Agreement Reached on New Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

UNITED NATIONS, 25 August 2006

After five years of negotiations, countries have agreed on a new convention to protect the rights of persons with disabilities.

"This is the first convention of this magnitude for this century,? UN General Assembly President Jan Eliasson said after the agreement was reached. He told the negotiators that they were ?sending an absolutely wonderful message to the world. You are sending the message that we want to have a life with dignity for all and that all human beings are all equal?.

?This marks a great day for the UN and for persons with disabilities,? said New Zealand's Ambassador Don MacKay, who chaired the negotiations through its final sessions. ?It"s a good convention and it will make a difference for millions of people.?

The successful completion of the treaty, after a day of intense negotiations and compromises, was met with thunderous applause by well over a hundred government delegations and hundreds of representatives of disability organizations who participated in the process of negotiating the 40-article treaty.

Proponents of the convention maintained that the treaty was necessary because persons with disabilities represented one of the most marginalized groups and that their rights had been routinely ignored or denied throughout much of the world.

While the convention does not create new rights, it specifically prohibits discrimination against persons with disabilities in all areas of life, including civil rights, access to justice and the right to education, health services and access to transportation.

The convention was largely approved by consensus, although there was a vote on a provision concerning ?foreign occupation? that was included in the preamble. With five countries voting against, the provision was adopted.

The convention will be formally sent to the General Assembly for adoption at its 61st session that begins in September. It will then be open for signing and ratification by Member States.

It is estimated that 10 per cent of the world?s population, or about 650 million people, suffer from disabilities.

Copyright DPI 2006.

UN agrees disability treaty text

UN agrees disability treaty text
By Geoff Adams-Spink Age & disability correspondent, BBC News website, New York

Delegates discussed the treaty's provisions for 10 daysAn international treaty that will give greater rights and freedoms to disabled people around the world has been agreed at the United Nations.
The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was adopted in New York.
This is the first human rights treaty of the 21st Century, and the UN hopes it will mark a significant improvement in the treatment of disabled people.
The world's disabled population is estimated to be 650 million.

[The convention] will force states to develop a different way of thinking about disability issues
Don MacKay
Negotiations went past the deadline set by the chairman of the ad-hoc committee, ambassador Don MacKay of New Zealand.
Welcoming the agreement, he said "I want to thank colleagues from the disability community for starting off the process and staying with it all along the way."
"As disabled colleagues say, nothing about us without us."
''It [the convention] will force states to develop a different way of thinking about disability issues" he said.
"Once you get the paradigm shift... and people adopt a 'can do' rather than a 'can't do' approach, a whole lot of other things flow from there."
New rights and freedoms
The treaty is expected to be adopted by the UN General Assembly during its next session, which starts in September.
Those countries that sign up to it will have to enact laws and other measures to improve disability rights and also agree to get rid of legislation, customs and practices that discriminate against disabled people.
The thinking behind the convention is that welfare and charity should be replaced by new rights and freedoms.

Access to public spaces and transport will have to be improved
Currently only 45 countries have specific legislation that protects disabled people.
The convention recognises that a change of attitude is vital if disabled people are to achieve equal status - countries that ratify it will be obliged to combat negative stereotypes and prejudices and to promote an awareness of people's abilities and contribution to society.
Countries will also have to guarantee that disabled people will have a right to life on an equal basis with others.
Access to public spaces and buildings as well as transport, information and communications will also have to be improved.
US abstention
Most notable among the countries that will not be signing the convention is the United States.
It says that it already has comprehensive laws on disability rights.
But this is not something that concerns Maria Raina, co-ordinator of the international disability caucus which has been part of the negotiations.
"I think the USA is going to sign the convention as it did with other conventions," she told the BBC News website.
"When you sign the convention you are agreeing to the principles even if you don't have the obligation to apply them."
'Welcome step'
The treaty has been welcomed by the UK's statutory body, the Disability Rights Commission (DRC).
"The greatest significance will be a 'levelling up' of provision across the world, and the creation of civil and human rights for disabled people," said DRC chairman Bert Massie.
"Not every country has that now. Following the convention and when it's ratified by the UN, we will have approval for this enhancement of the rights of disabled people across the world."

Conflicts and unrest hit the disabled especially hard
Although current estimates are that about 10% of the world's population has a disability, the World Health Organization estimates that this is likely to increase as a result of medical advances and the ageing process.
Negotiations had been delayed because of two issues: the situation of disabled people in situations of risk, and access to sexual and reproductive health services.
Although the treaty refers to "situations of risk", these were not specified; the wording had been taken to refer to war zones and natural disasters but some people wanted this to include occupation by a foreign power - a clear reference to the situation in the Middle East.
Cultural differences on matters like abortion, contraception, aids prevention and sex education mean that reaching an agreed position was particularly difficult.
Given the economic, social and cultural differences across the world, it will be some years before the minimum standards set out in the convention will be universally applied.
But for campaigners who say that for too long the world's largest minority has been pushed to the margins of society, it will certainly be seen as a welcome first step.

