RIYADH – The Shoura Council on Wednesday approved the draft Law for the Rights of the Disabled People, the Saudi Press Agency reported. The law stipulates that the state shall guarantee the rights of the disabled in the fields of health, education, sports, culture, science, rehabilitation and job. It also calls for the government to create a general authority for the affairs of the disabled, with independent financial and administrative powers, according to Yahya Al-Samaan, assistant president of the Shoura Council. Muhammad Al-Jafri, deputy president of the council, chaired the session. The responsibilities of the authority, which will report directly to the prime minister, include working out the general policy with regard to the disabled, regulating the affairs of the disabled and ensuring the quality of services being offered to them, Al-Samaan said. The authority has also to find out individuals and organizations that can extend support in cash and kind to the programs for the disabled and encourage voluntary work in serving them. It is entitled to arrange means of public transport to ensure affordable transportation for the disabled people and their dependents. Al-Samaan said the council approved the law after listening to the report of the committee for social, family and youth affairs. The report was prepared on the basis of viewpoints and opinions of the members on the draft law, which is an amended version of an existing law for taking care of the disabled. Meanwhile, the council urged the Capital Market Authority (CMA) to expedite completion of the procedures to list Saudi stocks in the MSCI index for the emerging markets. It also directed CMA to disclose details of the leading 20 stakeholders of every company listed in the bourse.
