Tunis/Tunisia — Parliament Speaker Rached Kheriji Ghannouchi, on Tuesday, stressed the importance for state structures to assume their responsibility in protecting people with disabilities from any form of discrimination.

At his meeting with President of the Tunisian Association of People with Disabilities Khemais Sahbani, Ghannouchi emphasised the importance of taking necessary measures to ensure integration into society, access to health services, education and employment for this vulnerable group, the House of People's Representatives' (HPR) said in a statement.

The meeting took place on the observance of the National and International Day of Disabled Persons and comes after a sit-in staged Tuesday in Tunis by a group of people with disabilities to express "their refusal to celebrate this day because of the exclusion and marginalisation they suffer".