Rabat – The National Council for Human Rights (CNDH) and its national system for the protection of people with disabilities launched a digital awareness campaign to promote the political participation of people with disabilities, on Friday, August 13.
With the looming general election set to take place this September, the CNDH is encouraging citizens with reduced mobility to get involved in the democratic process.
This initiative aims to promote the right to political participation as stipulated by the Moroccan Constitution, said the CNDH in a statement.
The Moroccan constitution expressly forbids any form of discrimination based on disabilities, in line with international conventions on the rights of people with disabilities.
In addition to the constitution and international norms, framework law No. 97.13 on the protection and promotion of the rights of people with disabilities, which criminalizes all efforts to suppress those with disabilities from voting.
Speaking at the launch of the awareness campaign, the president of the CNDH, Amina Bouayach noted that this initiative aims to highlight the rights of people with disabilities to participate in political life and public affairs, in accordance with Moroccan legislation.
This campaign plans to shed light on the importance and necessity of full political participation of people with disabilities, said Bouayach, quoted by the national council’s release.
The president also notes that the upcoming elections would more effectively and efficiently establish the rule of law and equality.
According to the same source, the campaign is aimed at social media users, and will be in Arabic, Amazigh, and sign language.
Despite the CNDH’s efforts to ensure the inclusion of disabled moroccans in the national electoral process, Morocco is still far from providing full accessibility to this segment of society.
The public domain presents the greatest difficulty to disabled people in Morocco.
The International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities argues that inaccessibility constitutes discrimination, and that discrimination based on disability is an affront to human dignity and worth.
According to the Ministry of Family, Solidarity, Equality and Social Development in its latest survey pertaining to disabilities in Morocco, more than two million people in the country suffer from disabilities, representing 6.8% of the overall population as of 2020.
The prevalence rate of disability was only 5.12% in 2004, during the first survey conducted by the ministry.
The survey indicated that 95% of registered cases of disability are mild or moderate while 2.2% are severe.
The prevalence rate is higher among people over 60 years of age (33.7%) because they tend to have disabilities and dependencies caused by certain diseases.
Among the population aged between 15 and 59, it represents 4.8%, while it is 1.8% among people under 15.
According to the level of education (5 years and over), people with low levels of education are the most affected by disability: traditional preschool (17.2%), no education (16.4%), literacy program (11.9%).
Morocco’s largest urban areas have been the subject of several initiatives aimed at improving Moroccans’ access to public services, public transportation, and events.
