A two-day workshop was held 12^th – 13^th December 2010 in Yashada, Pune, India, on the theme of An Inclusive Society, Leprosy and Human Rights. It was, organised by the International Leprosy Union in collaboration with the National Forum of India and ILEP Member, the Sasakawa Memorial Health Foundation.

At the closing ceremony, Ram Naik, former Union minister, talked of plans to meet with the Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh, on 30^th January 2011, the anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination and World Leprosy Day, to discuss the formulation of a national policy related to empowering persons affected by leprosy. Naik said that the denial of human rights to persons affected by leprosy must end.

 

Naik was one of a group* that submitted a petition to the Rajya Sabha in 2007 appealing for the integration and empowerment of persons affected by leprosy. A report on progress towards this goal was submitted under the guidance of Naik to the Committee on Petitions, which considered and adopted it in mid-November 2010. 

 

Among important issues that Naik and colleagues are concerned about and have been advocating for since 2007 is the fact that persons with less than 40% impairments due to leprosy do not qualify for benefits under the Persons with Disabilities Act. It is a fact, though, that however few leprosy-related impairments a person has, they are mistreated in society due to people’s mistaken notions about this disease. Thus, the advocates feel that all persons affected by leprosy should be issued with a certificate to facilitate their economic and social integration into society. It is also thought that persons affected by leprosy should be entitled to a ration card to ensure that they are not living below the poverty line and remove the need for them to beg. Another important issue concerns the amendment of 16 Acts that are outdated and discriminatory towards persons affected by leprosy.

 

Mr Yohei Sasakawa, WHO Goodwill Ambassador for the Elimination of Leprosy and Japan’s Goodwill Ambassador for the Human Rights of People Affected by Leprosy urged everyone to take up the issue of the human rights of persons affected by leprosy through the relevant government departments by making use of the Principles and Guidelines for the Elimination of Discrimination against Persons Affected by Leprosy recognised by the United Nations at the end of September 2010.

 

Chairman of the International Leprosy Union, Dr S D Gokhale explained that this Workshop had been organised to help eliminate the stigma attached to leprosy and to prevent the exclusion of persons affected by leprosy. People from India, Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Japan, Korea and the Philippines, who are affected by leprosy, or some who have been completely cured, attended. Representatives from each of these countries made presentations about the current situation. The Workshop concluded with a discussion of strategies and interventions to include persons affected by leprosy in society and to empower them and their families.

 

 

*

Also Dr S D Gokhale, International Leprosy Union; Uday Thakar, Rog Nivaran Samiti, Panvel; Shantaram Bhoir, Maharashtra Kushthapidit Sanghatana; Bhimrai Madhale, activist 

 

Categories: India, International Collaboration, News and Notes