NEW MILLENNIUM IMPETUS TO EQUALIZATION
OF OPPORTUNITIESFOR DISABLED PERSONS IN THE ESCAP
REGION:
STRENGTHENED REGIONAL TARGETS
1. An important indicator of twentieth-century
progress in the ESCAP region is the extent to which
development actions have facilitated or hindered
the freedom of movement of people with disabilities
in society. The ESCAP region has entered the new
millennium with seven years of commitment to the
full participation and equality of people with disabilities,
which is the goal of the Asian and Pacific Decade
of Disabled Persons, 1993-2002.
2. In pursuance of Commission resolution
48/3 of 23 April 1992 on the Asian and Pacific Decade
of Disabled Persons, 1993-2002, and resolution 54/1
of 22 April 1998 on strengthening regional support
for persons with disabilities into the twenty-first
century, the secretariat has initiated collaboration
with institutions and organizations concerned with
the built environment, infrastructure development,
tourism, education, information technology, rural
poverty alleviation and the training of statisticians.
3. In November 1999, ESCAP organized
two regional forums mandated by the Commission in
resolution 54/1. The regional forums, held in Bangkok,
focused on education for children and youth with
disabilities and on meeting the targets for the
Decade, and equalization of opportunities for persons
with disabilities in the ESCAP region. The forums
were organized in close cooperation with the Subcommittee
on Disability-related Concerns of the Regional Inter-agency
Committee for Asia and the Pacific, which met at
Bangkok on 25 November 1999.
4. Altogether, over 200 persons concerned
with disability-related matters in the ESCAP region
reviewed critical issues concerning the equalization
of opportunities for persons with disabilities in
the light of the experience already gained on the
73 targets that had been formulated in 1995 for
action in the Decade. On the basis of that review,
they proposed 107 strengthened targets for action
by 2002, when an evaluation of the Decade would
be conducted.
5. The revised target action time
frame is January 2000 to December 2002. The targets
cover all 12 policy areas of the Agenda for Action
for the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons,
1993-2002: national coordination, legislation, information,
public awareness, accessibility and communication,
education, training and employment, prevention of
causes of disability, rehabilitation services, assistive
devices, self-help organizations and regional cooperation.
6. The Commission is invited to adopt
the strengthened targets for enhanced implementation.
1. National coordination
(a) Critical issues
7. One issue of concern is that, whereas
most countries in the ESCAP region have bodies that
undertake national coordination on disability, progress
on disability matters has not penetrated sufficiently
to the community level. A second concern is a need
for permanent national and subnational coordination
committees whose work will be sustainable beyond
the year 2002.
(b) Revised targets
1.1 To establish and strengthen a
national coordination committee (NCC) on disability
concerns with an appropriate mechanism to ensure
its accountability to the legislature or head of
government to promote a multisectoral approach to
the implementation of the Agenda for Action for
the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons,
1993-2002, and with representation at the policy-making
level of all state/provincial and district governments,
and concerned ministries/departments and government
agencies, substantial representation in non-governmental
organizations (NGOs), including self-help organizations
of disabled persons, parents' organizations of people
with intellectual disabilities and women with disabilities,
as well as with adequate allocation of resources.
1.2 To establish and strengthen an
executive committee with appropriate representation
from state/provincial governments, ministries/departments
and government agencies, NGOs, including self-help
organizations of people with disabilities, parents'
organizations of people with intellectual disabilities
and women with disabilities, to ensure timely follow-up
and monitoring of the implementation of NCC decisions,
and to facilitate its functioning.
1.3 To establish coordination and
executive structures at the subnational level, with
adequate means of participation by grass-roots groups
and bodies.
1.4 To formulate a national plan of
action and incorporate it in national development
plans with a time frame and an inbuilt mechanism
for monitoring and evaluation, as well as adequate
multisectoral allocation of resources for the implementation
of the Agenda for Action, and specifically, the
targets for national action contained in the present
document.
1.5 To identify and prioritize, within
the national plan of action, means of promoting
the participation of poor persons with disabilities
in all poverty alleviation programmes, including
urban and rural development programmes and projects
implemented within the country.
1.6 To specify the participation of
persons with disabilities as a criterion for the
approval of funding for poverty alleviation and
other development programmes and projects.
1.7 To strengthen the coordination
and executive structures with adequate resources
and infrastructure to enable them to function effectively
as permanent statutory bodies.
