In 1991, the UN adopted a forward-looking, comprehensive policy in respect of UN
system staff and HIV/AIDS.
The UN Personnel Policy on HIV/AIDS says that the UN will make sure that all staff and their
families know about HIV so that they can protect themselves and others, and so
that they can work with HIV-positive colleagues without fear of becoming
infected. The UN will make sure that staff have access to good quality training
and condoms to avoid infection.
The policy says that the UN will provide support and counselling services to any of its
staff or their families upon request. It also says that a person’s HIV status is
his/her own affair and must be treated by the UN and all its offices as
confidential at all times. 
You may view the original bulletin from the Secretary-General, "Policy on HIV/AIDS in the workplace" as an Adobe PDF file.
[Download the free Acrobat reader].
The policy guarantees that no one will be discriminated against because of HIV. No one will
be required to have an HIV test to gain employment, remain employed, or have
his/her contract renewed. People who are ill because of HIV infection will have
the same rights and benefits as people who are ill through any other cause. This
applies to all staff, from the Secretary-General to short-term, locally employed
staff.
In addition to this system-wide policy, several UN agencies and programmes have developed
their own policies, but these must be in compliance with the wider system
policy. Ask your human resource/personnel/operations officer if your agency or
programme has its own policy!
- UN Staff and
their families should be provided with sufficient, updated information
to enable them to protect themselves from HIV infection and to
cope with the presence of AIDS.
To this end, all
UN bodies are encouraged to develop and implement an active
staff
education strategy for HIV/AIDS using the
handbook on AIDS for UN employees and their families produced by UNAIDS and identifying
in the field local sources experienced in HIV/AIDS counselling,
to provide confidential follow-up. The
staff of the
UN Medical Service should be fully involved in such
staff education programmes. They should receive any additional professional
education that may be required; and all pertinent information material
on HIV/AIDS, supplied and updated by UNAIDS, should be available
through them at all duty stations.
- All UN staff
members and their families should be made aware of where safe
blood may be obtained.
To accomplish this
task, the WHO Blood Safety Unit, in cooperation with the UN Medical
Service, should establish and regularly update a list of reliable
and operational blood transfusion centres for circulation to UN
headquarters, regional offices and
duty stations. The UN Medical Service and local linked medical facilities
should also
make efforts to ensure that blood transfusions are performed only
when absolutely
necessary.
- UN Resident Coordinators
must exercise their responsibility to adopt measures to reduce
the frequency of motor vehicle accidents, not only because of
their attendant high
mortality and morbidity, but because they represent a particular
risk for HIV infection
in those localities lacking safe blood supplies.
UN Resident Coordinators
are, therefore, encouraged to consider the following measures for
reinforcement or for general adoption if not already applied; and
to circulate them to all personnel at the duty station together with instructions
on the use of public transport:
- the fitting of
and compulsory use of seat belts in all UN vehicles;
- proper training
in off-road use of 4-wheel drives;
- prohibition
against the personal use of vehicles when an official driver is
available;
- compulsory use
of helmets for all riders of motorbikes;
-
prohibition against substance abuse by vehicle drivers;
- organization of first-aid training sessions; and
- equipping
UN vehicles with first-aid kits containing macro-molecular
solutions (plasma expanders).
The UN Medical Service
should provide disposable syringes and needles to staff on duty
travel areas where there is no guarantee of the proper sterilization
of such materials. They should be accompanied by a certificate in
all UN official languages explaining the reasons why they are being
carried. Regional offices and other duty stations should stock disposable
injection material for use by UN staff and their families. This
stock should be available at UN dispensaries, where such exist,
or at the WHO duty station in the country.
All UN staff members
and their families should have access to condoms. Condoms should
be available through the United Nations Population Fund(UNFPA)
and/or WHO at those duty stations where there is not a reliable
and consistent supply of high quality condoms from the private
sector. Access should be free, simple and discreet.
Voluntary
testing
with pre- and post-counselling and assured confidentiality should
be made available to all UN staff members and their families. Adequate
and confidential facilities for voluntary and confirmatory testing
and counselling should be made available locally to UN staff members
and their families, with
UN bodies acting in close collaboration with the UN Medical Service
and WHO. Specific
procedures must be developed by UN bodies to maintain confidentiality
with respect to negative as well as positive results from an HIV
test, including whether such a test has been taken. Only the person
tested has the right to release information concerning his/her HIV
status.
Pre-recruitment
and Employment Prospects
- The only medical
criterion for recruitment is fitness to work.
- HIV infection
does not, in itself, constitute a lack of fitness to work.
- There will be no
HIV screening of candidates for recruitment.
- AIDS will be
treated as any other medical condition in considering medical
classification.
- HIV testing with
the specific and informed consent of the candidate may be required
if AIDS is clinically suspected.
- Nothing in the
pre-employment examination should be considered as obliging any
candidate to declare his or her HIV status.
- For any
assignment in a country which requires HIV testing for residence,
this requirement must appear in the vacancy notice.
Continuity of Employment
- HIV infection or
AIDS should not be considered as a basis for termination of
employment.
- If fitness to
work is impaired by HIV-related illness, reasonable alternative
working arrangements should be made.
- UN staff members
with AIDS should enjoy health and social protection in the same
manner as other UN employees suffering from serious illness.
- HIV/AIDS screening,
whether direct (HIV testing), indirect (assessment of risk behaviours)
or asking questions about tests already taken, should not be required.
- Confidentiality
regarding all medical information, including HIV/AIDS status, must
be maintained.
- There should be
no obligation on the part of the employee to inform the employer
regarding his or her HIV/AIDS status.
- Persons in the
workplace affected by, or perceived to be affected by HIV/AIDS,
must be protected from stigmatization and discrimination by co-workers, unions, employers
or clients.
- HIV-infected employees
and those with AIDS should not be discriminated against, including
access to and receipt of benefits from statutory social security
programmes and occupationally-related schemes.
The administrative, personnel and financial implications of these principles under terms
of appointment and service should be monitored and periodically
reviewed.
- Health insurance
coverage should be available for all UN employees regardless of
HIV status. There should be no pre- or post-employment testing
for HIV infection.
- Health insurance
premiums for UN employees should not be affected by HIV status. No
testing for HIV infection should be permitted with respect to
any health insurance scheme.
