Obligations of the Islamic Republic of Iran Regarding Cultural Rights of Persons with Disabilities

In recent years, two positive and effective developments have occurred in Iran's legal system regarding the realization of the rights belonging to disabled people. In 1999, the Comprehensive Act for Protection of Rights of Disabled Persons was adopted; and in 2009, Iran joined the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The present paper studies the obligations of the Islamic Republic of Iran towards the realization of thecultural rights of persons with disabilities by considering the provisions of the two above mentioned legal instruments. In this paper, cultural rights implies the right to education, to participate in cultural life of the society and to have access to information. The paper concludes that the Comprehensive Act for Protection of Rights of Disabled Persons has considered a series of more privileged rights, concerning some aspects of education, for the disabled persons in comparison with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. However, it seems that the legal system in Iran lacks sufficient laws or regulations regarding the right of the disabled persons to participate in cultural life of the society and their right to have access to information. Also it has been emphasized that the State Welfare Organization and certain other bodies have done endeavors to realize the above rights.