The National Commission for Persons with a Disability (KNPD) yesterday formally presented the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability to President Edward Fenech Adami and Family and Social Solidarity Minister Dolores Cristina.
The convention, which was drafted recently by the UN and consists of 50 articles, has been signed by over 80 countries, including Malta.
President Fenech Adami spoke about the great change in mentality towards people with a disability. “When I was younger, people with a disability did not appear in public, let alone speak about their rights,” he said.
Today, however, they have their dignity and their rights, and these would be further enforced through the convention, said the President.
KNPD chairman Joe Camilleri said the convention was a step towards formalising the rights of people with a disability. He pointed out that it had not taken Malta long to pass the Equal Opportunities Act in 2000, unlike other countries.
Mr Camilleri explained that the convention included a protocol that was optional.
“However, Malta was one of the first countries to sign both the convention and the protocol,” he added.
Before each country signed the convention, there was an exhaustive consultation period, and locally this included NGOs who take care of people with a disability and parents with children with a disability.
“This convention has had a great input from all the stakeholders involved,” said Mr Camilleri.
KNPD executive director Freddie Bezzina said the convention had been drawn up to safeguard the rights of people with a disability according to their needs.
The president of the Federation of Organisations of People with a Disability, Marchita Mangiafico, said the convention would ensure that people with a disability formed part of society while protecting their basic human rights.
She asked why teachers still refused to administer medicine to children with a disability and spoke about the stigma that was still attached to the adult training centres.
KNPD legal representative Daniela Mangion said the main problem was society’s attitude towards people with a disability.
“When people see someone with a disability, they automatically assume that they will not be able to make it in society. However, this is not the case,” said Dr Mangion.
She also spoke about the problems faced by women who had a disability when they entered the labour market and the importance of support from family and friends.
Family and Social Solidarity Minister Dolores Cristina said that, locally, there had been a considerable amount of input when the convention was being drawn up.
She spoke hopefully about the possibility of the Guardianship Act being presented before parliament in the near future and said that a few amendments would be added to the Equal Opportunities Act.