KRG to participate in the UN’s Disability Rights and Special Needs Convention
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A joint delegation from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the Iraqi government will present initial reports regarding the rights of persons with disabilities in the country at an upcoming United Nation’s Human Rights Council (UNHRC) session, a Kurdish official said on Sunday.
The Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) will hold its twenty-second session on the 10th and the 11th of September 2019, at the UNHRC’s headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.
Kurdistan Region representatives are participating within the framework of a National Committee writing human rights treaty-related reports. “The regional government remains committed to these international conventions,” as part of its efforts, said KRG coordinator for international advocacy, Dindar Zebari.
“The [KRG] delegation will try to highlight and present all the related laws, instructions, and practical steps that have been provided to serve people with special needs and disabilities in the Kurdistan Region,” he explained.
Zebari, who will head the KRG delegation to the UN session, stated there are serious efforts invested by the KRG in the protection and promotion of the rights of persons with disabilities and special needs.
“It is undeniable that these efforts were met by several external and internal challenges, such as the aftermath of the war against ISIS [Islamic State], the economic crises and the increased amount of displaced people,” the Kurdish official continued.
“However,” the KRG has maintained its efforts, “one of its most significant efforts include [the passing of] law no. 22,” in 2011, on ‘Disability Rights and Special Needs.’
“These instructions were eventually implemented in the educational, social, work, health, and cultural sectors.”
There are 95,916 individuals with disabilities, 54,142 men and 41,774 women, registered with the KRG’s Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs. The data also includes Kurdish Peshmerga fighters and security members who suffered debilitating wounds in the fight against the Islamic State.
The representatives of the KRG within the Iraqi federal delegation will present the commitments of the regional government and measures undertaken by the KRG to assist and support people with disabilities and special needs as part of the UN’s learning exercise.
Editing by Nadia Riva