Refugee's Rights to HIV/AIDS Healthcare in Korea under the UNAIDS Guidelines

Abstract

HIV/AIDS is an important global issue in human rights and health. The United Nations Refugee Convention clearly addresses to guarantee healthcare rights to refugees at the same level as those provided to citizens. In Korea, the number of refugee applicants has surged since the enactment of the Refugee Act in 2012. Regarding human dignity and human rights, however, there are serious concerns that Korea's healthcare laws and policies would not fully protect the right of foreigners who are suffering from financial hardship. This paper proposes the ways to improve healthcare equity by comparing the UNAIDS Guidelines to Korean policies on HIV-positive refugee applicants.