A/HRC/38/42 Report of the Special Rapporteur on the elimination of discrimination against persons affected by leprosy and their family members Contents Page I. Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 3 II. Leprosy.......................................................................................................................................... 3 A. A curable disease .................................................................................................................. 3 B. Gap between curing and healing ........................................................................................... 4 C. Epidemiology and human rights ........................................................................................... 4 Long path from segregation to human rights ................................................................................ 6 A. Thousands of years of human rights abuses and violations .................................................. 6 B. A very modern disease .......................................................................................................... 7 C. Failure of the medicalization of stigmatization and discrimination ...................................... 10 Structuring the mandate ................................................................................................................ 12 A. Background ........................................................................................................................... 12 B. Mandate ................................................................................................................................ 13 C. Vision.................................................................................................................................... 13 D. Methodology ......................................................................................................................... 16 E. Human rights instruments and standards .............................................................................. 17 F. Priorities for the mandate ...................................................................................................... 18 Conclusions ................................................................................................................................... 19 III. IV. V. 2