Uzbekistan’s new law forcing HIV tests on returning citizens and foreign workers – and banning foreigners with HIV from working or residing in the country – is discriminatory, unscientific, and a violation of human rights.
Mandatory HIV testing does not stop HIV. It fuels stigma, deters testing, and drives people underground. Denying work and residency to people living with HIV is health status punishment rejected by the UN and the global public health community.
We urge the President of Uzbekistan not to sign this law. HIV testing must be voluntary, confidential, and linked to care — never used as a tool of exclusion.
A just HIV response is built on dignity, equality, and science — not coercion, fear, and discrimination.
HJWW Open Letter to The President and Members of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan by HIV Justice Network