Rabat - Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on the Moroccan parliament to amend a draft law on disability rights, saying that it “conflicts with Morocco’s obligations under an international treaty.”
A draft law on the protection and advancement of persons with disabilities (Draft Framework Law) has been recently submitted to the Moroccan parliament for examination.
HRW finds that the draft law “conflicts” with Morocco's obligations under the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and other international human rights treaties.
“The CRPD outlines a human rights-based approach to disability, emphasizing that persons with disabilities are holders of rights rather than simply the beneficiaries of charity or services,” HRW said on Monday in letter to the Moroccan parliament.
Based on consultations with disability rights organizations, people with disabilities and their families, and Moroccan government officials, Human Rights Watch found that the draft law “falls short” of guaranteeing the full rights of people with disabilities, including the right to education.
HRW said that the Draft Framework Law “perpetuates’ outdated notions about disability and places further limitations on the rights of people with disabilities.
HRW went on to add that Moroccan lawmakers should urgently amend the law to ensure the full realization of equal rights for people with disabilities.
Draft law 97.13 on the protection and advancement of persons with disabilities is currently before parliament. It is the first piece of legislation addressing the rights of people with disabilities to be up for consideration in Morocco since it ratified the international treaty on disability rights in 2009.
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