REPUBLIC OF BENIN PRESIDENCY OF THE REPUBLIC LAW N ° 2005-31 OF APRIL 05, 2006 Concerning prevention, care and control of HIV AIDS in the Republic of Benin. The NATIONAL ASSEMBLY deliberated and adopted in its session of Thursday August 18, 2005 then in its session of January 30, 2006 following Decision DCC 05-141 of November 21, 2005 of the Constitutional Court, for compliance with the Constitution, Following the Decision of the Constitutional Court DCC 06-041 of April 04, 2006 for conformity with the Constitution, THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC promulgates the following law: PRELIMINARY TITLE GENERAL PROVISIONS Article 1: Definitions of terms and concepts: HIV: Human Immunodeficiency Virus responsible for the infection. There are two serotypes and several subtypes: AIDS: Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. It is the final stage of the disease characterized by the appearance of opportunistic diseases and increased viral load; PLWHIV: Person living with HIV; People affected by HIV: Anyone with a direct parent: father, mother, children or spouse, siblings died from HIV or has HIV; STI: sexually transmitted infections which are the main entry points for HIV in the organization; ARV: Antiretrovirals which are drugs which act on different phases of replication of the virus; 1 Socio-sanitary structures: Health centers, counseling and listening centers, care centers public, private, associative, faith-based or for-profit psychosocial work; Management of PLWHA: offer of medical services (consultations, care, treatment with ARVs, minimum package of psychosocial and nutritional biological examinations; Special assistance: medical, psychosocial, and / or nutritional services offered free of charge to Very poor PLHIV; Incapable: subjects with mental retardation (senile or pathological dementia, etc.) and incapacity physical (bedridden patients who necessarily need assistance to meet their basic needs); Social health service providers: person, community or public, semi-public or private structure that offers socio-health services; People at high risk: sex workers posted or clandestine who have sex against remuneration; Vulnerable people: children, women and all other incapacitated people; Approved persons: natural or legal persons legally and legally authorized to issue a medical certificate or any other administrative document attesting to the state of health of a PLWHA; Employer: Any person or organization employing workers under an employment contract written or oral which establishes the rights and duties of the parties, in accordance with law and practice national. Can be employers, Government, public authorities, public or private companies and the details ; Accommodation: Adaptation of the job or the working environment which is reasonably achievable and which allows PLHIV to have access to employment, to work or to gain advancement. HIV / AIDS counseling: Communication technique which consists in informing the patient about HIV / AIDS, how to contamination, means of screening, treatment and prevention as well as the consequences on partners before and after the test. Gender: It is the recognition of the difference between man and woman without implying a difference in treatment. 2 TITLE II THE RIGHT TO INFORMATION AND PROCESSING Article 2: Anyone with a Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) or living with the HIV, must enjoy without discrimination, civil, political and social rights (housing, education, employment, health, social protection etc.) She has the right to benefit from special assistance, basic care, treatment and a guarantee confidentiality in its relations with the socio-health professional. People with HIV or AIDS who report it receive assistance special advice, psychosocial, nutritional, medical, material support; they receive medical care, in accordance with the standards and procedures in force. Special assistance in counseling, psychosocial, nutritional, medical and material support must be provided by the family, the State and its decentralized and decentralized structures, civil society, communities and anyone in a position to provide such assistance. Article 3: All HIV testing must be done with the free and informed consent of the person concerned and accompanied by pre and post test HIV / AIDS counseling. For minors or incapacitated persons, the consent of the legal representative may be required. Article 4: The doctor who has found that a person has HIV or has AIDS has the obligation to do so condition to the patient but cannot in any case disclose this information. However the statistical data must be transmitted to the Ministry responsible for health. The doctor’s language must respect human dignity and reflect the patient’s acceptance. he must be gender sensitive, precise and understandable. Anyone tested positive for HIV has the obligation to inform their partner (s), with the support of a advise if necessary. The partner (s), on the basis of free and informed consent, will be tested for HIV and, in if positive, will receive the necessary information, prevention advice, and appropriate care. The medical profession must ensure that the information and exchange elements have been clearly understood. 