In a case concerning 49 people diagnosed with HIV between 1992 and 2003, the Court found Guatemala had violated the rights to health, life, personal integrity, judicial process, and non-discrimination of the victims, and the right to personal integrity of several family members.
In terms of reparation, the Inter-American Court ordered adequate medical attention—including free administration of anti-retroviral medication—for the victims and family members, as well as the following non-repetition measures: 1) better supervision of public hospitals to guarantee compliance with HIV/AIDS public policy; 2) a mechanism to guarantee accessibility of quality anti-retroviral medications; 3) better training for health officials; 4) guaranteed testing of pregnant women for HIV; and 5) a national education campaign about HIV/AIDS.
This decision reaffirms the Court’s determination, made for the first time in 2018, that the right to health is an autonomous right that is enforceable via litigation in the inter-American system. In this case, the Court also outlined in detail how the progressive realization principle applies to all economic, social, and cultural rights that derive from Article 26. Even accounting for a state’s resources, the duty of progressivity requires steps be undertaken, as Guatemala’s inaction in this case contravened its duty to progressively realize the right to health. The Court’s decision is also remarkable for its intersectional analyses concerning HIV+ status, gender, socioeconomic condition, and other factors.
For their contributions, special thanks to ESCR-Net member: the Program on Human Rights and the Global Economy (PHRGE) at Northeastern University.