The Leprosy Mission at the UN's CRPD Conference 2025

Following the successes of The Leprosy Mission's attendance at the CRPD Conference in 2023 and in 2024, we will be returning in 2025.

Representation of persons affected by leprosy at the conference

The Leprosy Mission will be represented at the conference by Mathias Duck, TLM's Global Advocacy Lead and Dinesh Basnet, the President of IDEA Nepal, an Organisation of Persons Affected by Leprosy. Both will be contributing as speakers and participants in TLM's meetings at the conference.

The Leprosy Mission's side event

The Leprosy Mission is co-sponsoring a side event on the topic of access to justice entitled, 'Legislation as a driver for change – a disruptive approach to the CRPD’s Article 13'.

Mathias Duck and Dinesh Basnet will be a part of an excellent panel of experts considering this topic.

The event will consider the following:

• What is the current state of access to justice?
• How can legislation remove barriers to justice?
• How is justice accessible or not accessible in the Global South?
• How can we challenge discriminatory attitudes and practices within justice systems?
• How can we leave no one behind in the pursuit of justice, especially as we move toward the World Social Summit?

⏰When? Tue 10 June, 4:45pm - 6:00pm (New York time)

📍Where? In Conference Room 11 of the UNHQ and online here

The event will be available to watch later on catch up.

Civil Society Forum

The Conference's Civil Society Forum takes place on Monday 9 June in the UN Headquarters. The themes for the Forum are:

• The Impact of the Global Financial Situation on the work of the disability community
• Empowering persons with disabilities and enhancing social development policies through innovative financing
• Leaving no one behind: using AI as a tool for supporting inclusivity to strengthen the participation of persons with disabilities
• Recognising and addressing the rights of Indigenous persons with disabilities and their role in advancing disability inclusion

Both Mathias Duck and Dinesh Basnet will be speaking on behalf of The Leprosy Mission during the second session on innovative financing. They will be presenting TLM's work on the area of innovative finance in inclusive development in Nepal and Bangladesh.

Meetings with State Parties, civil society, and UN agencies

Throughout our time at the conference, we will be taking the time to meet with country representatives, fellow members of civil society, and UN agencies to discuss discriminatory laws and how persons affected by leprosy can be more effectively be integrated into the work of these actors.