Last Change:

05/02/2025

ICT Rights of Persons with Disability Act, 2020

Year: 2020

Type: Domestic law

Rights Category: Health

Description

An Act to promote, protect and effectively ensure the rights and inclusion of persons with disabilities in the communities in line with the Islamic Injunctions and provisions of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to advance efforts for recognition of their respect and dignity in the society. Whereas it is expedient to put in place legal and institutional framework to protect the rights of persons with disabilities in general and women, children and the elderly in particular, as called for by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, as well as other human rights treaties and conventions to which Pakistan is a state party. 

Selected provisions
Section 3 - Equality and non-discrimination of persons with disability.

(1) The government shall ensure that every person with disability shall have a right to be respected for his individual dignity and lead a decent life with equal opportunity to participate in educational, social, economic, cultural and all other activities in the society without any discrimination.
(2) No person or institution, whether public or private, shall discriminate against persons with disabilities or violate their rights or restrict benefits in any manner.
(3) The government shall take all necessary legal and administrative steps including appropriate changes in the existing laws, to ensure that every person with disabilities enjoy a life inclusive of the right of equality guaranteed under the Constitution and that such person’s disability shall not be used by any person or institution to restrain or restrict him from enjoying his rights unless there is a reasonable cause that not restricting such person may cause him harm or letting him perform something may be out of his physical or mental capacity.
(4) In view of restricted access of the persons with disabilities to means of earning their livelihood independently, the government shall take extraordinary steps to ensure their effective inclusiveness in the society through suitable education, skill development, training and placement against appropriate positions in the government departments and entities in the private sector according to the allocated quota.
(5) No person with disability shall be a subject of any research without his willingness or consent without any pressure and such research shall be through using accessible modes, means and formats of communication.

Section 11 - Equity in health and medical rehabilitation services.

(1) The government shall ensure barrier free access to necessary public health services and infrastructure to persons with disabilities without any discrimination and without any cost to such persons.
(2) The Council shall devise plans to provide special health insurance to persons with disabilities to ensure free medical coverage to such persons.
(3) The government shall encourage private sector health services providers through appropriate incentives to provide quality services to persons with disabilities at affordable rates or free.
(4) Special health service for early identification and intervention of disabilities and medical services especially designed to prevent disability shall be implemented.
(5) The government shall initiate with the help of medical and scientific community, research to identify causes of various disabilities and make efforts to create awareness in public to adopt practices that help prevent disabilities from happening.
(6) The government shall in respect of person with disabilities undertake initiatives to promote support and implement community based rehabilitation and research initiatives at the community level.

Section 31 - Insurance cover.

(1) The Council may devise and put in place comprehensive group medical and accident insurance for persons with disabilities and may also facilitate such persons in getting affordable life and other forms of insurance.
(2) The Council may pay the premium for persons with disabilities who cannot pay the premium from their own sources.