3 Article 5: Everyone infected or affected by HIV has the right to confidentiality and respect for his private life. Restrictions can only be made in exceptional circumstances. Article 6: The doctor or any person holding, by profession, information on the status patient's serology, cannot disclose it to other people without the patient's prior notice, except in the following cases: - cases of extreme necessity; - patient unable to consent; - HIV-positive person whose behavior is likely to endanger the health of others; - minors and incapable persons. Article 7: The doctor is required, in criminal matters and at the request of the judge, to make available to the jurisdiction, the results of the analysis performed on a patient. TITLE III THE IMPACT OF AIDS ON THE INDIVIDUAL, SOCIETY AND THE WORLD Article 8: Anyone suffering from AIDS or carrying HIV has the right to declare it to the social services sanitary facilities. In the event of express declaration of the disease to the aforementioned structures, people suffering from AIDS or carrying the HIV receive special assistance. This declaration must be duly verified by a doctor. Minor children of people who died from AIDS receive medical assistance and psychosocial assistance from the community, the State and its decentralized structures, or decentralized. To this end, a special fund for struggle and assistance in matters of AIDS. A decree issued by the Council of Ministers will fix the procedures for its creation and Operating. Article 9: People suffering from AIDS or carrying HIV receive all medical care adapted to the disease in accordance with article 18 of law 2003-04 of 03 March 2003 relating to sexual health and reproduction. Article 10: Anyone who has reached the required legal age, and who decides to marry, does so with their free and full consent. During the premarital examination, HIV testing should be offered to future spouses. 4 TITLE IV: MEDICAL ETHICS Article 11: The health worker who has agreed to provide care for a person living with HIV / AIDS undertakes to: - provide personally or with the help of qualified third parties all medical care in their power and necessary in the circumstances; - always act with correction, empathy and with kindness towards the patient. Article 12: The health worker called emergency to a minor or an incapable adult living with HIV / AIDS, when it is not possible to obtain timely consent from the legal representative, has the obligation to give the necessary care. Article 13: The State takes all the measures to make compulsory the medical follow-up of people to the high HIV transmission potential of sex workers, homosexuals, intravenous drug users and encourage voluntary HIV testing. TITLE V: AIDS IN THE MIDDLE OF WORK Article 14: The employer in the public, semi-public or private sector cannot require a candidate to be hired or the HIV testing test / recruitment competition. Article 15: Refusal to select a candidate for a recruitment test / competition or to hire a jobseekers on the grounds that they have HIV is a crime. Article 16: The dismissal of a worker on the grounds that he is carrying HIV is abusive. Article 17: The State and its decentralized structures as well as private or semi-public structures must encourage, through measures, donations and subsidies, families and reception centers to receive orphans and children vulnerable to AIDS. Article 18: Any attitude or regulatory provision is prohibited in the workplace likely to discriminate against or stigmatize a worker 5 made of his HIV status, such as refusal of promotion, refusal of opportunities for internships or other types of training, access to social protection benefits. Article 19: When an employee infected with HIV cannot continue to exercise their functions for cause of health, the employer is obliged to establish an arrangement allowing the worker to continue his work as long as possible in accordance with the regulations in force. Article 20: All employers in the public, private or semi-public sector are required to define and implement implement a STI / HIV / AIDS prevention policy and care for PLWHA. Article 21: Any health worker infected with HIV in the exercise of their functions benefits from medical and social care. TITLE VI: AIDS AND HEALTH INSURANCE Article 22: It is prohibited for any insurance company to condition the subscription to a policy health insurance to a pre-test for HIV. TITLE VII: PENAL PROVISIONS Article 23: The violation by any health worker of the ethical rules set out in title IV of this law, will be punished in accordance with the provisions of the penal code. In the event of recurrence, the suspension for at least five (05) years of exercising his profession will be pronounced against the guilty. Anyone who contravenes the prohibition to practice his profession, imposed under the previous paragraph will be punished with a imprisonment from one (01) year to three (03) years and a fine of two hundred thousand (200,000) to one million (1,000,000) CFA francs or one of these two penalties only. Article 24: Any person holding by profession secrets related to HIV / AIDS of a patient and who guilty of disclosure falls under the provisions of the criminal provisions on the disclosure of professional secrecy. 