Seminar on the Rights of the Disabled

On 6 February, the Friendship Association for the Blind held a seminar on ‘The Intellectual Challenge: Knowledge in International Legal Rights’. More than 43 societies, concerned parties and workers in the disability field participated in the seminar. Fatima Al Jaib, a member of the Down Syndrome Society, called for combating all forms of discrimination against the disabled, pointing to the need of educating the disabled about their rights, organizing training programs and preparing the infrastructure in order to accommodate them in the labour market. Al Jaib also said that it was important to create a positive image of the disabled, respect their rights, treat them equally and establish an advocacy group to achieve this. She also pointed to Bahrain’s failure to ratify the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability, and the absence of a special law which protects the rights of the disabled.