Agenda Item 73(b): Promotion and Protection of Human Rights
Intervention by the Republic of Maldives to the Report by the Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities, Catalina Devandas-Aguilar
United Nations, New York, 27 October 2015
Thank you Distinguished Chairperson,
The Maldives would like to thank the Special Rapporteur for her report and appreciate her work in this are.
Protecting the rights of persons with disabilities, including that of social protection is of immense importance for supporting their participation and inclusion in society.
In recent years, there has been a conscious shift in the Maldives to ensure that the rights of persons with disabilities are well protected and informed in the society. Many programs are conducted with the assistance of International partners and civil society to facilitate special education and provide inclusive mainstream education as much as possible. Special emphasis has been placed in providing financial assistance and to mainstream their rights into policy planning. The domestic legal framework has been strengthened in this regard. However, given inherent difficulties associated with land and urbanisation, ensuring full enjoyment of access to the physical environment has been a great challenge for the Maldives.
This will be true for many States, where they face unique challenges in ensuring the rights to persons with disabilities. We would like to know from the Special Rapporteur, good practices that have served well for other countries, and her opinion on how best go ahead in addressing such difficulties.
