Article 12: Freedom of Movement Hindrance to Free Movement 74. Article 41 of the present Constitution provides freedom to enter, remain in and leave the country, and to travel within the country. Since 2011, there have been a total of 7 cases lodged to HRCM, concerning restrictions imposed on freedom of movement within the country. The nature of such cases include MNDF Coast Guard halting boats carrying protestors who wants to join a political protest in the capital city, and restriction of civilians getting into an island for reasons of old rivalry or factional dispute existing between islands. There have also been several media reports that groups of people are being continuously obstructed free movement from one island to the other because of political rivalry. There are reports that government officials are also denied access to some islands obstructing development projects and the freedom of movement. 75. Factors as mentioned earlier under article 8; employment within the worksite, abandonment and confiscation of legal documents, residing in a foreign country and communication barrier all limit free movement of the migrant workers who seek employment in the Maldives. Confiscations of passports of the migrant workers are a common practice by the employers. The government ministries continue to withhold the passport of the expatriates for the purpose of safe keeping. 77. The Baseline Assessment on Activities Addressing Rights of Persons with Disabilities undertaken by the HRCM in 2010 drew conclusion that, one of the major service gaps for people with disabilities is limited access to premises and to public transportation. The assessment further states that the roads, pavements, road signs and traffic lights are not designed as friendly for persons with disabilities. The assessment also states that limited access to premises is a probable reason why few people with physical disabilities are able to seek employment. The assessment proposed 25 recommendations, from which 3 recommendations are directly or indirectly aimed at free movement of disabled persons. Chapter: 76. Provisions of article 22 (3) of the Disability Act (2010) states that people with disabilities also has the right to use public roads same as rest of the pedestrians. Additionally, article 23 of the same act states that when people with disabilities travel on any public or private transport system, they shall be given special care and assistance. There shall be no additional charges levied for such service enhancements or to uplift the walking equipments of the people with disabilities. Maldives also has ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Persons with Disability in January 2010. 39