Groups call to drop police rule disqualifying HIV/AIDS applicants
A Thai HIV network and the Foundation for Action on Inclusion Rights (FAIR) submitted a petition to the Royal Thai Police yesterday, March 25, calling for the removal of a rule that prevents people living with HIV and/or AIDS from joining the police.
They submitted the letter outside the National Police Headquarters to Police General Kittirat Phanphet, calling on him to revoke a clause in the Police Commission’s 2023 regulation on qualifications and prohibited characteristics.
The clause, listed as item 11.8.5, explicitly states that “AIDS and/or HIV infection” is a disqualifying condition for police recruitment.
A representative said the provision is discriminatory and causes psychological harm by blocking capable applicants solely because of their health status. The representative added that current medical innovation shows people living with HIV who enter treatment can live and work normally.
The group also cited the principle U=U (Undetectable = Untransmittable), stating that people living with HIV who take medication continuously until the virus is undetectable in the bloodstream cannot spread it to others. They said this applies even in everyday life or when working alongside others.
Keeping the HIV police recruitment ban, the representative added, conflicts with Section 27 of the Constitution, which prohibits discrimination on the grounds of health. It also contradicts the national strategy to end AIDS and international standards of the World Health Organisation and the International Labour Organisation.
The groups’ demands to the Royal Thai Police and the Police Commission included three points. They called for AIDS and HIV infection to be removed from the list of prohibited characteristics.
They also urged a revision of standards to create new criteria aligned with human rights principles and modern science, and called for internal communication to reduce HIV stigma and build a new organisational culture.
The Royal Thai Police should serve as a model for upholding justice, and removing what they described as an outdated rule would demonstrate a commitment to international standards and respect for human dignity, the group stressed.
Khaosod described the gathering as lively, with a live art performance titled “Naked” intended to highlight hidden bias within the police organisation and to warn that the rule conflicts with the country’s highest law.
After the submission, the group moved to the Government Complex on Chaeng Watthana to file a complaint with a public advocate, seeking a review of the rule’s legitimacy.
In similar news, the Thai government, represented by the Public Health Ministry, has green-lit a plan to enhance medical accessibility for individuals living with HIV/Aids. The decision follows a multi-agency meeting headed by Minister Cholnan Srikaew.
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