Senate President Faisal El-Fayez met in his office at the Senate House on Monday with the Coordinator of Inclusive Communities Projects at the Christoffel Blindness Movement (CBM) for the Development of Persons with Disabilities, Luc Barriot. The meeting was attended by Senator Assia Yaghi, Chair of the Senate Committee on Persons with Disabilities.
The meeting addressed the importance of promoting the role of persons with disabilities, empowering them in society, and providing them with all the necessary needs to facilitate their lives and enable them to function normally.
In this context, El-Fayez explained that Jordan, under the directives of His Majesty King Abdullah II, is striving to empower persons with disabilities, promote their rights in society, and provide them with the necessary care. Jordan was one of the first countries to participate in drafting the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and one of the first countries to ratify and support it.
El-Fayez pointed out that Jordan, as part of its efforts to empower persons with disabilities, established the Higher Council for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, currently chaired by His Royal Highness Prince Mired bin Ra'ad, Chief Chamberlain at the Royal Court. Jordan, in partnership with the German government, also worked to hold the Third World Disability Summit in Berlin, attended by His Majesty King Abdullah II and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. The summit aimed to mobilize international efforts to promote the integration of persons with disabilities worldwide in various aspects of life and work, particularly in the areas of work, education, and political participation.
El-Fayez emphasized the importance of this global summit and the resolutions and plans it produced to advance the role of persons with disabilities and integrate them into society, emphasizing the importance of implementing the summit's decisions.
Regarding the Senate's role with regard to persons with disabilities, El-Fayez stated that the Senate, driven by its commitment to empowering this segment of society, has formed a specialized committee, "The Committee for Persons with Disabilities," chaired by colleague Asia Yaghi. The committee aims to study and review laws and regulations related to persons with disabilities, identify the challenges they face, discuss them with stakeholders, present them to executive bodies, and work to find solutions. The Senate is committed to enacting and developing legislation that supports the rights of persons with disabilities and their integration into society.
The Senate, in response to the requirements of the national plan to reform government buildings and various facilities, has provided all required environmental facilities, meeting international standards, and engaging stakeholders to enable persons with disabilities to use them easily.
For his part, Luke praised Jordan's significant efforts aimed at empowering persons with disabilities in Jordan, pointing to the laws that protect their rights and enable their integration into society.
He pointed to the role played by the Christoffel Blindness Movement in the development of persons with disabilities, stating that it is an international development organization that works with persons with disabilities and seeks to break the vicious cycle linking poverty and disability in many regions of the world. It also strives to improve the quality of life and equal opportunities for persons with disabilities.
He said that the organization is keen to cooperate with Jordan at both the official and civil society levels, through the exchange of expertise and knowledge, within the framework of empowering persons with disabilities.