1.8 To pursue urgently means to promote
a positive image of people with disabilities, including
their potential, capabilities and achievements in
the areas of education, training, employment, sports,
arts and cultural activities, as well as in community
life, including through the use of occasions such
as national or international days of disabled persons,
community festivities and other media opportunities.
1.9 To establish effective communication
channels among all parties concerned with disability
matters, at national and community levels, to ensure
information flow, effective problem-solving, as
well as timely and adequate multisectoral consultation,
especially with self-help groups and NGOs serving
disabled people.
1.10 To ensure that information on
all programmes, services and provisions for people
with disabilities, including all legislation and
amendments pertaining to equalization of opportunities
for people with disabilities, is adequately compiled,
disseminated and publicized in accessible formats
and languages suited to the literacy levels of persons
with disabilities and their families.
1.11 To set up appropriate mechanisms
to obtain accurate data and regular updates on disability
groups, as well as information about their family
and life situations, including case studies, and
such other information that will encourage informed
conclusions about disabled people's access to services
and progress towards equalization of opportunities
for people with disabilities, for the purpose of
policy formulation, as well as to ensure responsible
use of all personal data to protect the privacy
rights of persons with disabilities.
2. Legislation
(a) Critical issues
8. Although progress has been made
in the enactment of basic laws concerning the equalization
of opportunities for persons with disabilities in
many countries, there has been little or no progress
in the review of substantive laws, such as those
pertaining to marriage and inheritance, and procedural
laws such as those related to criminal and civil
procedure enactment.
(b) Revised targets
2.1 To establish a suitable mechanism
to examine and identify all substantive and procedural
laws, such as those covering inheritance, marriage
and property, as well as criminal and civil procedure
codes and policy provisions on various subjects.
2.2 To amend substantive and procedural
laws to include enabling provisions for equal legal
protection for persons with disabilities, including
women with disabilities and people with intellectual
disabilities, and to repeal provisions that restrict
their full participation and equalization of opportunities,
or which are discriminatory.
2.3 To enact a basic law with an effective
inbuilt implementation and enforcement mechanism
to protect the rights of people with disabilities,
including women with disabilities and people with
intellectual disabilities, to promote affirmative
action in their favour and to eliminate discriminatory
practices, as well as architectural and communication
barriers.
2.4 To introduce a national scheme
of social security measures covering financial assistance
and subsidies for persons with extensive disabilities
and their families living in poverty, as well as
primary breadwinners who become disabled and have
no other means of income support for their dependants.
2.5 To review laws relating to customs
duties and to introduce amendments to provide exemption
from customs duties on the import of vehicles, assistive
devices, health and medical supplies, including
all equipment and materials needed to improve the
quality of life and, in particular, to facilitate
the education, employment, sports and leisure activities,
cultural pursuits and daily living of people with
disabilities, including women with disabilities.
2.6 To review laws pertaining to taxation
to provide tax benefits for persons with disabilities
and incentives for employers of disabled persons
and manufacturers of indigenous assistive devices,
including exemption from excise duties for such
products.
2.7 To enact or amend laws and regulations,
including traffic and industrial/labour laws, for
promoting health and safety in the workplace, in
public places, in transport and in the home, as
well as set safety standards for modes of conveyance,
equipment, implements and other items of industrial,
domestic and personal use, with particular attention
to the needs of users with disabilities.
2.8 To establish a mechanism for periodic
review of the list of items for exemption from customs
duty.
2.9 To provide for the coverage of
people with disabilities in an existing free legal
aid service or to develop a free legal aid service
for people with disabilities.
2.10 To establish implementation and
enforcement (such as an ombudsman) mechanisms for
basic laws for the protection of the rights of people
with disabilities and to notify such rules and regulations
for their effective implementation and enforcement.
2.11 To amend laws relating to copyright
and make provisions for the protection of the rights
of persons with disabilities to have access to educational,
informational and recreational materials and for
the transcription, transference, translation and
reproduction of all such materials.
3. Information
(a) Critical issues
9. Access to accurate and regularly
updated information is vital for advocacy, and for
the purposes of planning and implementation of services
for people with disabilities. Inadequate resources
and lack of focal points at various levels for the
establishment of databases relating to disability
issues are major difficulties encountered in developing
information systems in many countries in the ESCAP
region. Particular problems are experienced at the
subregional level. Furthermore, information access
is a problem at the local level. The lack of simple,
common and functional definitions of disability
compounds the problem of collecting useful, accurate
and comparable data. The Regional Training Workshop
on Disability Statistics, held in New Delhi in February
2000, was the first regional forum to discuss such
definitions in relation to ongoing international
revisions.
