‘Freedom to Live’, Malta’s 2021-2030 National Strategy on the Rights of Disabled Persons, was formally launched for public consultation today by Minister for Inclusion and Social Wellbeing Julia Farrugia Portelli. This strategy was developed by the Office for Disability Issues (ODI) within the Office of the Permanent Secretary, through a working group made up of key experts over the past years.
Minister Farrugia Portelli explained that, following an earlier consultation in this respect, a document was produced, pinning the main Articles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) to different objectives that the strategy has. She also emphasised the fact that, aside from mirroring these international obligations binding Malta, these objectives are additionally linked to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are scheduled to be achieved by 2030, the end year also intentionally selected for Malta’s strategy. She added that the obligations that Malta has in terms of the United Nations’ Sendai Framework also feature in connection with strategy actions linked to disaster risk management and reduction.
Interested entities and members of the public are invited to take part in the public consultation in respect of the strategy, that will run between the 9th of June and the 7th of July. Through https://meae.gov.mt/en/Public_Consultations/MISW/Pages/Consultations/Maltas20212030NationalStrategyontheRightsofDisabledPersons.aspx, simple, accessible online consultation forms are available in Maltese and English, while both standard and Easy Read versions of the Strategy, in Maltese and English, can be consulted.