United Nations takes a big step towards accessibility

United Nations takes a big step towards accessibility

For the first time, the United Nations will be able to print material directly in Braille. The credit goes to a donation of a state-of-the-art printer by the non-profit organisation, Services for the Visually Impaired, (S.V.I.), U.S.A., along with the World Blind Union (W.B.U.).

Harold Snider, Executive Director, S.V.I., said the high-speed, heavy-duty embosser would provide the U.N. with Braille production capacity in all six of the organisations official languages. Mr. Snider added, since the beginning of negotiations in 1989, the W.B.U. had been encouraging the United Nations' Department of Economic and Social Affairs to produce documents concerning the convention in Braille.

Blind representatives from developed countries had portable computers with Braille output, which enabled them to read documents posted on websites. However, those from developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America had no such equipment and consequently no access. The need for Braille production on paper for all blind representatives was thus self-evident and clear-cut.

The equipment was used at the seventh session of the General Assembly Ad Hoc Committee on a Comprehensive and Integral International Convention on Protection and Promotion of the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities, at the United Nations' headquarters from January 16 to February 3, 2006.

Don MacKay, Chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee and Permanent Representative of New Zealand to the United Nations, declared this as a positive step towards accessibility by the United Nations. The equipment will ensure the full participation to the session of visually impaired participants, both from governments and disability organisations.

Source: Eyeway.orgCare of: Score Foundation125 B, Shahpur Jat, New Delhi 110 049Tel: +91-(0)11-26494582Fax: +91-(0)11-26494581

What kind of man are you?

India now has the highest number of people living with HIV. According to the recently released 2006 Epidemic Report of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS), although some of the country's states have recorded significant progress in combatting the disease, interventions are generally weak, with less than 10% of those in need receiving antiretroviral drugs. AWID (The Association for Women's Rights in Development) spoke to Mallika Dutt of Breakthrough, about the organization's 'Aap kis tareh ke aadmi hain?'[What Kind of Man Are You?] campaign, which draws public attention in India to the implications that HIV/AIDS holds for women who make up 2.2 million of the 5.7 million cases of HIV infection in the country.
“Most people have seen the advertisments as a larger call for gender equality and male sensitivity towards women, particularly in marriage. That was the goal of the campaign - not just to call for condom use within marriage. Overall the response to the campaign has been very good. It has spurred a lot of dialogue and conversation because people are quite startled when the advertisements come on air or are seen in the local paper. Regional focus groups show some variations in male reactions. Men in the south think they are already very sensitive and have the highest HIV infection rates; men in the west think the campaign is great; and men in the north find it very tough on their sex but have some of the highest violence rates in the country.It has certainly make women think about the issue. Whether women are asking their husbands to actually wear condoms is not something we can test”, said Mallika Dutt.
“Our success is two fold. One is that this is the first time that a public dialogue about women and HIV/AIDS that is not focussed on sex workers is taking place in the country. The second is the extraordinary media partnership we have been able to garner across media platforms- radio, print, television, movie theatres and bookstores. This kind of pro bono media reach is quite unprecedented for women's issues or any human rights issue”, she delaired.

“Like all our media products, Breakthrough creates curriculum around the issues addressed and engages in human rights education with the youth. community based groups, women's groups and other organizations. We have been conducting workshops and training with all the media products on women's rights, violence and sexuality since the campaign was launched in May 2005 and will continue to do so. The media campaign continues to be disseminated in smaller towns and rural communities through a partnership with UNIFEM. We are also working on our next media campaign
which will address stigma and discrimination faced by HIV positive women in the family”, Malikka added.
Sourced by The Association for Women's Rights in Development (AWID).
215 Spadina Avenue, Suite 150 Toronto, ON M5T 2C7 CANADA Tel: 416-594-3773 Fax: 416-594-0330 Email: awid@awid.org Web: www.awid.org

Won WB grant

Nguyen Hong Ha- agent of change from Vietnam has just won a World Bank grant of US$10,000 for the project of Accessibled Schools for Students with Disabilities on the The WB Innovation Day that is held yearly in Vietnam. The Project provides financial and technical supports to the schools to do modification and create accessibility for students with disabilities. Up to the grant, the project will be funded to implement in 7 months (Aug 2006 - Feb 2007).
This year, the subject of the Day is Disadvantaged children and youth. Three projects of PWDs won the funding.