(b) Revised targets
3.1 To establish, in collaboration
with NGOs, self-help organizations, and national
and local focal points on disability, a regularly
updated database on the disability situation, including
demographic data on persons with disabilities, as
well as social and economic dimensions, including
educational level, employment status, housing, household
composition and membership in registered organizations
of people with disabilities for the purpose of (a)
indexing available information related to disability
within various ministries and organizations; and
(b) disseminating, through appropriate means and
to local-level organizations, information in formats
and languages that are accessible by people with
disabilities and their families.
3.2 To strengthen the capability of
national statistical offices, and develop and apply
common functional definitions of disabilities that
will facilitate regionwide comparisons, and to advocate
the conduct of national disability-related surveys.
3.3 To pursue immediate action to
translate into national and local languages the
Agenda for Action and the revised targets to facilitate
implementation, and to disseminate the translations
through the mass media, folk media, government agencies
and voluntary organizations.
4. Public awareness
(a) Critical issues
10. A major factor restricting the
equal participation of people with disabilities
is the prevalence of negative perceptions and practices.
Often, the abilities of persons with disabilities
remain unrecognized. Opportunities are limited for
the full development of their potential. To rectify
this, it is important that all awareness campaigns
for full participation and equality emphasize the
abilities of persons with disabilities and their
value as productive citizens and members of their
societies with full rights to participate in the
mainstream development process.
11. The awareness of government officials
needs to be raised, especially those in departments
and ministries that have not yet addressed issues
concerning the rights of disabled persons to participate
fully in the mainstream development process, as
well as disability as a development issue.
12. The terms "persons with disabilities"
and "disabled persons" are used interchangeably,
to reflect the diversity of preference and usage
in the ESCAP region.
(b) Revised targets
4.1 To undertake immediate action
to ensure that the national and provincial print
and electronic mass media, including the private
sector and the folk media, feature issues related
to the Decade through regular and accurate coverage
that improves public awareness and attitudes concerning
people with disabilities.
4.2 To undertake phased action to
encourage all education and training institutions,
government agencies and NGOs that implement programmes
and projects for children and youth to identify
and provide means of ensuring that disabled children
and youth are included in activities designed for
all children and young persons.
4.3 To encourage immediate action
by ministries of education and all other relevant
agencies to initiate a review of all educational
and functional literacy materials, in different
formats, in use in each country and area, with a
view to excluding content that is derogatory towards
persons with disabilities, and with a view to including
illustrations and references that support the inclusion
of persons with disabilities in mainstream community
life.
4.4 To encourage immediate action
to ensure the issuance of first-day covers and commemorative
stamps promoting the full participation and equality
of persons with disabilities in the Asian and Pacific
region.
4.5 To advocate the inclusion of disability
issues in information and media policies and programmes,
as well as the provision of appropriate time and
space for disability concerns, and the prohibition
of the depiction of negative and inaccurate images
of persons with disabilities in performances, especially
comedies, films and cartoons.
4.6 To encourage government agencies
and NGOs to establish a press clipping service to
collect documentation on media efforts concerning
the raising of public awareness and the improvement
of attitudes towards persons with disabilities.
4.7 To promote, at regional, national
and subnational levels, all cultural activities
(including art and the performing arts) and sports
by people with disabilities, as part of public awareness
campaigns to highlight the abilities and aspirations
of persons with disabilities.
4.8 To develop and include disability
as a mainstream development issue in the curricula
for pre- and in-service training of public administration
and technical personnel in all sectors, in order
to facilitate multisectoral collaboration on disability
issues, and to promote the inclusion of persons
with disabilities in all mainstream development
activities.
5. Accessibility and communication
(a) Critical issues
13. Ensuring that disabled persons
have the means to move freely is essential for building
capacity, self-esteem and confidence for full participation
in the mainstream development process. Programmes
(education, training and employment) and disability-related
decision-making are located in inaccessible places.
14. The three main interrelated components
of freedom of movement are accessibility, communication
and assistive devices.
15. The level of achievement varies
in the ESCAP region in enhancing the access of disabled
persons to the physical environment and effective
communication systems. Of critical importance are
information exchange and networking at all levels
and involving government agencies, autonomous bodies,
NGOs and individuals.
16. Another challenging task is the
systematic and phased introduction of barrier-free
features into existing public transport systems,
buildings and other existing infrastructure.
