The [b]SANDF[/b] is being taken to court, accused of failing to comply with a court order that prohibits it from discriminating against HIV-positive employees.
According to a report in [s]The Mercury[/s], the defence force’s old health classification policy excluded people living with HIV from recruitment, external deployment and promotion. In 2008, an order was handed down in the [b]North Gauteng High Court[/b], declaring the defence force’s HIV testing policy to be unreasonable and infringing the rights of aspirant members and existing HIV-positive members.
This came after the [b]Aids Law Project[/b] (now part of the NGO [b]Section 27[/b]) challenged the SANDF’s blanket exclusion of individuals living with HIV. According to the applicants’ heads of argument, six years after the 2008 order was granted, the defence force continues to exclude new recruits on the basis of HIV status.
[link url=http://themercury.newspaperdirect.com/epaper/showarticle.aspx?article=57089c18-4dde-4940-aec3-350697946cec&key=oXXNTejmOTh784HyXb3l4w%3d%3d&issue=64032014072800000000001001]Full report in The Mercury (subscription needed)[/link]