August 5, 2008

MEXICO CITY – The religious community up" until travel restrictions that limit the movement of people living with HIV are lifted worldwide , said the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and president of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF).

Hanson spoke at an Aug. 4 news conference on the issue here at the XVII International AIDS Conference. He has been a speaker and panelist at this meeting and an Ecumenical Pre-conference here, organized by the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance (EAA), Geneva, July 31-Aug. 2.

Hanson applauded the recent PEPFAR reauthorization approved by the U.S. Congress and signed by U.S. President George W. Bush. That legislation calls for the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services to write new policies that remove current restrictions on people with HIV entering the United States. He said the ELCA, through its Washington Office, joined a broad coalition in advocating for the change, and the church will "be vigilant in our monitoring of the next steps in the process."

Travel restrictions for people living with HIV promote stigma and discrimination, Hanson said. "For both the ELCA and the Lutheran World Federation this is both an issue of faith and of human rights," he told reporters. "Our sacred Scriptures are very clear that God frees us and God calls us to give evidence of our faith by how we welcome the sojourner, the traveler, the newcomer in our midst."

Hanson noted that the LWF Council, which met in June in Arusha, Tanzania, called for the lifting of travel restrictions on people living with HIV, and he said there were no medical grounds for such rules. Governments can better protect the health of their citizens through awareness programs and the full inclusion of people living with HIV and AIDS in society, including the church, he said.

The religious community, through organizations such as the EAA and LWF, will encourage member churches to advocate with their governments to lift HIV travel restrictions, Hanson said. He also suggested religious groups consider "not holding national conferences in countries with HIV-related travel restrictions."

Others at the news conference were Per Miljeteig, president, HIV Norway; the Rev. Christo Greyling, chair of ANERELA+, an African network of religious leaders living with or personally affected by HIV, and staff with World Vision International; and Mariangela Simao, director, Brazilian AIDS Program. Miljeteig and Simao are also with the International Task Team on HIV-Related Travel Restrictions.

Miljeteig said nearly 70 countries worldwide impose travel restrictions on people with HIV, and there's no medical basis for it. He called such rules "legalized phobia" and "humiliating treatment."

Simao, whose country has no such restrictions, said restrictive policies are "unacceptable."

Greyling, a Dutch Reformed Church pastor from Johannesburg, South Africa, has been HIV-positive for 21 years and is open about his medical status. He said his job with World Vision recently required a move to an Asian country, but he found it nearly impossible to enter several countries because of his medical status. "HIV-positive people are resource people who can provide the face of HIV and the people who can give correct information to respond to HIV and AIDS," he said.

Information about faith-based participation in the XVII International AIDS Conference in Mexico City is at http://iac.e-alliance.ch/, on the Web.

ELCA News Service