The national umbrella organisation of those working among people with a disability feels it is not being given enough weight by the authorities and has not been sufficiently consulted during the drafting of amendments to laws affecting them.

...the federation, which is recognised at EU level, deserved to be consulted along the way

The president of the Malta Federation of Organisations Persons with Disability, Marthese Mugliette said that the feedback her organisation gave on the proposed amendments some six years ago did not amount to sufficient consultation.

She insisted that the federation, recognised at EU level, deserved to be consulted along the way.

Ms Mugliette added that, for as long as she was president, over the past three years there was no active consultation with the federation.

This lack of consultation was raised last week by Labour MP Justyne Caruana in Parliament during a discussion on various amendments to laws affecting people with disabilities.

The laws are being amended so that Malta can finally ratify the United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, adopted in 2006.

Dr Caruana said she was disappointed to hear that some NGOs had not been involved in the consultation process.

When contacted, Ms Mugliette said the federation, that represents about 13 organisations, was not consulted as much as it should have been.

She was particularly concerned about an amendment on the composition of the board of the National Commission Persons with Disability, set up by the government to work with NGOs and draft policy. At the moment, the law lays down that half of the 14 board members had to be disabled people or representatives of people with a mental disability. The law also states that at least one member had to be a relative of “a person with a mental disability”.

The amendments propose the removal of the word “mental” to read that the family member would now represent “a person with a disability who cannot represent himself”. Ms Mugliette is worried this can, in future, be interpreted in a way that would exclude people with mental disabilities.

Commission chairman Joe Camilleri pointed out that two members on the board were also members of the federation. He said in June 2005 the commission had received feedback from the federation about the Bill and later held a consultation seminar on the subject.

Between 2005 and 2007, the government had set up an inter-ministerial committee that included a representative of the federation. He added that since then nothing much had changed and the commission was always open to feedback.

Ms Mugliette, however, argued that the federation ought to be involved along the way.

Mr Camilleri added that the commission always ensured that the voice of people with mental disabilities was heard. He stressed on the importance of having a board that was mostly made of people with disabilities.

A spokesman for the Family Ministry said that the Bill was published on August 8 and everyone was free to send proposals to be considered.