By Elishya Perera
KINGSTON, Jamaica (CWBN)_ Jamaica’s Opposition Senator, Dr. Floyd Morris, has been elected to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, following the election that was held yesterday (Nov 30).
According to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the Committee is a body of independent experts which monitors the implementation of the Convention for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, by states parties.
“Thanks to the Government of Jamaica… for their tremendous support. Most importantly, thanks to God for His goodness and love,” Morris tweeted.
Morris, a lecturer and director of the Centre for Disability Studies at University of the West Indies, developed glaucoma at the age of 14, which led to his visual impairment in 1989 at the age of 20. Morris was called to national duties in 1998 when he became the first blind person to be appointed to the Senate of Jamaica.
He is an internationally recognised speaker and a writer; he is the author of the book ‘By Faith, Not By Sight’. He is the 2012 recipient of the Prime Minister’s Life-Time Award for Excellence in Disability Reform and the 2017 Jamaica Gleaner Education Personality of the Year awardee.
He was also appointed by The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) as the Special Rapporteur on Disability for the Caribbean, in October 2018.
According to the OHCHR, the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities comprises of 18 independent experts, and Morris is among nine individuals elected to the Committee to replace those whose terms are due to expire on December 31.
Edited by Chathushka Perera
