Old British law 'an obstacle' to fight against Aids

Part of the British penal code for former colonies which prevents gay sex 'should be removed' according to the United Nations.

The code, which exists as Section 377 in India, bans intercourse between same-sex couples.

It was part of the country's colonial history and should have been abolished a long time ago, Unaids executive director Peter Piot said.

"It is a violation of human rights and a major obstacle in fighting HIV/AIDS," he added.

Removing Section 377 in India has been one of the missions of the country's health minister Anbumani Ramadoss.

However, due to parliamentary pressure, his stance recently changed from scrapping the law to 'modifying it'.

There are 2.46 million men in India who are gay and at risk from HIV/Aids as 86 per cent of infection in the country is via sex.

In India 2.5 million people have HIV/Aids, including 70,000 children under the age of 14.

Meanwhile, director of HIV/Aids at the UN's Bureau of Development Policy group, Jeffrey O'Malley told the Hindu the law also needed to be changed.

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