U.N. Panel Extends the Mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Persons Affected by Leprosy

The United Nations Human Rights Council has unanimously adopted a resolution aiming at intensifying efforts to eliminate discrimination against persons affected by leprosy, also known as Hansen’s disease, and their family members.

In adopting the resolution at its 53rd session on July 12, the 47-member council, based in Geneva, decided to extend the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the elimination of discrimination against persons affected by leprosy and their family members for another three years and called upon all states to cooperate with the Special Rapporteur in the discharge of the mandate.

Japan cosponsored the resolution with Brazil, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Fiji, India, Kyrgyzstan, Morocco and Portugal.

Meeting with Mr. Volker Türk, the U. N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, in Geneva on May 26, in my capacity as WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Leprosy Elimination and Japanese Goodwill Ambassador for the Human Rights of Persons Affected by Leprosy, I underscored the importance of dealing with the disease not only as a medical issue but also as a human rights issue.

I also salute Ambassador Kazuyuki Yamazaki of the Japanese Permanent Mission to the International Organizations in Geneva and his team for their tireless efforts to pave the way for the adoption of the resolution.

This was the seventh resolution of its kind sponsored by the Japanese government and adopted by the council, following the ones in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2015, 2017, and 2020.

In particular, the council’s 2010 resolution resulted in the milestone U.N. General Assembly resolution on elimination of discrimination against persons affected by leprosy and their family members, together with accompanying principles and guidelines, adopted unanimously by the assembly’s then 192-members the same year.

The mandate of the Special Rapporteur was established in line with the 2017 HRC resolution, which was followed by the appointment of Dr. Alice Cruz of Portugal to the post. Her mandate was extended by three years in June 2020.

Dr. Cruz has done an excellent job as Special Rapporteur over the past six years, making a number of country visits, collecting good practices, and mainstreaming the issue of leprosy-related discrimination into the work of U. N. human rights mechanisms.

The Human Rights Council is now in the process of recruiting her successor.

The latest resolution calls upon all states to cooperate with the Special Rapporteur in the discharge of the mandate, including by providing all information requested, to give serious consideration to responding favorably to the requests of the Special Rapporteur to visit their countries, and to consider implementing the recommendations made in the reports of the mandate holder. It also requests the Secretary General and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to provide the Special Rapporteur with all the human, technical and financial resources necessary for the effective fulfilment of the mandate.

I strongly hope that all states and stakeholders will fully cooperate with the new Special Rapporteur in the discharge of his or her mandate.