Dr. Al-Marri: Persons with Disabilities Need more Efforts to Integrate into Society

Geneva, October 11 (QNA) - Chairman Qatar's Human Rights Committee Dr. Ali bin Smaikh Al-Marri has underlined that people with disabilities still need to make further efforts to remove the barriers which affect their integration into society. Addressing an international workshop organized today by the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights in Geneva under the title 'Cooperation between the United Nations and regional mechanisms for the promotion and protection of human rights', Dr. Al-Marri pointed out that persons with disabilities are the largest minority in the world, however, many of them live in poverty and suffer from isolation and deprivation of education, employment and health care, adding that disability movements all over the world played a major role in the adoption of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. He noted that national human rights institutions have wide functions for the protection and promotion of human rights, on the basis of the Paris principles which are the legal terms of reference for their establishment and definition of their functions, foremost of which were the pursuit of the objectives set forth in international human rights conventions to which the State has become a party, and recommendations for stakeholders, such as proposals on existing legislations and draft laws and their compatibility with the provisions of international standards. Dr. Al-Marri said national human rights institutions have quasi-judicial functions such as the consideration of any abuses or violations of human rights and work to resolve the complaints they receive through cooperation and coordination with the competent authorities and proposal of ways to address and prevent their occurrence. Dr. Al-Marri I reviewed the experience of Qatar's Human Rights Committee in the promotion and protection of economic, social and cultural rights of persons with disabilities at local, regional and national levels, pointing out that the Committee, at the local level, has worked to encourage the government to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The Committee also made recommendations calling for the change of the national legislation to match the provisions of the Convention, Dr. Al-Marri said stressing that the government has responded to those recommendations and invited the Committee to participate in the drafting of a draft law to change law No. 2 of 2004 pertaining to people with disabilities. The Chairman of Qatar's Human Rights Committee explained that the Committee has formulated 7 new provisions related to economic, social and cultural rights, and decisions on the right to education, health, employment and housing standards, in addition to the right of access to public and private facilities, and cultural and sports services. "The Council of Ministers approved in 2012 the draft resolution but it is still under legislative procedures," Dr. Al-Marri said. He added that the issuance of of the resolution by the state will be a full legislative step for compliance with the the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.(QNA)