Report of UNESCAP Meetings
UN ESCAP Workshop on Women and Disability: Promoting Full Participation of Women with Disabilities in the Process of Elaboration on an International Convention to Promote and Protect the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities
Most women and girls with disabilities have suffered more difficulties and disadvantages in society than men and boys with disabilities, as they are the most vulnerable and the least protected group having faced triple discrimination, being female, disabled and poor. For this reason, attempts will be made to include issues of women and girls with disabilities in the proposed new convention concretely. UN ESCAP has supported this movement by organizing a workshop on Women and Disability: Promoting Full Participation of Women with Disabilities in the Process of Elaborating on an International Convention to Promote and Protect the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities, held at the United Nations Conference Center, Bangkok, Thailand from 18-22 August 2003.
Ms. Saowalak Thongkuay, APCD representative, with the UNESCAP organizer and participants
The overall project, of which this workshop is a component, was designed to widely share the BMF and the Standard Rules, and provide advocacy skills for women with disabilities, through two regional workshops. These workshops will ensure that gender-mainstreaming will be incorporated into future plans, policies, and programs of NGOs and self-help groups in order to achieve a truly inclusive, barrier-free and rights-based society for persons with disabilities in the region. At the end of the project, women with disabilities were provided with a good package of advocacy skills, so that they can fully participate in the national, regional, and global process of preparing for the International Convention. Furthermore, the two workshops are expected to enhance the unified support for the International Convention in the ESCAP region and strengthen consolidated, ongoing regional activities toward the Convention. This would function as the regional input to the working group on elaboration of the Convention created under the Ad-hoc Committee for the Comprehensive and Integrated International Convention on Protecting and Promoting the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities, based on the decision made during the 2nd session of the Ad Hoc Committee held in New York in June 2003.
At the end of the workshop, participants adopted a statement of recommendations stating primarily that elements of the new convention should ensure that women with disabilities could enjoy the full range of human rights and freedom with dignity without any discrimination, and the state parties should have an obligation to implement provisions to ensure equal protection and promotion of the rights of women and girls with disabilities. They also urged existing human rights bodies and mechanisms to intensify their efforts to address issues of disability, including those concerning women and girls with disabilities. APCD will also continue to support and encourage the empowerment of women with disabilities through implementations of activities.
] The Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific 59th Session (Phase II)
1-4 September 2003, Bangkok, Thailand
The Commission session was divided into two phases this year due to the SARS crisis. The theme for this year is on "Integrating Economic and Social Concerns especially HIV/AIDS, in Meeting the Needs of the Region".
Regarding disability-related concerns, the Commission noted the report of the High-level Intergovernmental Meeting supporting a rights-based approach to the social integration of persons with disabilities, as specified in the Biwako Millennium Framework for Action towards an Inclusive, Barrier-free and Rights-based Society for Persons with Disabilities in Asia and the Pacific. The Commission stressed the importance of education, training and employment in order to equalize opportunities for persons with disabilities. It also called for increased attention to be given to the prevention of disability and for strengthening programs of community-based rehabilitation. It noted that non-governmental organizations and other civil society organizations had an important role to play in promoting the full participation of people with disabilities. The Commission urged the secretariat to continue its efforts to assist members and associate members in implementing the Biwako Millennium Framework.
APCD was also recognized as a partner on disability issues. Close collaboration between ESCAP and the Center to promote the empowerment of persons with disabilities and a barrier-free society in the Asian and Pacific region, is a viable means of ensuring the implementation of the Biwako Millennium Framework.
Committee on Emerging Social Issues, First Session
4-6 September 2003, Bangkok, Thailand
he primary focuses of the first session of the Committee on Emerging Social Issues held from 4-6 September 2003 at the Bangkok United Nations Conference Center were vulnerable groups consisting of women, youth, people with disabilities, older persons, migrants and people living with HIV/AIDS.
Regarding disability concerns, the inaugural session of the UNESCAP's Committee on Emerging Social Issues heard startling figures on the number of persons with disabilities living in severe poverty. A prominent Japanese advocate for people with disabilities, Senator Eita Yashiro, stated that approximately 400 million persons with disabilities are living in the Asian and Pacific region of which 160 million are still suffering from severe poverty.
