Title: High-Level Committee Reviews Progress on Disability Rights Law, Charts Path for Full Implementation
A comprehensive review of the Law to Support the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has highlighted significant progress while identifying key areas requiring further action and budgetary allocation.
Oversight and Acknowledged Progress
In a recent meeting of the specialized working group of the Coordination and Monitoring Committee for the Implementation of the Law to Support the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, officials provided a detailed report on the law’s enforcement status. The high-level committee is chaired by the First Vice President, with the Minister of Cooperation, Labour, and Social Welfare serving as its secretary. The secretariat is headed by the head of the State Welfare Organization.
Mansour Elahverdi Zavareh, Secretary of the Committee’s Secretariat, reported that, based on data collected from executive bodies between 2022 and 2024, the majority of the law’s provisions are currently being acted upon.
A Detailed Breakdown of Implementation
The review process has yielded a clear picture of the law’s application:
- Of the law’s 34 articles, 28 are currently being implemented, while 6 articles, representing 18% of the law, have yet to see full operationalization.
- Crucially, the implementation of the 28 articles does not signify complete fulfillment, with some facing challenges.
- The law contains 100 specific mandates, most of which are in various stages of execution.
Zavareh elaborated on the non-implemented articles, noting that four of the six have the capacity to be enacted without requiring specific financial resources but have stalled for other procedural reasons. The remaining two articles are hindered primarily by a lack of dedicated funding.
Identifying Hurdles and Proposing Financial Solutions
The committee identified several specific challenges. Certain articles, such as those concerning free access to sports facilities or mandated promotional advertising about the capabilities of persons with disabilities, have been difficult to enforce due to the involvement of non-governmental sectors or a lack of a designated executive body and budget.
Other critical areas, including the comprehensive accessibility of public buildings and vocational training subsidies, are progressing but are constrained by insufficient financial allocations. Zavareh emphasized that the most significant article, which pertains to providing living assistance to approximately 700,000 individuals with severe disabilities who are without employment or income, remains a primary objective that has not yet been fully realized due to budgetary limitations.
To address the funding gap, the committee has proposed innovative and sustainable financing mechanisms. These potential sources include revenues from third-party insurance, traffic fines, savings from targeted subsidies, highway tolls, and value-added tax. The proposal calls for establishing at least 14 specific budget lines to ensure the law’s comprehensive application.
A Forward-Looking Action Plan
Beyond financial solutions, the committee has outlined a clear administrative roadmap to strengthen implementation. This includes enhancing training programs for representatives of various executive bodies, mandating the appointment of permanent and authorized liaisons to the committee’s secretariat, and ensuring the timely inclusion of necessary credits in annual budget bills.
Zavareh confirmed that potential amendments to the law’s content have already been identified, and a preliminary draft for its revision has been prepared, signaling a continued commitment to refining the legal framework for supporting the rights of persons with disabilities.