At 12:00 in New Delhi, India, Yohei Sasakawa, chariman of The
Nippon Foundation, presented a Global Appeal to End Stigma and
Discrimination against People Affected by Leprosy. The text of
that appeal, which is being issued in the names of 12 world leaders
and Nobel Peace Prize laureates, is presented below:


Global Appeal to End Stigma and Discrimination
Against People Affected by Leprosy

Leprosy is among the world's oldest and most dreaded diseases.
Without an effective remedy for much of its long history, it often
resulted in terrible deformity. It was also thought to be
extremely communicable. Patients were abandoned, forced to live in
isolation and discriminated against as social outcasts.

In the early 1980s, an effective cure for leprosy became
available. Multidrug therapy has successfully treated over 14
million people to date. Contrary to popular belief, leprosy is
extremely difficult to contract. With prompt diagnosis and
treatment, it can be medically cured within 6 to 12 months without
risk of deformity.

Yet fear of leprosy remains deep-rooted. Misguided notions endure--
that it is "highly contagious," "incurable" and "hereditary." Some
even regard it as "a divine punishment."

Ignorance and misunderstanding result in prejudice and
discriminatory attitudes that remain firmly implanted as custom
and tradition.

Consequently, patients, cured persons and their entire families
suffer stigma and discrimination. This limits their opportunities
for education, employment and marriage, and restricts their access
to public services.

Fearful that by speaking out they will invite further
discrimination, for long years people affected by leprosy,
including their families, have been cowed into silence. Such
silence reinforces the stigma that surrounds them.

The world has remained indifferent to their plight for too long.


Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states
that "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and
human rights." This article, however, is meaningless to people
affected by leprosy, who continue to suffer discrimination.

We appeal to the UN Commission on Human Rights to take up this
matter as an item on its agenda, and request that it issue
principles and guidelines for governments to follow in eliminating
all discrimination against people affected by leprosy.

We further urge governments themselves to seriously consider this
issue and act to improve the present situation with a sense of
urgency.

Finally, we call on people all over the world to change their
perception and foster an environment in which leprosy patients,
cured persons and their families can lead normal lives free from
stigma and discrimination.


January 29, 2006

Oscar Arias
Former President of Costa Rica
Nobel Peace Prize Laureate

Jimmy Carter
Former President of the United States of America
Nobel Peace Prize Laureate

The Dalai Lama
Nobel Peace Prize Laureate

El Hassan bin Talal
Prince of the Jordanian Hashemite Royal Dynasty
Václav Havel
Former President of the Czech Republic

Olusegun Obasanjo
President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria

Mary Robinson
Former President of Ireland
Former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

Yohei Sasakawa
Chairman, The Nippon Foundation

Desmond Tutu
Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town
Nobel Peace Prize Laureate

R. Venkataraman
Former President of India

Elie Wiesel
President, The Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity
Nobel Peace Prize Laureate

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
President of the Federative Republic of Brazil