Human Rights Council

Sixty-second session

15 June–7 July 2026

Agenda item 3

Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development

Andorra , * Brazil, Cambodia,* Chile, Cyprus, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Fiji,* Germany,* Greece,* India, Italy, Japan, Kyrgyzstan , * Marshall Islands, Morocco , * Paraguay,* Philippines,* Portugal,* Republic of Korea, Romania,* Slovenia, Thailand, Ukraine,* United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Uzbekistan* and Yemen* : draft resolution

6 2 /… Elimination of discrimination against persons affected by leprosy / Hansen’s disease and their family members

The Human Rights Council,

Guided by the purposes, principles and provisions of the Charter of the United Nations,

Guided also by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and recalling relevant international human rights instruments, including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination,

Acknowledging with appreciationthe work carried out and the reports submitted by the Special Rapporteurs on the elimination of discrimination against persons affected by leprosy (Hansen’s disease) and their family members to the Human Rights Council and to the General Assembly, and the recommendations made therein, as well as the contributions made through country visits, reporting and stakeholder engagement to raising awareness and promoting implementation of the principles and guidelines for the elimination of discrimination against persons affected by leprosy and their family members,

Recalling Human Rights Council resolutions 8/13 of 18 June 2008, 12/7 of 1 October 2009, 15/10 of 30 September 2010, 29/5 of 2 July 2015, 35/9 of 22 June 2017, 44/6 of 16 July 2020 and 53/8 of 12 July 2023, General Assembly resolution 65/215 of 21 December 2010,and the final report of the Human Rights Council Advisory Committee submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 29/5 of 2 July 2015 and the recommendations contained therein,

Recalling also the universality, indivisibility, interdependence and interrelatedness of all human rights and fundamental freedoms,

Recalling further the global leprosy (Hansen’s disease) strategy, 2021–2030, of the World Health Organization, and sharing the common aspiration to accelerate towards a world free from leprosy/Hansen’s disease,

Recalling that leprosy/Hansen’s disease is curable and that the human rights of persons with leprosy/Hansen’s disease could be better protected by treatment provided in the early stages, which can prevent impairments and disability,

Deeply concerned that, in various parts of the world, persons affected by leprosy/Hansen’s disease and their family members have faced and continue to face barriers to their participation as equal members of society, including isolation, discrimination and violations and abuses of their human rights, which put them in a situation of vulnerability, and conscious that greater attention is needed to address these challenges,

Reaffirming that persons affected by leprosy/Hansen’s disease and their family members, including women, children, adolescents, persons with leprosy/Hansen’s disease related impairments and disabilities and older persons, should be treated with dignity and are entitled to the enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms under international law, including relevant conventions, and national constitutions and laws,

Recognizing that persons affected by leprosy/Hansen’s disease and their family members still face multiple forms of stigmatization and discrimination stemming from misinformation about and misunderstandings of the disease, leading to harmful stereotypes, throughout the world,

Recognizing also that specific attention is needed to address all forms of stigmatization, discrimination and violence against persons affected by leprosy/Hansen’s disease and their family members,

Bearing in mind the need to intensify efforts to eliminate all forms of stigmatization, discrimination and violence against persons affected by leprosy/Hansen’s disease and their family members and to promote legal frameworks and public policies that facilitate their de jure and de facto equality and inclusion throughout the world,

Stressing the importance of effectively implementing and widely disseminating the principles and guidelines for the elimination of discrimination against persons affected by leprosy and their family members, submitted to the Human Rights Council by the Human Rights Council Advisory Committee in 2010,to which Governments, relevant United Nations bodies, specialized agencies, funds and programmes, other intergovernmental organizations and national human rights institutions were encouraged to give due consideration, by the Council, in its resolution 15/10, and by the General Assembly, in its resolution 65/215,

Recognizing efforts undertaken by States to review, repeal or amend discriminatory laws, policies and practices affecting persons affected by leprosy/Hansen’s disease and their family members, consistent with international human rights obligations and national contexts,

1.Reaffirms the continued importance of the principles and guidelines for the elimination of discrimination against persons affected by leprosy and their family members as a key framework for addressing discrimination related to leprosy/Hansen’s disease, as well as for protecting the rights of individuals who have experienced leprosy/Hansen’s disease;

2.Encourages States and relevant stakeholders to give due consideration to the principles and guidelines and to promote awareness, understanding and wider dissemination and use thereof at the national and subnational levels;

3.Calls upon States to continue and, where appropriate, intensify efforts to eliminate discrimination against persons affected by leprosy/Hansen’s disease and their family members, including by integrating relevant measures into national and subnational laws, policies, programmes and strategies, with due regard to non-discrimination, equality, participation and access to information;

4.Encourages States and relevant stakeholders, where appropriate and in accordance with national legislation, to make use of accessible digital information and communication technologies to facilitate awareness-raising including early diagnosis and access to support, participation and the reduction of stigma experienced by persons affected by leprosy/Hansen’s disease and their family members;

5.Encourages States, with the support of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and relevant United Nations entities, to observe World Leprosy Day, held annually on the last Sunday of January, as an opportunity to raise public awareness and promote public dialogue on the elimination of discrimination against persons affected by leprosy/Hansen’s disease and their family members, including through public events, education and outreach activities that should amplify the voices of persons affected by leprosy/Hansen’s disease as a means of eliminating discrimination;

6.Requests the current Special Rapporteur on the elimination of discrimination against persons affected by leprosy (Hansen’s disease) and their family members to report to the General Assembly at its eighty-first session, within existing resources;

7.Requests the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to submit a comprehensive report to the Human Rights Council at its seventy-first session on the implementation of the principles and guidelines for the elimination of discrimination against persons affected by leprosy and their family members, as well as on progress towards the elimination of discrimination and protection and fulfilment of the human rights of persons affected by leprosy/Hansen’s disease, to be followed by an interactive dialogue;

8.Welcomes the efforts of States and relevant stakeholders to hold annual high-level awareness-raising events, where progress can be assessed and technical cooperation facilitated, all with persons affected by leprosy/Hansen’s disease at the centre and towards the protection and fulfilment of their human rights, with the support of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, subject to the availability of voluntary contributions provided for that purpose;

9.Requests the High Commissioner to include the information on the efforts undertaken by States and relevant stakeholders, including the events referred to in paragraph 8 above, in the report to be submitted to the Human Rights Council, and to transmit it to the General Assembly;

10.Decides to remain seized of the matter.