Maldives - Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Treaty

This report addresses the Maldives’ obligations under the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities with respect to civic participation. Despite formal commitments to uphold disability rights, significant structural, geographical, cultural barriers continue to undermine the full and equal participation of persons with disabilities in the country’s political and electoral processes.

In particular, this report focuses on five specific violations that hinder the rights of persons with disabilities on their participation in political life in the Maldives: (1) a lack of accessible civic education and voter information; (2) social stigma and misconceptions about disability; (3) geographical and physical barriers to participatory access; and (4) weak institutional accountability.

This report recommends that the Maldives urgently expand accessible civic education and voter information resources, implement national disability inclusivity programmes to challenge stigma, improve the physical accessibility of polling places and transportation infrastructure, and strengthen the mandate and authority of the Maldives Disability Council by ensuring meaningful consultation with persons with disabilities and their representative organisations in legislative and electoral reforms.