Chairperson of the National Human Rights Committee H E Maryam bint Abdullah Al Attiyah with other officials discussing preparation for the second national forum.
Doha, Qatar: The National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) announced it would organise the 2nd national forum for human rights on September 12 and 13, 2023, under the theme of Human rights of persons with disabilities, protection, and empowerment, in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Development and Family.
In a statement, NHRC outlined that the forum aims to provide a national dialogue platform to share knowledge, expertise, capacity building, review legislation, policies, plans and programs pertinent to the rights of persons with disabilities in Qatar, in addition to integrating them in the community like the rest of various community individuals and segments.
During a meeting with members of the higher organising committee of the Forum, Chairperson of the National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) H E Maryam bint Abdullah Al Attiyah affirmed that the permanent constitution of Qatar confirms the protection of rights of persons with disabilities from human rights perspective as Qatar was one of the first countries to engage in the negotiations that led to the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2008 and ratified it in the same year and was an active and vital partner in the founding stage of the agreement, she said.
She recalled the international commendation for Qatar national vision in protecting persons with disabilities, along with the adoption of Qatar National Autism Plan, harmonising its legislation that regulates the rights of persons with disabilities with the provisions of the international convention, in addition to its enduring efforts in enabling them to have a good education.
Al Attiyah added that Qatar has compelled the state institutions to allocate a percentage not less than 2% of jobs to persons with disabilities. She pointed out that such efforts produced good outcomes in improving the situation of persons with disabilities and protecting their rights until Qatar has been described as one of the best disabled friendly countries in all fields, especially infrastructure, transportation grid and accessible cities for persons with disabilities that have been constructed during the past decade.
Within the framework of universal efforts concerning the protection of persons with disabilities, Al Attiyah recalled the Doha International Conference on Disability and Development 2019 hosted by Qatar which issued the Doha Declaration to promote rights of persons with disabilities worldwide and provided a referential framework to integrate disabled people in development plans and ensure their rights in education, health, employment policies and other fields.
She noted that, although 15 years have passed since the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities went into effect with 186 member states, however, a closer look at many legislations, policies and practices in many state parties, based on the remarks and recommendations of the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, indicates that there are multiple challenges and hurdles that are still hampering the full operation of the convention mostly because of the domination of the traditional medical, charitable and emotional system in dealing with disability issue.
She emphasized that this promptly precipitates the periodical and systematic review of the reality of protecting the rights of persons with disabilities to further evaluate such a reality from human rights perspective and activate the respect, protection and implementation of their rights.
