• Wafaqi Mohtasib opens Asian Ombudsman Association Webinar on protection of the rights of persons with disabilities.
• Underlines importance of mainstreaming disability issues as an integral part of sustainable development.

Islamabad: 03 December, 2025 – The Wafaqi Mohtasib (Ombudsman) and President of the Asian Ombudsman Association (AOA), Mr. Ejaz Ahmad Qureshi, has stated that discrimination against any person on the basis of disability is a violation of inherent dignity and worth of the human person. He underlined the importance of mainstreaming disability issues as an integral part of relevant strategies for sustainable development.

He was inaugurating the Webinar on the role of ombudsman institutions in the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities in the context of corporate responsibility, here today. The Webinar was held under the auspicious of Asian Ombudsman Association (AOA) coinciding with the UN designated International Day of Persons with Disabilities which is observed on 3^rd December every year. The Webinar was also addressed by Ms. Sabina Aliyeva, Commissioner for Human Rights in the Republic of Azerbaijan and presentations by two experts on various aspects of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, adopted in December 2006.

Emphasizing the role of Ombudsman institutions in the promotion and protection of human rights and good governance, Mr. Qureshi said that people are since the biggest stakeholders, their legitimate interests need to be protected. The business and industrial circles, therefore, should not lose sight of their corporate social responsibility while carrying out business related activities and remain watchful of the requirements of fairness, equality and non-discrimination on the basis of any disability.

The Webinar was attended, among others by a large number of human rights practitioners, academia and representatives of the civil society. The international participants included member institutions of the 47-member strong Asian Ombudsman Association from Azerbaijan, Bahrain, China, Hong Kong, Iran, Indonesia, Japan, Türkiye, Uzbekistan and others.