Human Rights Watch releases new report on Romania

Human Rights Watch released a report stating that the Romanian government has failed to protect its HIV positive children.

In a report released on August 2, 2006 entitled, "Life Doesn't Wait", Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused the Romanian government of failing to protect the rights and prevent the discrimination of its over 7000 children between the ages of 15 and 19 who are HIV positive. HRW maintains that most of these children became HIV positive as a direct result of government policies. Between 1986 and 1991, the Romanian government carried out a program to improve the immune systems of children by exposing them to contaminated needles and injecting them with unscreened blood. Now many of these children are finding that they are not able to access services that are a right, such as education, health care, medications, and information. As well, the standards for confidentiality are low, while at the same time there is little punishment against those who discriminate against HIV positive individuals.