Facilitating the inclusion of civil and political rights of persons with disabilities in the new con
On 8thFebruary 2016 disability rights activists, interested individuals and organizations, met at the International Centre for Ethnic Studies (ICES), to discuss the possibility of developing a proposal on disability right for submission to the Public Representations Committee on Constitutional Reforms. Several options were discussed and a comprehensive proposal was subsequently developed. The proposals were handed over on the 29thof February 2016 to committee member Dr Kumudu Kusum Kumara, and an oral submission was made on the 4thof March 2016. There was participation from a significant number of persons with disabilities representing a wide geographical area of Sri Lanka at the oral presentation. The proposal gives special emphasis to civil and political rights of persons with disabilities. It advocates for the full inclusion of the rights of persons with disabilities through a modern Bill of Rights, so as to comply with Sri Lankas obligation to the UNCRPD which was ratified on the 8thof February 2016.
