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2

General measures of implementation (Article 4)

2. Thai domestic laws are quite progressive in guaranteeing the rights of persons

with disabilities, including the 2007 Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities

Act and the 2008 Education for Persons with Disabilities Act. However, there are

problems with their implementation or the lack of it. For example, the right of

persons with visual impairment to have a guide dog is guaranteed in the 2007

Act but has not been implemented. In many cases, the services for persons with

disabilities are inadequate such as the availability of personal assistants. This

might be due to the limited budget allocated for such purpose and the rather

low and unattractive wage rate for the personal assistant. Many schools do not

admit children with disabilities because they do not have the necessary

resources to provide proper education. Persons with disabilities have problems

accessing transportation as public vehicles do not have appropriate facilities.

Public buses are not accessible to wheelchair users and not all the sky train

stations have installed elevators. (See paragraph 16 for details)

3. An obstacle to the enjoyment of the rights of persons with disabilities

recognized in relevant laws lies in the fact that some by-laws are not conducive

for persons with disabilities to access their rights, such as in the management of

the Fund for the Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities or the “Disabilities

Fund.” The Fund was established by the 2007 Act to support activities to

improve quality of life of persons with disabilities in the areas of rehabilitation,

education and employment as well as to support organizations working to

promote their rights. The Act stipulates that the Fund shall be allotted in a fair

and all-encompassing manner. In practice, however, there are regulations stating

that the Fund will be disbursed in accordance with a framework plan or project

proposed by concerned sub-committees (under the National Committee on the