The Cabinet has approved the Maldives’ accession to the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

The decision was made following a paper submitted by the Ministry of Health, Family and Welfare at the Cabinet meeting on 20 September 2026. As parliamentary approval is required under Article 93(a) of the Constitution, President Dr Mohamed Muizzu will submit the matter to the People’s Majlis.

The Maldives ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2010 but has not yet acceded to its Optional Protocol.

The protocol provides two mechanisms to strengthen implementation of the Convention. It allows individuals or groups to submit complaints to the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities after exhausting domestic remedies. It also allows the committee to conduct confidential inquiries into credible allegations of grave or systematic violations of rights under the Convention.