Somalia National Disability Act Passed in the Cabinet
On Thursday 27 July 2023 the federal government Somalia cabinet weekly official conference held in Mogadishu passed several draft bill including the Somalia national disability drat bill passed by today with vote of the cabinet members. The national disability act is main legislation in Somalia that could support the PWDs in Somalia get more rights in the social and policy in the country.
The draft bill will passed to day will be send to the 11 parliament of Somalia the house of the people that will be handed to the committee human rights in the HoP and go three reading in the house. After the draft bill will go the upper house parliament Somalia with similar process three reading including public hear for the civil society mainly the PWDs the target of the laws.
Somalia is working the implementation of the an obligations in the CRPD and commitments made in the GDS one 2018 in UK London and GDS two Norway Oslo where commitment made including the fulfillment of the requirement for the protection of the disabled people rights in Somalia. These commitment of changes and change of changes made in the last years.
The national disability act will be prime law for the disability people in Somalia with an estimated of the 15% in the society roughly 3 million people with our role and rights in the society. This law will make clear the overall and specific rights of the people with disabilities in Somalia.
Somalia signed and joined the CRPD member state the year august 2019 a country that has not summited the initial report expected to submit with the first two years August 2021 and complimentary report with four years the august 2023. This is violation of an international convention which one of the top convention in the United nations serving more than 1 billion people in the world which has watch dong team and the ad hoc committee for the CRPD.
Somalia federal government 11 parliament passed national disability Agency legislation to build the committee and the structure of the agency on 31 December 2018 where HH President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo made degree that allows the leaders, scholars and activist from the PWDs and DPOs would be consulted and presidential nomination for the council has not been presented public.
Somali is making progress for the disability inclusion where the government has made the participation of the PWDs in the program beneficiaries and the donors has made inclusion the humanitarian and development program. This has captures in the report circulated online and presentation made yearly in the budget dashboard.
The PWDs suffer highest unemployment in the country, highest education recruitment and DPOs are mostly excluded from the partnership which violation of the CRPD and donor countries commitment for the disability inclusion in Somalia. The hope for the PWDs is to engage with legislation public hearing for the disability act to make more strong with articles that serve the protection of the PWDs rights and promote the participation of public and private opportunities. Somalia is a country that no national disability census, strategic plane, development policy and quota for the participation of the public and private opportunities.
