Costa Rican teacher, Minor Navarro, was forcefully transferred last March from the school where he had worked for three years, when school personnel became aware of his HIV status. No law or policy prevents this from happening to other teachers.

Navarro, 33 years old, had worked for 3 years in the elementary school "Escuela Central de Tres Ríos." Due to medical absences, he decided to communicate his HIV status to the school director, Inés Cambronero Picado, in December, 1996, shortly before the Costa Rican year end holiday. When the 1997 school year was about to begin in February, Navarro called Cambronero, to tell her that his health had improved and that he was ready to go back to work. She told him that he should rethink this decision.

Apparently, when Navarro continued to insist that he wished to return to work, Ms. Cambronero held a meeting with various parents of the 3rd grade students that Mr. Navarro was scheduled to teach and encouraged them to send a petition to the school asking for his removal. The petition, signed by 33 parents, was delivered to the school in late February. In the petition the parents stated that if Navarro was allowed to return to his teaching post "we will take the matter to the press in order to keep him from teaching our children." School officials forwarded the petition to the Education Ministry which then reassigned Navarro to an administrative position in Cártago, 20 miles away from his residence. Navarro only became aware of the decision when he showed up for work during "teachers' week" and was told he no longer worked at the school.

When Navarro went to the Education Ministry in San José, he was told by lawyers there that he had no option other than to accept the transfer in order to avoid a public scandal. At that point, unaware that he had any recourse, he signed a letter accepting a transfer to a school near his family's home in the rural community of San Carlos. He subsequently decided to protest the Ministry's action and has filed an appeal with the Defensoría de los Habitantes, the government's ombudsperson organization. The Defensoría has spoken out against Navarro's transfer and recommended the Minister of Education Eduardo Doryan undertake an investigation into the actions of those involved in the involuntary work transfer.

While Mr. Navarro has expressed his unwillingness to return to the school where he was previously teaching, and were he suffered so much animosity, he is committed to ensuring that no one else undergoes the kind of treatment he has received.

Letters protesting the transfer of Minor Navarro, and the violation of his right to work should be addressed to the recipients below. The letters should stress that workplace discrimination of people living with HIV contravenes Article 16 of the Guidelines put forth by the Second International Consultation on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights convened by the United Nations High Commissioner/Centre for Human Rights and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) in Geneva in September 1996.

Eduardo Doryan
Ministro de Educación Pública

Edificio Raventos
San José Costa Rica
Fax: 506-233-0390

Please send copies to:

Guillermo Murillo
Asociación Triángulo Rosa

Apartado 1619-4050
Alajuela, Costa Rica
Fax: 506-223-3964