AAAS Scientific Responsibility, Human Rights and Law Program

View Alerts By > Case | Date | Country | Victim

AAAS Human Rights Action Network

View the digitally signed version of this alert.

FACTS OF THE CASE:

On 31 May 2001, Dr. Gao Yaojie, 74, a retired gynecologist and HIV/AIDS activist, was scheduled to be in Washington, DC to receive the Jonathan Mann Health and Human Rights award. However, the Chinese government denied Dr. Gao permission to attend the ceremony. The Chinese government has often harassed Dr. Gao for her work and has accused her of working with "foreign, anti-Chinese forces." Because of these charges, Dr. Gao did not believe that she would be granted permission to leave China, but applied for her passport two weeks before her intended trip. The passport never arrived.

Dr. Gao's work focuses on the HIV infection rate among poor farmers in Henan Province. Throughout the last decade, farmers in that region have sold their blood at special blood collection centers. Many poor villagers found that selling their blood was the only way to supplement their meager salaries. At many of the centers, blood dealers would illegally obtain the blood specimens and resell them at a higher rate. In the rush to maximize profits, safety precautions were largely ignored: needles were reused, medical equipment was not sterilized, and the blood was not tested for diseases. The result was a high rate of cross infection. In Henan Province, many villages have an HIV infection rate as high as 65%.

Dr. Gao began her work in 1996 and became a central source of information and treatment for the villagers of Henan Province. Although she was retired at the time, she used her small pension to mount an HIV education campaign, distributing informational materials and giving lectures. In many of the places she has visited, she has been the only source of information about HIV/AIDS.

The Chinese government began harassing Dr. Gao after she spoke to international reporters about the HIV/AIDS problems in China. The government is particularly sensitive about Henan Province's infection rate because provincial authorities organized the blood collection. In fact, it is because of the government's involvement that the virus has spread so systematically throughout the region. Henan's provincial government has not acknowledged its role in the blood collection nor the extent of the problem. Local reporters have been warned not to report on the issue.

The Global Health Council sponsors the Jonathan Mann Award for Health and Human Rights, which honors the memory of Jonathan Mann, an epidemiologist and AIDS activist who organized the World Health Organization's first program on AIDS. He died in a plane crash in 1998. The award, which has a cash prize of $20,000, is intended to provide its recipients with recognition for their contributions in the area of health and human rights and with financial freedom to continue their work. This is the third time the award has been granted. The past winners include Dr. Cynthia Maung, a Burmese doctor who works with victims of human rights abuses, and Dr. Flora Brovina and Dr. Vjosa Dobruna, two doctors in Kosovo who address the psychosocial needs of women and children victims of war crimes. The Science and Human Rights Program also honored Dr. Brovina during the Science and Human Rights Reception at the 2001 AAAS Annual Meeting, as a scientist who though action and example, has promoted human rights, usually at great personal risk.

Dr. Gao Yaojie has stated that she intends to use the award money to print copies of an AIDS prevention guide for villagers. She has also stated that she fears the government would prevent her from receiving the money.

(Sources of information for this case include: Global Health Council, New York Times, Washington Post, and the U.S. Embassy in China)

RELEVANT HUMAN RIGHTS STANDARDS

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

• Article 19(1): Everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference.
• Article 12(2): Everyone shall be free to leave any country, including his own.

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

• Article 12: (1): The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. (2): The steps to be taken by the States Parties to the present Covenant to achieve the full realization of this right shall include those necessary for: (c) The prevention, treatment and control of epidemic, endemic, occupational and other diseases; (d) The creation of conditions which would assure to all medical service and medical attention in the event of sickness.

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Please send telegrams, faxes, airmail letters or emails:

• Protesting the government's decision not to grant Dr. Gao Yaojie a passport so that she would be able to travel to Washington, DC in order to receive, in person, the Jonathan Mann Health and Human Rights at a special awards ceremony;
• Affirming your support for Dr. Gao Yaojie's vital work of providing education about HIV/AIDS in China; and
• Seeking the government's assurances that Dr. Gao Yaojie will receive the full amount of the award money without restriction.

APPEAL AND INQUIRY MESSAGES SHOULD BE SENT TO:

His Excellency Zhu Rongji
Premier of the People's Republic of China
Guowuyuan
9 Xihuangchenggenbeijie
Beijingshi 100032
People's Republic of China
Fax: 011 8610 6 520 5316 or 011 8610 6 467 7046
Salutation: Your Excellency

COPIES SENT TO:

His Excellency Yang Jiechi
Ambassador of the People's Republic of China
Embassy of the People's Republic of China
2300 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20008
Fax: 202 588-0032


Dr. Nils Daulaire
President and CEO
Global Health Council
1701 K Street, NW, Suite 600
Washington, DC 20006-1503
Tel: (202) 833-5900
Fax: (202) 833-0075
ghc@globalhealth.org

Please send copies of your appeals, and any responses you may receive, or direct any questions you may have to Victoria Baxter, AAAS Science and Human Rights Program, 1200 New York Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20005; tel. 202-326-6796; email vbaxter@aaas.org; or fax 202-289-4950.

The keys to effective appeals re to be courteous and respectful, accurate and precise, impartial in approach, and as specific as possible regarding the alleged violation and the international human rights standards and instruments that apply to the situation. Reference to your scientific organization and professional affiliation is always helpful.

To ensure that appeals are current and credible, please do not continue to write appeals on this case after 90 days from the date of the posting unless an update has been issued.

To verify the contents of this alert and/or the electronic signature, please download the signed file for this alert along with the Program's PGP Public Key.

Main | CSFR Letters | Science and Human Rights Program