Vindicating Science and Human Rights Through the Courts (Debate‪)‬

On 19 May 1994, the AIDS Law Project wrote a letter to the Minister of Defence questioning the constitutionality of the SANDF policy of excluding individuals from recruitment into the SANDF solely on the basis of their HIV status. In a letter dated 22 July the Deputy Minister of Defence at the time, Ronnie Kasrils, responded: This position of the SANDF was maintained throughout the ensuing 14 years, despite significant scientific and legal advances in the understanding and treatment of HIV disease. These advances included the development of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), the free provision of antiretroviral (ARV) treatment in the South African public health sector, and a series of superior court judgments dealing with unfair discrimination in the workplace. On 16 May 2008, however, that unjustifiable policy formally came to an end when the SANDF finally conceded in open court that the policy was unconstitutional.