A/HRC/35/38 repealed a provision in the Family Act, which previously allowed the dissolution of marriage on the ground of leprosy. 48 In Rwanda, the National Human Rights Commission participated in the review of laws tabled in Parliament to ensure that no law was passed that violated the human rights of citizens, including persons affected by leprosy and their family members.49 In 2015, organizations of persons affected by leprosy in Nepal and other NGOs working closely with persons affected by leprosy successfully lobbied Parliament not to pass a piece of legislation that would have allowed the spouse of a person affected by leprosy to claim divorce.50 53. In India, one of the serious gaps mentioned by both the National Human Rights Commission and all the NGOs operating in the country was the existence of several discriminatory laws against persons affected by leprosy and their family members. 51 In that respect, reference was made to a very important step that was taken recently by the Law Commission of India, a recommendatory body to the Government of India on laws. The Law Commission issued a comprehensive report entitled “Eliminating Discrimination Against Persons Affected by Leprosy” in April 2015, which identified several discriminatory laws against persons affected by leprosy and their family members and called for such laws to be either repealed or amended by the Government or its constituent state governments. 52 Apart from the Leprosy Act, which provided for the segregation of persons affected by leprosy and their family members from the general community, several laws provided that leprosy was a legitimate ground for divorce or separation. Under the Beggary Acts of various states, among others, persons affected by leprosy were classified under the same category as persons suffering from lunacy. In general, it was pointed out that around 16 discriminatory laws against persons affected by leprosy and their family members were still in effect in India. In addition, in its report, the Law Commission included a model draft legislation entitled “Eliminating Discrimination Against Persons Affected by Leprosy”, and proposed that the Government of India approve it. According to information provided in the responses, the Law Commission’s report was submitted to Parliament and was awaiting adoption by the Government. The Lepers Act of 1898, among others, was repealed by the national Parliament in 2016. 53 However, it remained to be seen whether the Government would take measures to repeal or amend other discriminatory laws. Moreover, all respondents believed that if the recommendation made by the Law Commission was approved by the Government of India and implemented effectively, it would be equivalent to implementation of the principles and guidelines since, in most respects, the provisions in the bill were in line with the principles and guidelines. 54. Although India was cited as being a country that still retained several discriminatory laws regarding persons affected by leprosy and their family members, a recent study by ILEP revealed that several countries still had discriminatory laws in effect which had not yet been repealed.54 55. WHO launched a global leprosy strategy in April 2016, calling for action by national leprosy programmes to eliminate discrimination against persons affected by leprosy and their family members. “Zero countries with legislation allowing discrimination on the basis of leprosy” is one of the targets to be achieved by 2020.55 56. Most of the responses from associations of persons affected by leprosy and NGOs working with them also indicated that, although the policies and laws in their respective countries allowed persons affected by leprosy and their family members to freely choose where to live, a host of attitudinal and structural stigma and discrimination prevailed in the societies in which they lived, and the fear of being discriminated against was a significant 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 12 Response from HANDA (China) and ENAPAL (Ethiopia). Response from the National Human Rights Commission (Rwanda). Response from IDEA-Nepal and The Leprosy Mission-Nepal. Response from the National Human Rights Commission (India), The Leprosy Mission Trust (India), IDEA-India, Fontilles-India, Leprosy Society-India. See Law Commission of India, “Eliminating Discrimination Against Persons Affected by Leprosy”, Report No. 256 (April 2015). Available at http//lawcommissionofindia.nic.in/reports/Report256.pdf. See India, The Repealing and Amending Act No. 23 of 2016. Available at http://lawmin.nic.in/ld/ Act23of2016RepealingandAmending.pdf. See www.reuters.com/article/us-health-discrimination-leprosy-idUSKBN0KV27T20150122. See WHO, Global Leprosy Strategy 2016-2020: Accelerating towards a leprosy-free world (2016).