Cabinet approval has been granted to draft a new Bill on the Protection of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
The government stated that Sri Lanka signed the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in the year 2016.
In terms of Article 4 of the said convention, the states undertake to ensure and promote the full realization of all human rights and fundamental freedoms for all persons with disabilities without discrimination of any kind on the basis of disability.
A committee comprised of parliamentarians has been appointed to prepare a preliminary draft in this regard.
Accordingly, Cabinet approval was granted to the joint resolution presented by the President as the Minister of Women, Child Affairs and Social Empowerment and the Minister of Justice for the introduction of a new act by repealing the Protection of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act No. 28 of 1996.
Cabinet approval has also been granted for directing the Legal Draftsman to draft a new act for the purpose based on the preliminary draft bill forwarded by the above Committee. (NewsWire)