Maldives to ratify optional protocol to the treaty on rights of persons with disabilities

The Maldives has decided to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).

In a statement on Tuesday, the President’s Office said the cabinet approved the decision on Sunday, after discussing a paper submitted by the Ministry of Health, Family and Welfare.

The CRPD is a legally binding international United Nations human rights treaty designed to promote, protect, and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights by people with disabilities.

The treaty was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2006, and ratified by the Maldives on April 5, 2010. The Optional Protocol is a side-agreement to the treaty that sets up an individual complaints’ mechanism and an inquiry procedure for the main convention.

According to the President’s Office, the cabinet decided to ratify the Optional Protocol based on the recommendation of international rights organizations.

Key functions of the Optional Protocol:

• Individual Complaints: It creates a procedure allowing individuals or groups to submit complaints to the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities regarding alleged violations of the convention by a state party.
• Inquiry Mechanism: It gives the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities authority to initiate confidential inquiries into grave or systematic violations of the convention within a participating state.

The decision will now be submitted to the Parliament for approval.

The Maldives has over 15,600 individuals registered as persons with disabilities. The most prevalent form of disability remains physical impairments.