DISABILITY AND THE RIGHT TO DEVELOPMENT: MOVING POLICY TO PRACTICE SUMMARY: HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEVELOPMENT HUMAN RIGHTS IN ACTION THE RIGHT TO DEVELOPMENT.

DISABILITY AND THE RIGHT TO DEVELOPMENT: MOVING POLICY TO PRACTICE SUMMARY: HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEVELOPMENT HUMAN RIGHTS IN ACTION THE RIGHT TO DEVELOPMENT FOR

PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES EXAMPLE FROM RWANDA

Human rights are a twentieth century phenomenon developed in response to the atrocities of World War II.

They set out an internationally accepted moral code by which the intrinsic humanity of every individual is recognised and protected. Human rights are the fundamental, universal and indivisible principles by which every human being can claim justice and equality (Albert and Hurst).

As the 24th Special Session of the UN World Summit for Social Development and Beyond (June 2000) declared:

‘The ultimate goals of development are to improve living conditions for people and to empower them to participate fully in the economic, political and social arenas.’

However, as has been repeatedly documented, access to full and equal participation has been denied to disabled people in almost every country, helping to create conditions that result in them being among the poorest of the poor.

At the same time, being poor is not only about being socially excluded but also makes people much more vulnerable to contracting a whole range of disabling impairments. Poverty and disability are in this sense locked in the embrace of a real dance of death.

This is made far worse in developing countries in the South, where the failure of economic and social development is characterised by widespread and seemingly intractable poverty associated with wars and civil unrest, malnutrition, poor sanitation, lack of immunisation, inadequate health care, few safety provisions and pollution. Such is the music, which gives the dancers no respite.

Human rights are indivisible and universal. Continuing to leave disabled people out of mainstream systems of development by perpetuating discrimination and exclusion violates these rights.

From a human rights perspective, development programmes can, therefore, no longer make excuses for not addressing disability, particularly as many development agencies now claim to be working within an explicit human rights framework

Since the 1990s many multi-lateral and bi-lateral agencies have adopted a human rights approach to development. This approach seeks to ensure that each person is seen as having an equal right to freedom, dignity, non-discrimination and protection from the state against abuse of these rights, together with access to economic, cultural and social rights..

It is argued that only by empowering all people to be able to make decisions about their lives will it be possible to reduce poverty and achieve the Millennium Development Goals

Persons with disabilities have been fostering progressive social change by putting a human rights approach to development into practice, often many years before such an approach was adopted by international agencies.

A rights based approach to disability and development is about:

Levelling the playing field so that people with disabilities can access jobs, education, health and other services.

Removal of physical and social barriers; it is about attitude adjustments for policy makers, employers, teachers, health care professionals and even family members.

A rights based approach is about ensuring universal design, accessible technology, and coordinated public programmes and service.

The approach requires government to provide the resources necessary to implement these goals and to enforce penalties for those who refuse to cooperate.’

Local organisations of disabled people run income-generating projects such as chicken farms or crafts, operate loan schemes for small businesses, run local community based rehabilitation services and work cooperatively with local elders to raise the status of disabled people in their village and to ensure greater access and self‑ determination.

The 13th item of the "Declaration on the Right to Development 41/128" adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 06, 1986, "Recognizing that the human person is the central subject of the development process and that development policy should therefore make the human being the main participant and beneficiary of development"

In practice, governments struggle to ensure that the right to development is realized for persons with disabilities. Research and our experience at the Secretariat of the Africa Decade of persons with disabilities have shown that the major stumbling blocks are:

1. Programming processes at national levels do not include disability. In other words, disability objectives and indicators are not included in national development plans and budgets

2. Civil servants and other personnel responsible for the implementation of policies lack knowledge, will and skills to effectively mainstream disability in their work.

Political will is not backed by allocation of resources to disability inclusive programmes

General lack of prioritization of disability

In Rwanda, the government and Disabled People’s Organisations (DPOs) have demonstrated that it is possible to collaborate and practice inclusive planning and monitoring of a National Disability Mainstreaming Plan (NDMP).

The process included the following: A Rwanda National Decade

Steering Committee (RNDSC) was established in 2005, with the support and guidance of the Secretariat.

Objectives: to support the aims of mainstreaming disability and persons with disabilities in all sectors – including development process.

Role of this Committee was: awareness-raising, advocacy, capacity-building and resource mobilisation.

Methods used were: lobbying Ministries and others (e.g., DPOs, CSOs, development organisations, donors) to work together for the benefit of persons with disabilities; research; training and sensitization; representation of the disability movement.

The outcomes of this work were: Establishment of a strong legal

framework for persons with disabilities, including:

The adoption of the Law to Protect the Rights of persons with disabilities (2007);

The passing of eight Ministerial Orders affecting six Ministries responsible for implementing this law (August 2009);

The outcomes of this work were: The ratification of the UN Convention on

the Rights of persons with disabilities; The Constitutional amendment and

Prime Ministerial Order to establish the National Council of persons with disabilities (2010/2011)

The design of a government-owned National Disability Mainstreaming Plan (NDMP)

Adoption of a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation system for the NDMP.

Inclusion can also occur in National Development Plans or in the old Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSP).

Such inclusion could start with defining a standalone disability strategy that is then subsequently included in mainstream plans.

It is essential that the process and nature of inclusion should be participatory.

Namibia Disability Mainstream Programme for 2011-2013 Multi-sectoral strategy to mainstream disability in all

sectors of government, from town councils to national ministries

A budget of US$14 126 280 is required to get implementation off the ground.