NFDN demands equal opportunity for persons with disabilities

National Federation of the Disabled-Nepal (NFDN) has demanded that some three million Nepalis living with disabilities be offered an opportunity for dignified participation in the constitution making process.
Nepalnews.com by June 07 06
The Federation also handed over some 100,000 signatures collected in the capital over the last week in favour of their demands.
The Federation demanded that there should be mandatory representation of disabled people in the on-going negotiations with the government of Nepal and CPN (Maoist) and in the interim government that would be constituted thereof.
The Federation has also asked the government to implement the national policy and action plan for the disabled people 2062 B. S., ensure representation of disabled persons in all the government appointments including appointments to the Social Welfare Council, National Women's Commission, National Commission for Dalit, National Academy for Ethnic Communities, National Human Rights Commission and National Planning Commission.
The Federation has also demanded employment opportunities for people with disabilities, collateral free loan for enterprises set up by the disabled persons and free treatment for people with disabilities.
See all at: http://www.nepalnews.com/archive/2006/jun/jun07/news10.php#

Hanoi, Vietnam.
1/6/2006
Vietnam committee on Population, Family and Children declared that an advocating project on disabled children care and protection based on community in the period of 5 years has been being built. Vietnam is on the way to reach the year 2010’s target with around 70 percent of total children with disabilities to school.

Subway stations passdisabled-friendly test

Subway stations passdisabled-friendly test
ANJIRA ASSAVANONDA
Trainees for a disabled support programme tested Bangkok's subway system yesterday and found the facilities to be mostly disabled-friendly _ except for a few imperfections like locked toilets. ''We have to ask subway officials to open the toilets when we want to use them. The problem is officials often seem reluctant, and sometimes they just can't find the key,'' said Saowalak Thongkuay, of the Asia-Pacific Development Centre on Disability (APCD).


A blind-folded support programme trainee learns how a disabled person can safely negotiate a subway entrance. The Asia-Pacific Development Centre on Disability yesterday showed a group of disabled people how to use the underground train facilities. ? KOSOL NAKACHOL
Ms Saowalak led 13 trainees in an APCD programme aimed at empowering the disabled, building community support and raising awareness about disabilities.
The group, both disabled and able-bodied people, tested the disabled-friendliness of the subway.
''The toilet door is too heavy to open. Besides, it's a kind of pull-in door that's not convenient for disabled people,'' said Santi Rungnasuan, who uses a wheelchair.
''The trip was to give trainees real-life experience of what the disabled encounter on the subway,'' said Jirat Wachirasereechai, APCD's human resource development chief. The subway was designed to be disabled-friendly, he said, but the facilities still need adjustments.
The trip started at Kamphaeng Phet station, where participants tested all facilities, including a ramp for wheelchairs to access the elevator, an automatic machine which vocally tells blind people where they are, toilets for the disabled, ticket machines, the entrance gate for wheelchairs and the space allocated for wheelchairs on trains.
Some able-bodied trainees went through a disability simulation, being blindfolded or wearing sandbags on their legs to simulate weakened muscles.
At Cultural Centre station they met Mass Rapid Transit Authority (MRTA) executives and offered suggestions.
Ms Saowalak, who is wheelchair-bound, said the station had good facilities for the disabled, but the outside infrastructure was not as friendly.
''The stations have ramps to enable wheelchairs to access the lift, but we had problems getting to the station from the roadside. There's usually a step on the pavement that wheelchairs can't get past.''
The gap between the train doors and the platform was also a little unsafe for wheelchairs, said Ms Saowalak, suggesting a foldable ramp be provided, with staff assistance, when trains stop.
Chukiat Photayanuvat, MRTA assistant director, said he will consider every suggestion, and ensure better facilities on new subway extensions. The MRTA would ensure subways were barrier-free, not only for the disabled but for people of all ages.
Source : http://www.bangkokpost.com/emailthis.php

To my friends

Dear my friends,
Time goes by so fast. What have you gotten in our baggages to bring back home? Sharing me your experiece and knowledge during 2 weeks. It's occasion for us to know much more about each other.
To me, I can be so sure that this is an unforgetable memory in my life. I learnt much from all lecturers, officers from SHIA and SIDA, and, of course, from each of you and all. I found that Almosa is a very beautiful place to come to see. Not only for it's amazing sight seeing, but also it's visitors: blinds, people with disability and warm hearted persons. I also discovered that Stockholm is a ctity with many contrasts: ancient and mordern, slow and busy, huge buildings and wild trees and flowers...
Above all, I can share you that, I really got new look, of course, possitive look about people with disability in developing countries. Dispite poor and back ward economies and infras structures, we have many leaders of DPOs, NGOs who are very active and talent, we also have many friends in and out side of our countries, so, can make a stable unity acting for rights and better lives of people with disabilities.
I think not neccessary to remind you what we have learned from the course. I can be sure that, all of them will be very helpful for us, for our works when we come back home.
Thank you for reading my letter.
And, hope to see you frequently on my blog.
Sincerily,
Thu Huong

Sweden look

Tourist road and me

Sweden look

Ms. Chau and Niclas

Sweden look

My friends

Sweden look

Road beside water

Sweden look

Impressive Sweden