of Social Security and Labour. The regulations provides that persons who are diagnosed with acute infectious or other dangerous communicable diseases or acute psychosis at the time of a stay are not accepted in the care facilities. Indication of HIV infection is not a ground for restricting access to social services unless the doctor confirms the acute condition of the disease. In the course of the investigation, the Office of the Equal Opportunities Ombudsperson found that the requirements of the regulations were applied for HIV-infected persons unjustifiably and thus created opportunities for the adoption of other discriminatory legislation.
The Law on Equal Opportunities provides the duty for state and municipal institutions to ensure that equal rights and opportunities for people with disabilities are ensured in all legal acts. The United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, ratified by Lithuania, enshrines the right of all people with disabilities to live in the community, obliged Member States to take effective and appropriate measures to fully implement this right. UN parties must ensure that people with disabilities, like other people, have the opportunity to choose their place of residence, benefit from various auxiliary services provided in it and in the community, and prevent isolation from society.
Investigating lawyer Audronė Daukšaitė-Timpė states: “People living with HIV and AIDS are a particularly stigmatized group of society, and the state should make every effort to ensure that such people are not marginalized or discriminated in legislation or practice.”
The Seimas Ombudsman Raimondas Šukys, Acting Equal Opportunities Ombudsperson, appealed to the Ministry of Social Security and Labour and the relevant district municipality due to the necessary changes in the legal acts in such a way that HIV and AIDS would not restrict access to social care facilities for a person.