F FOREWORD Our deepest gratitude is to Allah Almighty for having bestowed upon us human beings the right to live in peace, prosperity and tranquility.Our blessings and prayers are upon Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) who decreed and facilitated the fair and equitable distribution of these rights. Persons with disabilities continue to face barriers to their full participation in society throughout the world and are often forced to live on the margins of the societies. Negative societal attitudes towards persons with disabilities remain a fundamental challenge to their full enjoyment of their basic human rights. As persons with disabilities are also an important part of our society it is vital to integrate persons with disabilities into all development activities. They should be able to enjoy and exercise the same rights and freedoms granted by the constitution like others without any discrimination. I am pleased and honored to present the Baseline Assessment of activities addressing rights of persons with disabilities. I hope that the report would act as a valuable tool for advocacy and important in informing policy decisions and developing new strategies to alleviate the economic, social & environmental barriers the persons with disabilities have and to make persons with disabilities more inclusive in our society. I would like to sincerely thank the UNDP for assisting us financially for the assessment and I would also like to express my sincere gratitude to CDE Consulting for producing the report which gives substantial insight into the gaps and challenges in the services provided to persons with disabilities. Ahmed Saleem President Human Rights Commission of the Maldives