Cabinet approves authority for care of people with disabilities

The Council of Ministers chaired by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman on Monday gave approval for establishing an Authority for the Care of People with Disabilities.

Approval was given after the Cabinet reviewed the recommendations made by the Council of Economic and Development Affairs (CEDA).

The Board of Directors of the Authority, headed by the Minister of Labor and Social Development, consists of representatives from the ministries of health, labor and social development, finance, economy and planning, and municipal and rural affairs, and two people with disabilities as members as well as two parents of people with disabilities as members.

Minister of Labor and Social Development and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Authority for the Care of People with Disabilities Ali Al-Ghafees said the Authority is financially and administratively independent.

It will work to raise the level of services and requirements for people with disabilities and fulfill their needs in terms of education, treatment and rehabilitation, provide employment opportunities and help them benefit from public facilities and services.

The Authority will draft policies, strategies, programs, plans and tools for the benefit of people with disabilities.

The Authority will work to identify the role of various agencies associated with the affairs of people with disabilities and review the quality of services provided to them.

It will also conduct studies, research and collect statistics to support research in the areas of disability.

The minister stressed that cooperation and coordination with the agencies concerned will enable the Authority to play its role in providing necessary care for people with disabilities and involve them effectively in various development paths.

The Council of Ministers also decided to amend the executive regulations of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

It also approved the amendment to the regulation of the General Authority for Audiovisual Media after reviewing the recommendations made by the Council of Economic and Development Affairs.

At the outset of the session, the King briefed the Cabinet on the outcome of his meetings with Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj and a delegation of the Middle East Group of the British Conservative Party.

Minister of Culture and Information Awwad Al-Awwad said in a statement to the Saudi Press Agency that the Cabinet praised the King’s speech during a reception for the guests attending the 32nd Janadriya festival.

In his speech the King emphasized the importance of culture as a basic foundation in forming the identity and values of nations.

The Cabinet expressed its thanks and appreciation to the King for his support to provide desalinated water from mobile stations to meet the increasing demand for desalinated water in the Kingdom.

The Cabinet expressed the Kingdom’s strong condemnation of the bombardment by Al-Assad regime of Eastern Ghouta and the use of chemical weapons, considering this aggressive attack as a flagrant violation of international laws and incompatible with international efforts to resolve the Syrian crisis.

The Cabinet offered condolences to Russian President Vladimir Putin on the death of 71 people in a plane crash in Russia.

The Cabinet approved an agreement in the field of Environmental Protection and Conservation between the Kingdom and Jordan.

It authorized the Minister of Environment, Water, and Agriculture or his deputy to discuss with the Iraqi side a draft memorandum of understanding for cooperation in the field of agriculture.

It authorized the Minister of Labor and Social Development or his deputy to discuss with the Sudanese side a draft memorandum of understanding for cooperation in the fields of welfare, insurance, and social security.