6 This penalty may be increased when this disclosure has resulted in: - the divorce ; - loss of employment and / or material goods; - suicide. Article 25: Any health worker who does not comply with the provisions of article 12 of this law will be liable to a sentence of three (03) months to one (01) to three (03 years imprisonment and a fine of two hundred one thousand (200,000) francs to five hundred thousand (500,000) CFA francs or one of these two penalties only. The ban on exercising for a period not exceeding six (06) to twelve (12) months may be pronounced against the guilty. In the event of an offense committed in a social health structure or private biological analysis, the suspension or final withdrawal of the establishment's approval may be pronounced for a period not exceeding twelve (12 months. Article 26: The violation of the provisions of articles 14, 15 and 16 of this law is punished to a fine of two hundred thousand (200,000) francs to one million (1,000,000) CFA francs, without prejudice to damages which may be claimed from it. In the event of a repeat offense, the penalties are doubled. Article 27: Anyone knowing that he is infected with the AIDS virus, and who knowingly maintains relationships unprotected sex with a partner who is not aware of their HIV status, even if they or this one is HIV positive, will be punished with criminal imprisonment from five (05) to ten (10) years and a fine of one million (1,000,000) francs to five million (5,000,000) CFA francs. Article 28: Laboratories or similar institutions are prohibited from accepting or storing blood donation, tissue or organs without a blood, tissue or organ sample tested negative for HIV. Article 29: Whoever administered voluntarily, in any way whatsoever, blood infected with HIV to a person, will be punished with life imprisonment. If the act was committed through negligence, recklessness, clumsiness or non-compliance with the regulations by any person, the culprit will be punished by one (01) year to five (05) years of imprisonment. Article 30: Anyone knowing that he is infected with the AIDS virus who, using violence, coercion or surprise, not have sex 7 protected of any kind whatsoever with a person, will be punished with time imprisonment for five (05) at twenty (20) years and a fine of three million (3,000,000) francs to ten million (10,000,000) francs CFA. If the act was committed under threat by one or more persons, by a legitimate, natural or adoptive ascendant of the victim or by a person who has abused the authority conferred on him by his functions, over a vulnerable person, an incapacitated person or a minor, the penalty will be life imprisonment. Article 31: The fact of practicing or having practiced on a person infected with HIV, a biomedical research without having obtained the informed and express consent of the person concerned, of holders of parental authority or of the tutor is punished by two (02) years to five (05) years of imprisonment and from a fine of five million (5,000,000) francs to twenty million (20,000,000) francs CFA. The same penalties apply when biomedical research is carried out when consent has been given. been removed. Article 32: Anyone who has exhibited or caused to be exhibited, neglected or caused to be abandoned, in a solitary place, a a child or an adult incapacitated suffering from AIDS, will be, for this sole fact, sentenced to imprisonment for one (01) year at three (03) years and a fine of fifty thousand (50,000) francs to two hundred thousand (200,000) CFA francs, or only one of these two sentences. Article 33: Will be punished by imprisonment from six (06) months to two (02) years and a fine of one hundred thousand (100,000) francs to one million (1,000,000) francs or one of these two penalties only: 1- The father or mother who gives up on the grounds of HIV seropositivity, during more than two (02) months the family residence, thus evading, in whole or in part from its obligations moral or material; 2- The husband or the wife, who for reason of HIV seropositivity, voluntarily abandons his or her partner ; 3- The father or the mother or the tutor who voluntarily abandons his child, knowing that he is carrying HIV. Article 34: Anyone who has forged, falsified or altered medical certificates or other documents relating to HIV / AIDS issued by approved persons will be punished by imprisonment of five (05) years to twenty (20) years and a fine of three million (3,000,000) francs to ten million (10,000,000) CFA francs. The same penalties will be applied to persons who knowingly use these forged documents or falsified. 8 The attempt will be punished as the consummated offense. Article 35: Any violation of the provisions of articles 24 and 25 exposes the offender to the payment of a fine of five hundred thousand (500,000) francs to one million (1,000,000) CFA francs. In the event of a repeat offense, the fine will be doubled. TITLE VII: FINAL PROVISIONS Article 36: All previous provisions contrary to this law are hereby repealed. Article 37: This law will be executed as state law. Done in Cotonou, on April 05, 2006 9