Senator Eita Yashiro, a wheelchair user since 1973, clearly stated in his keynote speech that "Many persons with disabilities in this region are still desperately searching for help and wisdom, to be able to live with human dignity". He also shared one of his favorite sayings from Mr. Itoga, a famous Japanese educator for children with disabilities, "Let these children with disabilities be the light of the world!"
He also stated the following:
"The challenge of the 21st Century is to empower persons with disabilities who will then promote a barrierfree society. Four barriers that need to be addressed are the environment, information system, legislation as well as human attitudes. Persons with disabilities are not only the light of the world to promote an inclusive, barrierfree, rights-based society but also are peacemakers in this unsettled world. Persons with disabilities are a source of harmony and human love.
All persons with disabilities have the tremendous potential for self empowerment".
H.E. Mr. Weerasak Kowsurat, Vice Minister, Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, stated in his inaugural message that " My ministry is taking steps to oversee the achievement of the targets specified in the seven priority areas of the Biwako Millennium Framework". He also noted the cooperation of the Government of Japan and the Royal Thai Government to set up the Asia-Pacific Development Center on Disability for developing countries in the region, which will be officially opened in the year 2004. Working in close collaboration with UNESCAP the Center has already carried out a full program of training courses in the context of the second Decade of disabled persons which was also acknowledged in the session.
] Workshop on Improving Disability Data for Policy Use
23-26 September 2003, Bangkok, Thailand
A workshop on Improving Disability Data for Policy Use was organized and sponsored by the Statistics Division (SD) and the Emerging Social Issues Division (ESID) of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) in Bangkok, Thailand from 23-26 September 2003. This workshop was conducted within the framework of the Biwako Millennium Framework for Action towards an Inclusive, Barrier-free and Rights-based Society for Persons with Disabilities in Asia and the Pacific (BMF).
The Workshop was attended by statisticians from national statistical offices and officials from government ministries responsible for policies on disability matters as well as representatives from civil society. Participants came from 16 countries and territories as well as from various agencies and organizations, which included the Asia- Pacific Development Center on Disability (APCD).
The overall objective of the Workshop was to strengthen national capabilities to produce data on disability, which could be used for policy development and implementation of national strategies to improve the lives of disabled people. To achieve this objective, the Workshop brought together producers and users of disability statistics to promote understanding of data collection issues and to encourage the use of standard definitions of disability for improved communication and comparisons. Two out of 5 specific objectives are to introduce the new International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) of the World Health Organizations and to formulate a set of recommendations that can lead to the development of a regional framework for action for improving disability statistics and measures in the region during the 2003-2012 decade.
The overall aim of the ICF classification is to provide a unified and standard language and framework for the description of health and health-related states. Domains contained in ICF can be seen as health domains and health-related domains. These domains are described from the perspective of the body, the individual and society in two basic lists; (1) Body Functions and Structures and (2) Activities and Participation.
The representative from WHO identified the factors which led to the development of the ICF and its adoption at the 54th World Health Assembly in 2001. The lack of common definitions of disability and a common language among those working in the disability field were major problems. Other contributing factors were the limited focus and coverage of many data sources and the lack of linkage between disability and health surveys. With the ICF framework, it has become possible to identify those in need of assistance, judge the effectiveness of interventions, and capture not just traditional conceptions of disability but also disabilities associated with mental illnesses and other neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's disease and Epilepsy. Disability is a major factor in health provision. ICF places disability on a continuum with health and defines it as a decrement in health, recognizing that everyone may one day experience some disability. Consequently, the model changes from one concerned with a minority population to one of universal concern that bridges the medical and social models. Disability is both a personal and societal problem and ICF addresses disability from both the malfunctions of the body and the impact it has on a person's daily activities. The ICF framework incorporates the equity and non-discrimination principle because it treats all disabilities similarly regardless of reason or cause. ICF, based on scientific principles, has undergone extensive testing for 7 years in 61 countries and 27 languages.
Visit http://www.who.int/classification/icf/ for more details.
