Report No. 256

Annexure

Eliminating Discrimination against Persons Affected By Leprosy (EDPAL) Bill, 2015

A Bill to enact a comprehensive protection regime for persons affected by Leprosy and members of their family; to eliminate any discrimination or denial of equal treatment; to repeal and amend existing laws that negatively affect such persons and promote their segregation and discrimination; and to enable the State to discharge its positive obligations through affirmative action

Reaffirming that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights, and that everyone is entitled to the enjoyment of human rights without distinction of any kind, such as caste, sex, language, religion, disability or deformity, national or social origin, birth or other status;

Reaffirming that persons affected by Leprosy and members of their family are entitled to be treated as individuals with dignity and bearers of human rights, including equality before the law and the equal protection of the law, without any discrimination;

Recalling India's obligations as a signatory to the United Nations Resolution on the Elimination of Discrimination against persons affected by Leprosy and their Family Members, 2011, the United Nations Principles and Guidelines for the Elimination of Discrimination against persons affected by Leprosy and their Family Members, 2010, and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2006;

Enabling the government to give due consideration to the principles and guidelines mentioned herein, while repealing certain obsolete and archaic laws and formulating policies and guidelines for the equal and non-discriminatory treatment of persons affected by Leprosy;

Now therefore be it enacted in the Sixty-fifth year of the Republic of India:-