National Disability Mainstreaming Programme (2010-2019). Again:1. The government takes a leadership role-all

government ministries validated the plans2. The Programme uses sector-wide

approach-disability is mainstreamed in all key government ministries and budgets

3. Close collaboration with Civil Society Organisations

4. Secretariat to award Government Ambassadorial Status

IN KENYA, TANZANIA, SENEGAL AND SOUTH AFRICA:1. NATIONAL DISABILITY MAINSTREAMING

STRATEGIES HAVE ALREADY BEEN DESIGNED

2. MAINSTREAMING STRATEGIES AT DIFFERENT LEVELS OF SUCCESS

ARTICLE 32 OF THE UN CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES PROVIDES USEFUL GUIDELINES

ESSENTIAL FOR DEVELOPED COUNTRIES TO:1. INCLUDE DISABILITY AS AN INTEGRAL

COMPONENT OF DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION2. PUT CONDITIONS THAT ENCOURAGE

DEVELOPING COUNTRIES TO INCLUDE DISABILITY IN PROGRAMMES SUPPORTED THROUGH DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION

FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES, TO ACHIEVE THE RIGHT TO DEVELOPMENT ENTAILS THE FOLLOWING MEASURES:

INCLUDE DISABILITY STRATEGIES AND BUDGETS IN NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLANS FUNDED THROUGH DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION

INCLUDE DISABILITY AT ALL LEVELS IN ALL SECTORS OF GOVERNMENT.

STRUCTURES SUCH AS: PARLIAMENT AND SENATES IN GOVERNMENT-AS MINISTERS AND

DEPUTY MINISTERS COMMISSIONS THAT ENFORCE HUMAN

RIGHTS (EG HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSIONS)

MAINSTREAM STRUCTURES, NGOS AND PARASTATLS

WITHIN THE UN: ADOPT A POLICY TO BACK-UP THE

DISABILITY STRATEGIES INTERNAL SECTORAL BODIES/STRUCTURES

OR PROGRAMMES SHOULD INCLUDE DISABILITY AS PART OF DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION STRATEGIES

INCLUDE DISABILITY IN FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS

CONTINUED PARTNERSHIPS WITH DPOS AND NGOS.

USE A TWIN-TRACK APPROACH TO ACHIEVE INCLUSION IN PROGRAMMES

IMPLEMENT THE UN CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES

DEVELOP AND STRENGTHEN A NETWORK OF INTERNAL DISABILITY FOCAL PERSONS WITHIN THE UN AND ITS COUNTRY DELEGATIONS

INCLUDE DISABILITY COMPONENTS IN PROCUREMENT PROCESSES.

SUPPORT THE WORK OF THE UN SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON DISABILITY

SUPPORT THE AFRICAN UNION SPECIAL RAPPORTEURS IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE INCLUSION AT ALL KEY LEVELS OF PROGRAMMING

SUPPORT RESEARCH AND BENCHMARKING STRATEGIES

POOR POLITICAL BUY IN THAT IS NOT BACKED BY ALLOCATION OF RESOURCES

POOR KNOWLEDGE AND COMMITMENT OF SENIOR CIVIL SERVANTS TO THE OBJECTIVES OF INCLUSION AND DISABILITY MAINSTREAMING.

GOVERNMENTS SHOULD AVOID HAVING POLICIES WITHOUT BUDGETS

GENERAL LACK OF CAPACITY WITHIN GOVERNMENTS AND CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANISATIONS TO DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION DISABILITY POLICIES AND STRATEGIES

NEGATIVE ATTITUDES TOWARDS DISABILITY

WARS, CONFLICTS

The Secretariat of the African Decade of Persons with Disabilities (SADPD) is a technical agency established initially to facilitate the implementation of the AU continental plan of action for persons with disabilities and now also the UN Convention on the Rights for Persons with Disabilities in Africa.

An African continent where people with disabilities

enjoy their human rights

An African knowledge-based organisation that works in partnership with the AU, African Governments, CSOs and DPOs to promote inclusive development and human rights for people with disabilities

Catalytic-in the sense that it facilitates planning, skills development and coordination at country level in order to achieve a critical mass of expertise/support in the disability programming processes

A technical agency that promotes guidance and tools for disability mainstreaming and capacity building

A network that mobilises political support at all levels, with the ability and resources to influence cross-border political decisions

A reservoir of information and best practice

Facilitate country-level demand for disability mainstreaming

Facilitate access to bi-tri-lateral cooperation that unlocks resources for the disability sector

Facilitating the establishment of resourcing mechanisms to support disability programmes at continental, regional and national levels

Disability: and people with disabilities are central to the organisation

Development: the Secretariat advocates for inclusion of disability and people with disabilities into development plans & programmes

Human rights: people with disabilities have the same rights as others-based on established UN Principles

A NEW DECADE 2010 TO 2019 OBSERVER STATUS WITH AU COMMISSION

FOR HUMAN AND PEOPLE’S RIGHTS UN CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF

PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES THE PROPOSED AU PROTOCOL UN SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR

Block 5A, Sanwood Office Park, 379 Queens Crescent, Lynwood, Pretoria, 0081, South Africa.

 Postal Address: P. O. Box 1201, Menlyn Centre

0077, Pretoria, South Africa

Kudakwashe Dube, Chief Executive Officer [email protected] Cell phone: +27(0)798720325 Faxmail: +27(0) 866896242

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