On 15 July 2026, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), in partnership with the Lesotho National Federation of Organisations of the Disabled (LNFOD) and the Persons with Disabilities Advisory Council (PWDAC), convened a high-level stakeholder dialogue in Maseru, Lesotho’s capital city, to support progress in implementing the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and advocate for Lesotho promptly to become a party to the Optional Protocol to the CRPD and to the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Africa (Africa Disability Protocol).
The dialogue brought together representatives from the Ministry of Gender, Youth and Social Development, the Ministry of Law and Justice, the judiciary, the United Nations Development Programme, organizations of persons with disabilities and civil society to discuss practical steps towards strengthening human rights protection for persons with disabilities in Lesotho.
The dialogue was convened in response to the May 2026 Concluding Observations of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD Committee) calling on Lesotho, among other things, to: (i) strengthen implementation of the Convention; (ii) align domestic legislation with international human rights standards; (iii) provide adequate resources to disability institutions; and (iv) promptly become a party to both the Optional Protocol to the CRPD and the Africa Disability Protocol.
Participants examined the obstacles that continue to impede persons with disabilities in Lesotho from fully exercising their human rights, including barriers to access to justice, inadequate implementation of existing legislation, and the need for greater coordination among State institutions and organizations of persons with disabilities.
Discussions also focused on developing a roadmap for implementing the CRPD Committee’s May 2026 recommendations, advocating for Lesotho promptly to become a party to the Optional Protocol to the CRPD and to the Africa Disability Protocol, and ensuring that organizations of persons with disabilities are adequately resourced and meaningfully involved in legislative and policy reform processes.
Representatives of the Ministry of Gender, Youth and Social Development and the Ministry of Law and Justice reaffirmed the importance of continued collaboration with organizations of persons with disabilities and other stakeholders in guaranteeing the human rights of persons with disabilities and strengthening implementation of Lesotho’s international and regional human rights law obligations.
Participants in the dialogue also considered the critical role of organizations of persons with disabilities in monitoring implementation of such legal obligations, as well as in advocating for legal reform and ensuring that persons with disabilities remain at the centre of decision-making processes affecting their human rights.
The final session of the dialogue examined the role of the judiciary in promoting access to justice for persons with disabilities. Justice Mafelile Ralebese of the High Court of Lesotho joined ICJ Senior Legal Adviser Timothy Fish Hodgson in reflecting on the courts’ responsibility to ensure that justice systems are accessible, inclusive and responsive to the needs of persons with disabilities.
“The Chief Justice did a commendable work by promulgating the People with Disability Equity Rules of 2023. However, without the Government providing budgetary support to enable the implementation of the Rules, they are as good as non-existent,” said Justice Mafelile Ralebese.
Participants acknowledged Lesotho’s accession to the CRPD and its signing of the Africa Disability Protocol. They further agreed on the need for Lesotho to adopt a clear time frame for becoming a party to the Optional Protocol to the CRPD and to the Africa Disability Protocol with a view to strengthening the protection and promotion of the human rights of persons with disabilities.
Background
Lesotho acceded to the CRPD in 2008 and enacted the Persons with Disabilities Equity Act in 2021, which established the Persons with Disabilities Advisory Council to promote, monitor and protect the rights of persons with disabilities.
In 2024, Lesotho signed the Africa Disability Protocol but has yet to ratify it. Earlier this year, the CRPD Committee issued recommendations urging Lesotho to strengthen implementation of the Convention, accelerate legislative reform, enhance institutional capacity and become a party to both the Optional Protocol to the CRPD and the Africa Disability Protocol.
The stakeholder dialogue forms part of the ICJ’s ongoing work, in partnership with LNFOD and PWDAC, to support implementation of the CRPD Committee’s recommendations and to strengthen the protection of the human rights of persons with disabilities in Lesotho through legal advocacy, research and multi-stakeholder engagement.
Contact
Kaajal Ramjathan-Keogh
Director, ICJ Africa Regional Programme
Email: kaajal.keogh@icj.org
