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Malaysia Urged to Comply with CRPD, and Its Own Disability Rights Law
By Andrea Shettle, MSW | May 12, 2008
A recent editorial in <i>The Star Online</i>, entitled "Educate public on rights of the disabled," has called upon the Malaysian government to behave more consistently with both the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and with its own Persons with Disability Act of 2007. The editorial noted recent human rights abuses against children with disabilities in Malaysia and efforts to keep them out of mainstream schools. The author urges the government to work with non-governmental organizations in Malaysia to educate the public about disabilities.
Read the editorial at http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/4/23/focus/21028878&sec=focus
The CRPD is the first legally-binding international human rights instrument to protect the rights of people with disabilities. It protects a wide range of human rights for people with disabilities, including the right to life; to privacy; to live in the community (instead of an institution); to health; and to an education. Learn more about the CRPD, why it matters to people with disabilities around the world, and what’s being done about it, by taking a few minutes to review the RatifyNow FAQ.
Malaysia is one of 129 countries that have signed the CRPD. However, it has not yet ratified it. Signing a convention is a signal of interest in ratifying it in the future, and a commitment to avoid any actions that will violate the spirit of the convention. However, a country is not legally bound to obey the CRPD until it ratifies it. So far, 25 of the signatory countries have ratified the CRPD; 15 of these have also ratified the accompanying Optional Protocol. The Optional Protocol allows people with disabilities in ratifying countries to pursue redress at the international level for violations of the CRPD, if all the usual avenues of justice within their own country fails.
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May 12th, 2008 at 7:08 pm
[…] Original post by [Technorati] Tag results for disability […]
May 13th, 2008 at 1:22 am
[…] David Traver wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerpt… public on rights of the disabled,” has called upon the Malaysian government to behave more consistently with both the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and with its own Persons with Disability Act of 2007. … […]