| Abstract: | This article describes the program activities of the Mexican National Commission on Human Rights (CNDH), which in 1994 created a program to address human rights issues of HIV-infected victims. The aim was to answer complaints of discrimination against HIV-infected persons and to modify confrontational attitudes of groups that feel infringed upon by the rights of HIV-infected persons. CNDH formed a task force of HIV/AIDS medical experts, which recommended actions for three types of discriminatory practices. Persons with HIV/AIDS (PWHA) who were confined in prison filed complaints about the lack of necessary medications or medical attention. The Official Mexican Norm for the Prevention and Control of HIV stipulates, in its Manual for the Attention of Complaints Regarding HIV/AIDS, protocols for treatment of PWHA. This manual was distributed to 31 State Human Rights Commissions in Mexico. CNDH implemented an outreach program to educate the public about HIV/AIDS, to offer training courses, and to publish written materials about discrimination against PWHA. The CNDH conducted conferences and training sessions for workers in the health services, where most violations of human rights take place. CNDH works closely with the National Board for the Prevention and Control of AIDS to assess clinical records, train staff handling complaints, and channel complaints that require CNDH intervention. CNDH conducts training workshops for nongovernmental organizations. CNDH is constrained by bureaucratic procedures that slow the process of resolving complaints and by the small CNDH staff responsible for handling the more complex cases. However, CNDH has successfully resolved a number of complaints and improved the prison conditions of PWHA. |
