As soon as the Act repealing the Leprosy Ordinance and the Leprosy Regulations came into force, Malta was praised in the international field, among them by the Director of the international organization The Leprosy Mission, Brent Morgan who he praised and thanked the Maltese Government for leading by example the repeal of this law. He encouraged other countries to follow this example so that no one faces discrimination because of leprosy.
The laws that were repealed had been adopted during the time of the British, in 1919, and to this day still allowed discrimination against people affected by Hansen’s Disease, known as leprosy. Nowadays there is a cure for this disease, where affected people have a quick recovery and there is no need to keep them away from other people. Malta was at the forefront of the development of this treatment, which is now available worldwide, through the World Health Organization (WHO).
The Minister for Inclusion and Volunteering, Julia Farrugia Portelli, who pushed forward these amendments in Parliament, stated that the existence of discriminatory laws, even if they are not used, is enough to continue to spread this hand -discrimination against persons with disabilities, including persons affected by leprosy. Therefore work was triggered that led to a unanimous decision to repeal these laws.
Minister Farrugia Portelli also said that Malta will continue to work with The Leprosy Mission in their campaign so that countries that still have such legislation, especially in the Commonwealth, will also repeal it.
