Phnom Penh – Cambodia has reaffirmed its commitment to fully implementing the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, ensuring the realization of rights for persons with disabilities without discrimination. H.E Em Chan Makara, Secretary of State and representative of H.E Chea Somethy, Minister of Social Affairs, delivered this message during the opening ceremony of the “Access to Justice for Persons with Disabilities for Justice Actors” training course in Phnom Penh on Tuesday, October 31, 2023.

Since becoming a State Party to the Convention, Cambodia has actively worked to promote the rights of persons with disabilities. Collaborating with partners such as the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Cambodia, the Disability Action Council has focused on raising awareness about disability and providing legal aid services to justice officials and individuals with disabilities. These efforts aim to ensure equality before the law, access to justice, freedom from torture or cruel treatment, and other fundamental rights for persons with disabilities.

H.E Em Chan Makara, Representative of the Minister of Social Affairs, emphasized the collective responsibility to protect persons with disabilities from exploitation, violence, and abuse. Additionally, the government ensures the right to freedom of movement, expression, property ownership, and inheritance for people with disabilities, along with the right to manage personal financial affairs and access identification and driver’s licenses.

Persons with disabilities in Cambodia are entitled to various rights, including access to information, housing, education, healthcare, rehabilitation, employment, and social protection benefits. In summary, they enjoy equal rights as outlined in national law and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, allowing their full participation in political and public life on an equal footing with individuals without disabilities.

It’s worth noting that Cambodia ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on December 20, 2012, with the Convention coming into force on January 19, 2013.