At the recently held ‘Second International symposium on Leprosy and Human Rights’, a special announcement was made to form a forum of Members of Parliament in India to ensure the implementation of ‘Principles and Guidelines (P&G) for the Elimination of Discrimination against Persons Affected by Leprosy and Their Family Members’ adopted by the UN Human Rights Council. The purpose of the announcement was to address the issue of stigma against leprosy.
| The key dignitories who attended the symposium | |
The two-day symposium, was organised by Sasakawa-India Leprosy Foundation and The Nippon Foundation. It was attended by Mukul Wasnik, the former Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment, as the Chief Guest. Some of the key dignitaries present were Yohei Sasakawa – WHO’s Goodwill Ambassador for Leprosy Elimination and Chairman, Nippon Foundation; Dr Samlee Plianbangchang, Regional Director of WHO South-East Asia Region; Stuti Narayan Kakkar, Secretary, Department of Disability Affairs; Dinesh Trivedi, Member of Parliament; D Purandeswari, Union Minister of State for HRD; V Narsappa –Chairman, National Forum India; and Prof Yozo Yokota, Director, Center for Human Rights Education and Training, Japan. The highlights of the discussions held during the two-day symposium are:
- Role of NGOs/persons affected by leprosy/government/in implementing P&G: good practices and future plan of actions
- Social aspects – living conditions of leprosy- affected people in Asia
- How to follow-up on the implementation of P&G by International Working Group
- Leprosy situation – WHO facts, figures and numbers
EH News Bureau