President Paul Kagame on Sunday participated in a high-level roundtable on Inclusive Global Development.

The discussion took place on the sidelines of the Special Olympics being held this week in Los Angeles, California.

Co-chaired by Dr Tim Shriver, chair of the Special Olympics committee, and Tony Lake, executive director of UNICEF, the roundtable brought together stakeholders from government, private sector and civil society.

Discussions centred around strengthening awareness on the status of people with intellectual disabilities, and how to raise more resources to support their special needs as well as promote more equitable participation in society.

President Kagame reiterated Rwanda’s strong commitment to inclusive development. He noted the country’s continued efforts to ensure increased participation by marginalised groups in all areas of national life, saying all Rwandans must participate and benefit from development.

Rwanda has 446,453 people living with disabilities, according to the 2012 census.

The National Council for People with Disabilities, established in 2010, serves as the central institution for advocacy and social mobilisation for issues of disability.

In addition to the NCPD, People with Disabilities are protected by Rwanda’s national institutions, including the courts of law, Office of the Ombudsman, the National Commission for Human Rights, and Parliament, where one seat is reserved for a representative.

Representation is also established nationwide at decentralised administration levels