Call for Lanka to ratify Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Convention
Hiran H.Senewiratne
International Campaign Coordinator Leonard Cheshire Disability (LCD)
UK, Gopal Mitra wants the Government to ratify the United Nation
Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) to
protect rights and give due recognition to disabled people in society .
He said that Sri Lanka became a signatory to the Convention in 2007
but has not ratified it by incorporating it in the local legal system.
If Sri Lanka ratifies the convention it will help to build the image of
the country internationally.
Mitra speaking to the media said that the ratification of the
Convention will help to protect the rights of disabled people, they are
a force to be reckoned with as they consist 10 percent of the global
population.
He said that LCD is playing an important role in urging the
Government to ratify this convention in the SAARC region. India and
Bangladesh are the only two countries that have ratified the Convention
from among 66 other countries. At present 140 countries are signatories
to the Convention, he said.
LCD Resource Center (LCDRC) Legal Consultant M.H.P Gunaratne said the
UN Convention was set up to protect the rights of the disabled and their
inherent dignity. "Its ratification will help us to obtain foreign
assistance," he said.
He said that though Sri Lanka signed the Convention in 2007 it has
not approved the incorporation of this Convention into its legal system.
They also conducted several campaigns under the leadership of young
persons with disabilities in Sri Lanka to ratify the UNCRPD including
the Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayake.
Gunaratne said that Sri Lanka accounts for 5-6 percent of its
population with impairment and disabilities. Majority of them live in
rural areas and constitute one of the most excluded and poor sections of
the society.
Attitudinal,institutional and environmental barriers have prevented
them from accessing, basic human rights such as education, health care
livelihoods, social security, participation and rehabilitation services.
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