The SA National Defence Force (SANDF) on Friday conceded in the Pretoria High Court that its policies preventing HIV positive people from employment, foreign deployment and promotion in the armed forces, were unconstitutional.

It agreed to formulate a new health classification policy within six months.

This followed an application before the court to force the SANDF to change its policies preventing people with HIV from being deployed externally, from being given promotions as well as from getting a job in the armed forces.

Instead of opposing the case further, the defence force agreed to formulate a new policy.

The court ordered that its discriminatory policy be set aside and a new health classification policy be formulated.

The application was brought by the AIDS Law Project, acting on behalf of the SA Security Forces Union (SASFU) and individual members of the SANDF.

Source: polity.org.za

Johannesburg - A union representing South African soldiers is to take the country's armed forces to court on Thursday for alleged discrimination against HIV-infected personnel, it said Wednesday.

The South African Security Forces Union (Sasfu) is accusing the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) of discriminating against HIV-infected people by refusing them employment, promotion or deployment to foreign posts.

"They have got a policy of mandatory testing. Being HIV-negative is a pre-requisite to gain employment in SANDF," said Sasfu deputy president Charles Jacobs.

He said that after being employed, members of the military had to undergo mandatory HIV testing once a year during a health assessment, and every time they applied for a promotion or deployment overseas.

Jacobs said South Africa was the only country in the world whose military operated under these "unconstitutional" policies.

With 5½ million HIV infections in a population of 48 million, South Africa had the world's worst Aids problem and, according to Nonkosi Khumalo, a researcher with the Aids Law Project (ALP), up to 35% of defence force personnel was infected in 2004.

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