UN expert on leprosy to visit Bangladesh

GENEVA (3 February 2023) – The UN Special Rapporteur on discrimination against persons affected by leprosy and their family members, Alice Cruz, will conduct an official visit to Bangladesh from 7 to 15 February 2023.

“The UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, at its most recent review on Bangladesh made several recommendations about leprosy-related discrimination,” the expert said. “I will explore how Bangladesh endeavors to eliminate discrimination against persons affected by leprosy and their family members,” she said.

Cruz will assess issues of structural and interpersonal discrimination on grounds of leprosy, anti-discriminatory policies, strategies for stigma reduction and enjoyment of civil, political, economic, social, cultural and disability rights by persons affected by leprosy.

The expert will meet government representatives, UN agencies, civil society organisations, and persons affected, their family members and their representative organisations. She will visit communities outside Dhaka, including the Nilphamari and Bogura regions.

At the end of her visit, Cruz will share her preliminary observations and recommendations at a press conference on Wednesday 15 February, at 15:00 (GMT+6), at The Westin Dhaka (address: Main Gulshan Avenue, CWN (B) Road 45, Plot 1, Gulshan 2, Dhaka). Access is strictly limited to journalists.

The Special Rapporteur will present a full report on her visit, including findings and recommendations, to the Human Rights Council in June 2023.

ENDS

Ms Alice Cruz is the first UN Special Rapporteur on the elimination of discrimination against persons affected by leprosy and their family members, appointed in November 2017 by the Human Rights Council. Ms. Cruz worked as External Professor at the Law School of University Andina Simón Bolívar – Ecuador and in several Portuguese universities as researcher on health and human rights, in particular leprosy. She participated in the elaboration of WHO Guidelines for Strengthening Participation of Persons Affected by Leprosy in Leprosy Services. She has researched and written on the subject of eliminating leprosy and the stigma attached to it and has interacted with various stakeholders, including persons affected by leprosy.

The Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organisation and serve in their individual capacity.