17. Another critical area concerns
the need to examine measures for the modification
of the layout of workplaces, tools, equipment and
machinery to improve the physical accessibility
of training and employment places.
18. There is an urgent need to assess
the possibility of developing indigenous sign languages
where these do not exist. Another issue concerns
the feasibility of identifying a set of basic signs
that could facilitate communication among persons
using diverse languages in the ESCAP region.
(b) Revised targets
5.1 To initiate immediate action to
incorporate barrier-free features as a standard
requirement in designs and plans for all new construction,
renovation and expansion of buildings and facilities
used by members of the public, including transport
systems, educational facilities, housing schemes
and recreational facilities, with measures to ensure
effective implementation, particularly for the renovation
and new construction of government infrastructure.
5.2 To undertake immediate action
to make external built environments accessible,
including by installing pavements with kerb ramps
and by providing adequate signage and facilities
for all disability groups.
5.3 To take immediate action to initiate
the introduction of barrier-free features in mass
transport systems and services, beginning with the
main lines and trunk routes, and to ensure that
all further modifications of, and additions to,
mass transport systems incorporate barrier-free
features at the outset of the planning stage.
5.4 To take immediate action to promote
the inclusion of barrier-free design in the curricula
for the training of architects, engineers, and urban
and rural planners.
5.5 To pursue immediate action to
incorporate access provisions for people with disabilities
into existing building by-laws.
5.6 To establish and strengthen access-related
networking among governments and organizations concerned
with disability issues in the ESCAP region, especially
to promote the exchange of information on skills
development, standards, procedures, experiences
and resources.
5.7 To undertake immediate promotion
of studies on the layout of workplaces, as well
as the design of tools, equipment, machinery and
instruments to make them more usable by persons
with disabilities.
5.8 To initiate urgent action towards
the development of official indigenous sign languages,
with mechanisms for the certification of sign language
interpreters.
5.9 To work towards guaranteeing the
right of access to sign language interpretation
services in television programmes (especially news
and documentaries) and in vital public services
and facilities, particularly police departments,
hospitals, law courts and financial institutions,
and to provide alternate means of communication
in other public places.
5.10 To work towards guaranteeing
the right of access to reading materials in Braille,
large print, computer diskette, audio cassette and
other suitable formats for people who have difficulty
in reading regular print, and who need access to
human readers.
5.11 To introduce and enhance captioning
and audio descriptions, and to improve the availability
of, and access to, computer applications, web sites,
radio, telephone, fax machines and visual media
for information and entertainment purposes to benefit
all disability groups.
6. Education
(a) Critical issues
19. The development and implementation
of policies and programmes for the education of
disabled children and youth are inadequate. In many
ESCAP countries and areas, less than 5 per cent
of children with disabilities have any access to
educational opportunities. In addition, the available
statistics reveal a gender imbalance, with girls
having poorer access to education. Many disabled
children and youth belong to marginalized groups.
They suffer an additional disadvantage.
20. Many children have learning disabilities
that are not recognized. This may result in their
dropping out of the educational system, with attendant
social and economic problems. A further group remains
in school, with their educational needs unmet.
21. Disabled children and youth have
limited or no access to educational, informational
and recreational materials in appropriate formats.
To improve their access to such materials, it is
essential to harness new and emerging technology.
The issues of copyright must be addressed with the
greatest urgency in executive-level meetings between
the relevant United Nations bodies and other international
organizations, and representatives of copyright
owners, producers (for example, song writers, musicians,
authors and software writers) and manufacturers
of such materials, in order to secure tangible commitments
concerning the access of disabled persons to such
materials. This issue should also be addressed at
the national level.
22. Recently, there has been a major
change in education thinking and practice. It is
acknowledged that disabled children and youth have
a right to be included, along with their siblings
and peers, in local schools and non-formal education
programmes. Education programmes should be more
responsive to children with diverse needs. At the
same time, the role of the family and the community
needs to be strengthened. It is anticipated that,
in the early years of the twenty-first century,
many more disabled children and youth will be educated
in inclusive rather than segregated settings.
(b) Revised targets
6.1 To increase the enrolment of children
and youth with disabilities to close the gap between
their current level of enrolment and the net enrolment
rate of non-disabled children in each respective
country or area in the ESCAP region, and to achieve
this through formal and non-formal education systems,
including open schools and distance education systems.
6.2 To include boys and girls and
women and men with disabilities in all policies,
plans and programmes to ensure Education for All,
with adequate financial allocations and appropriate
technical assistance; the financial allocations
should also adequately cover the provision of necessary
and appropriate support to ensure effective educational
outcomes for children and youth with disabilities
in inclusive settings.
