Malta has ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), making it part of Maltese law. “Yet decisions affecting persons with disabilities continue to be taken without their participation, in breach of Article 4(3).”
This was stated by Marthese Mugliette, President of the Malta Federation of Organisations of Persons with Disability (MFOPD) which represents the voice of approximately 35,000 persons with disabilities.
She went on to say that “the latest case is the LifeMap programme, announced through the media without any consultation. This segregated programme will be offered to 16+ students with disabilities, both from resource centres and from regular schools.”
“This is unacceptable,” stated Ms Mugliette. “Segregated services go directly against the UNCRPD and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which pledges to – leave no one behind.”
MFOPD concluded by calling on the authorities to “halt this discriminatory approach and to engage in genuine consultation with representative organisations of persons with disabilities and truly listen to what they are saying.”
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