A/HRC/44/46/Add.1 family members not only to receive justice, but also to heal psychologically at the personal level. Afterwards, many felt encouraged to speak openly about their history. The ruling of the courts in their favour meant for all of them that society was able to treat them as equals. This was a considerable step forward in the enforcement of their rights to dignity, equality and non-discrimination. C. International cooperation and transnational activism 27. The struggle for dignity of the persons affected by Hansen’s disease in Japan and the positive responses from both the judicial system and the Government in 2001 triggered the scaling up of a human rights-based approach in the international field. Since 2007, Japan has been the lead sponsor of a series of resolutions on the elimination of discrimination against persons affected by Hansen’s disease and their family members that were adopted by the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council. This has been the result of a concerted effort on the part of the Government and Japanese civil society groups, namely the Nippon Foundation and the Sasakawa Health Foundation. Ultimately, however, the wake-up call to recognize persons affected by Hansen’s disease as rights bearers came from the grass roots. 28. The Japanese endeavour at the international level concerning Hansen’s disease has been led by the Government’s Goodwill Ambassador for the Human Rights of Persons Affected by Leprosy and WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Leprosy Elimination, Yohei Sasakawa.12 Under his leadership, the Nippon Foundation has long been supporting WHO; it provided funding for WHO to distribute multidrug therapy free of charge between 1995 and 1999. That aid was key to achieving the global elimination of Hansen’s disease as a public health problem (defined as a registered prevalence of less than 1 case for every 10,000 persons) in 2000. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, Yohei Sasakawa started to draw attention to stigmatization as a social determinant of Hansen’s disease. The Nippon Foundation joined forces with the Government of Japan in raising the issue at the United Nations and has been promoting annual global appeals to end stigma and discrimination since 2006. One important strategy pursued by the Sasakawa Health Foundation is the empowerment of grass-roots organizations of persons affected by Hansen’s disease worldwide with the provision of funding and capacity-building. In 2019, the Foundation sponsored the first Global Forum of People’s Organizations on Hansen’s Disease.13 29. The struggle of persons affected by Hansen’s disease in Japan has reached others overseas. The 2001 lawsuit, together with Japanese lawyers’ transnational activism, prompted individuals affected by Hansen’s disease in the Republic of Korea and in Taiwan Province of China to demand compensation for their own suffering while under Japanese colonial rule. The ensuing transnational legal battle led Japan to revise the 2001 law and provide, in 2006, for compensation to Korean and Taiwanese persons affected by Hansen’s disease. The National Assembly of the Republic of Korea subsequently passed legislation in 2007 to provide for support to the post-war victims of violations related to Hansen’s disease. Taiwan Province of China followed suit in 2008. 14 D. Good practices 30. Following the court decisions and laws enacted in response to them, the Government has been pursuing a multisectoral approach to redress stigmatization and the impact of past violations. One important aspect of this policy is the delivery of health care, free of charge, at the sanatoriums. An average of two health workers for each resident is ensured in each sanatorium, alongside the provision of basic needs and housing, all of which are guaranteed for life. Another important dimension is awareness-raising on Hansen’s disease in schools, encompassing accurate medical knowledge, the history of human rights violations, and 12 13 14 8 Yohei Sasakawa, No Matter Where the Journey Takes Me: One Man’s Quest for a Leprosy-Free World (London, C. Hurst & Co., 2019). See www.shf.or.jp/information/6813?lang=en. Celeste L. Arrington, ”Leprosy, legal mobilization, and the public sphere in Japan and South Korea”.