UN leprosy expert to visit Bangladesh on Feb 7-15

The UN Special Rapporteur on discrimi-nation against persons affected by leprosy and their family members, Alice Cruz, will pay an official visit to Bangladesh from February 7 to 15.

“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 endeavours to eliminate discrimination against persons affected by leprosy and their family members,” she said yesterday.

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 people affected, their families and their representative organisations, according to an official announcement made yesterday from Geneva.

She will visit communities outside Dhaka, including Nilphamari and Bogura.

At the end of her visit, Cruz will share her preliminary observations and recommendations in Dhaka.

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