KUWAIT, March 17 (KUNA) -- Kuwait is keen on providing all care and attention to those with special needs, and the new law for those with disabilities has created the aspired for balance between ambitions and capabilities , experts said.
At a symposium held at Kuwait Journalists Association Tuesday evening on 'People With Special Needs Through Eyes of Society and Law', they agreed that the government and the parliament accorded special interest to the needs of this important segment of the society.
Supervisor at the Higher Council for the Disabled, Essam Haidar, said that Kuwait had spared no effort in providing care for those with disabilities, adding that being challenged did not necessarily hinder productivity and that these people had the same rights and obligations with the society as anyone else.
Haidar emphasized the important of the just-passed law on the rights of those with disabilities, comprising 72 articles listing social, civil and political rights of those with special needs.
This law will change the lives of tens of thousands of Kuwaiti and expatriate people with special needs living in the country to the better, whether at schools, hospitals, social care centers or government housing facilities, he explained.
On his part, Assistant Executive Director of the Center for Child Evaluation and Teaching Dr. Essa Al-Jassem said that the new law would promote the rights of those with disabilities, within development, vocational, training and integration efforts.
He noted that in a comparative study between the new Kuwaiti law and other laws in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), he said the Kuwaiti law was among the best and underscored the importance of providing social and civil rights and needs to the disabled, as well as financial and moral support.
Al-Jassem also called for utilizing the skills of those with special needs and integrating them into the society.
Meanwhile, researcher Mohammad Al-Arrak said that supporting the families with disabled members was vital, calling for conducting social, health and legal research into the conditions of these families and what they needed.
He lauded the efforts of the legislative and executive branches of the authority, and civil societies, for their support for those with special needs.
According to the latest statistics, there are more than 33,000 people with disabilities registered at the Higher Council for the Disabled, among them more than 2,000 expatriates. - Kuna