Survey by Alice Cruz, UN Special Rapporteur

The UN Special Rapporteur on the elimination of discrimination against persons affected by leprosy and their family members, Alice Cruz, is preparing her report to be presented at the 47th session of the UN Human Rights Council in June 2021. This report is about the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on persons affected by leprosy and their family members and examines its root causes, consequences and the way to recovery.

Among some of the issues that she will cover on her report are:

• lessons that can be drawn from leprosy’s history to the COVID-19 pandemic (such as its impact on mental health and stigmatization, but also good practices developed by the people and their representative organizations to respond to these issues)
• the relation between access to work, to decent and safe working conditions and the sustainability of livelihoods
• which strategies can efficiently tackle the disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, but also ensure that individuals and communities living with leprosy and its consequences are included in recovery plans

The Special Rapporteur is very grateful for the cooperation of many organisations, including ILEP members, during these first 10 months of the COVID-19 pandemic. This has been crucial for her understanding of the ground situation in many of the endemic countries. She now kindly requests our further collaboration by a short response to two guiding questions about how ILEP member associations and partners have been supporting communities to improve their socioeconomic situation and to develop. The guiding questions are in English, French and Spanish.

Alice asks for short and precise answers (not more than 1500 words) but will be more than happy to receive information, especially ‘on-the-ground’ experience, in any format, or on other related issues. Responses should be sent to srleprosy@ohchr.org no later than 31 December 2020, using the email title: ‘Submissions to the Questionnaire.’