Our work with the United Nations

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability (CRPD) is the UN's landmark disability rights convention. As such, the CRPD is a crucial route through which persons affected by leprosy and persons affected by leprosy-related disabilities can achieve the human rights that are so often taken from them.

Our engagement with the CRPD:

• We have attended the UN's CRPD Conference (COSP) every year since 2018. This annual conference is an opportunity for us to have the voices of persons affected by leprosy heard more loudly within the mainstream disability rights community and to hold governments accountable to their commitments to persons affected by leprosy under the CRPD.
• We also submit reports to the CRPD Committee. The Committee conducts regular reviews into the disability rights situation of UN Member States. When these reviews take place, Civil Society is encouraged to contribute reports. TLM aims to submit a Civil Society report when any of our Member Countries is reviewed.

A Special Rapporteur (SR) is an independent expert appointed by the Human Rights Council to examine and report back on a country situation or a specific human rights theme. The Leprosy Mission works with several SRs in our efforts to ensure the rights of persons affected by leprosy are respected.

Special Rapporteur on the elimination of discrimination against persons affected by leprosy and their family members

We are very fortunate to be able to work with Beatriz Miranda Galarza, the SR on the elimination of discrimination against persons affected by leprosy and their family members. Our partnership with Beatriz is a crucial part of our engagement with the UN. We work with Beatriz as she prepares reports for the UN Human Rights Council and the General Assembly and collaborate with her to ensure that states are supporting the UN's Principles and guidelines for the elimination of discrimination against persons affected by leprosy and their family members.

Through this ongoing partnership we are better equipped to ensure that persons affected by leprosy everywhere can access their rights.

Our work with other Special Rapporteurs

As well as working with Beatriz Miranda Galarza, TLM looks for opportunities to engage with other SRs who are in a position to ensure persons affected by leprosy have their rights respected. In recent years we have written to the Special Rapporteurs who consider the right to food and the right to housing, as well as the UN's Independent Expert on older persons. We asked each of these mandates to remember the rights of persons affected by leprosy, as too often they struggle to access their right to food and their right to housing and many older persons affected by leprosy face multiple discrimination.

We are always looking to work closely with UN Special Rapporteurs. If you would like to talk to us about a potential partnership, please don't hesitate to get in touch.

Every UN Member State undergoes a Universal Periodic Review (UPR) every five years. The Human Rights Council (HRC) undertakes these Reviews, which consider the overall human rights situation within a country. As a part of the UPR, the Council asks for reports from Civil Society organisations within the country who are in a position to comment on the human rights situation.

The Leprosy Mission aims to contribute to the UPR process with a Civil Society submission for any of our Member Countries where leprosy is prevalent. Our submissions report on any difficulties that persons affected by leprosy and persons with disabilities are facing in accessing their human rights. Our reports often use the CRPD as a framework and draw attention to any areas where a Government is not living up to its obligations under this Convention.