KAMPALA, Uganda : Persons with disabilities are calling on the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) to pass the East African Community Persons with Disabilities Bill, 2024 before its current term ends.
Speaking at the first stakeholders’ consultative meeting at Fairway Hotel today organised by TAHI and partners, Member of Parliament Hon. Mpindi Bumali, who represents persons with disabilities, said the Bill seeks to establish a regional framework to protect and promote the rights of persons with disabilities (PWDs) within the East African Community.
Hon. Bumali said the Bill will also harmonise laws, rules, and regulations that recognise and safeguard the rights of persons with disabilities across the region.
He noted that while Uganda is among the eight EAC partner states, only a few countries have strong legal frameworks that adequately protect the rights of PWDs. “The Bill aims to address the pressing challenges that persons with disabilities face,” he added.
Charles Tumwebaze, Team Leader of TAHI, said the Bill has been before the EALA for a long time but has not yet been passed into law.
He said stakeholders want the legislation to address the rights and needs of persons with disabilities across East Africa. However, he noted that some critical elements are missing from the Bill and should be incorporated.
Hon. Alex Bahati, a Member of the East African Legislative Assembly, said the Bill seeks to provide a framework for Partner States to fulfil their commitments to universal human rights, as well as the affirmative action needed to empower persons with disabilities to fully participate in Community programmes and activities.
The Bill is anchored in the universal recognition of the inherent dignity of every human being and the principle of equality. It aims to establish mechanisms that enable persons with disabilities to fully enjoy their rights and participate as equal members in Community programmes and activities.
The principles of the United Nations Charter recognise the inherent dignity, worth, and equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family as the foundation of freedom, justice, and peace.
Furthermore, the United Nations, through the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenants on Human Rights, proclaims that everyone is entitled to all rights and freedoms without distinction of any kind.
The 1981 African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights provides, under Article 18(4), that persons with disabilities have the right to special measures of protection. Article 16(1) further states that every individual has the right to enjoy the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.
Hon. Bahati noted that although Partner States have, over the years, enacted laws to protect the rights of persons with disabilities, these laws lack uniformity and are not consistently applied across the region.
