National Assembly discusses disability law - press release from the Cambodian Disabled People's Organization
Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 29,May 2009 - Currently, there are over 550,000 people with disabilities in Cambodia. They are one of the most disadvantaged groups in this society – discriminated against in employment, in health and education services, by their local communities, and so suffer from poverty, exclusion and the lack of basic human rights. Today we, The Disabled People’s Organization, DPOs, the International NGOs who work in the disability sector and all disabled people in Cambodia are very pleased to learn the Parliament of Cambodia has discussed and passed the National Disability Law.
The Cambodia Disabled People’s Organization (CDPO) felt “Having this law is what our members and people with disabilities of all types need, this law will protect and promote the full particiaption of us and will ensure that a person with disability will not be isolated and lonely. We will be pleased when this law is signed by our King and we expect this law will protect the rights of all types of PWDs and promote a Rights Based Approach in our society.”
A service provider to people with disability said “We, the NGOs who provide services to people with disability, believe that this will help all persons with disability to have an equal standard of living as non-disabled people and it shows us that the government will take care about the welfare of people with disability more in the future”.
We would like to sincerely thank Prime Minister Hun Sen, the Prime Minister of the Royal Kingdom of Cambodia. We also extend our thanks to His Excellency Ith Sam Heng, Minster of Mosvy, and the Parliament of Cambodia for their attention paid to the disabilty law. We would respectfully suggest to the Parliament of Cambodia they now need to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability after this adoption of the national law. The UNCRPD has real importance to be able to successfully implement the spirit of the National Disability law in Cambodia.
Cambodian Disabled People's Organization is an organization of people with disabilities whose mission is to develop the networks of people with disabilities so as to support, protect, serve and promote their rights, achievements and interests, in order to bring about their fuller participation and equality in society.CDPO is an organization of people with disabilities whose mission is to develop the networks of people with disabilities so as to support, protect, serve and promote their rights, achievements and interests, in order to bring about their fuller participation and equality in society.