6.3 To ensure the provision of appropriate
teaching aids, assistive devices and facilities
for promoting effective educational outcomes for
children and youth with disabilities.
6.4 To introduce and expand early
intervention programmes for children with disabilities,
with provision for the active involvement of their
families and communities, in both rural and urban
areas, and to promote the inclusion of children
with disabilities in regular pre-schools.
6.5 To increase progressively the
retention rates of all children and youth in education
systems, including children and youth with disabilities.
6.6 To strengthen pre- and in-service
teacher preparation programmes to ensure the effective
teaching of children with diverse capabilities,
including those with disabilities.
6.7 To introduce the entire educational
curricula to all children, including children and
youth with disabilities, and to ensure that the
curricula include the teaching of science, mathematics,
technical, pre-vocational and vocational education.
6.8 To promote the adaptation of teaching
approaches and materials to facilitate effective
educational outcomes for children with disabilities,
and to ensure that this includes appropriate provisions
for teaching children and youth who are intellectually
disabled, deaf, blind, multiply disabled, autistic,
and those who have learning disabilities, as well
as behavioural, speech and communication problems.
6.9 To develop appropriate policies
and legislation to change the focus of education
systems from a subject-focused to a learner-centred
approach to benefit children and youth with disabilities.
6.10 To strengthen support mechanisms
and systems, including the provision of teacher
aides, assistive devices and other necessary supports,
to facilitate the effective inclusion of children
and youth with disabilities in inclusive educational
settings.
6.11 To promote and support the involvement
of families and communities in the provision of
inclusive education for children and youth with
disabilities.
6.12 To target policy makers, public
administration and technical personnel, school administrators
and educators to promote the inclusion of children
and youth with disabilities in education programmes.
6.13 To encourage ministries or departments
of education to assume responsibility for the education
of children and youth with disabilities.
6.14 To ensure appropriate transition
processes from early childhood education to primary
and secondary levels to ensure access, with support,
to post-school activities, including pre-vocational
and tertiary education, and employment.
6.15 To assert the legal rights of
disabled people to educational, informational and
recreational materials in accessible formats, including
the right to transcribe, transfer, translate, reproduce
and use materials currently subject to copyright
laws.
7. Training and employment
(a) Critical issues
23. The globalization of the economy
and advancements in technology, particularly automation,
information technology and new developments in assistive
devices, have changed employment prospects for disabled
persons in the ESCAP region. This has sometimes
opened up new options, but it has often reduced
opportunities.
24. In the past, the public sector
provided many employment opportunities for people
with disabilities. In many countries of the ESCAP
region, however, the public sector is in the process
of being downsized, with some of its functions being
privatized. This trend has given rise to a formidable
challenge to all concerned with helping disabled
job seekers to identify other options, either in
the private sector, or through the promotion of
self-employment opportunities. Furthermore, there
is an immediate need to open up all sectors of the
economy so that employment opportunities may be
expanded for persons with disabilities.
25. Skill training has been traditionally
provided for disabled persons in special centres.
The skills that they acquire through these centres
are frequently outdated and do not reflect job market
demands. Increasingly, there is an emphasis on opening
opportunities for disabled people in mainstream
training centres where non-disabled people are trained,
and to ensure that the training provided leads to
employable skills.
(a) Revised targets
7.1 To make accessible mainstream
training programmes and to revise entry requirements
and eligibility criteria where necessary, so that
people with disabilities can participate in them,
with due attention to gender equity and the participation
of disabled persons from low-income and poor families.
7.2 To develop and strengthen curricula
and support services (for example, physically accessible
training sites and equipment, Braille text, sign
language interpreters and trainers' aides) to enable
persons with disabilities to participate fully in
all pre-vocational and vocational training and apprenticeship
programmes leading to gainful employment and self-employment
in rural and urban areas.
7.3 To set national targets for the
placement and promotion of the employment of persons
with disabilities in the public and private sectors
and to formulate a government policy to promote
the achievement of these targets (such as through
a mandatory quota scheme, employer incentives, focused
awareness-raising campaigns targeted at employers
and employees, and technical support to employers).
7.4 To establish a collaborative body,
including representatives of the public and private
sectors, disabled people's organizations and other
NGOs, to compile, on an ongoing basis, information
on new employment and self-employment opportunities
in the formal and informal sectors, as well as to
provide training in skills relevant to these opportunities
and discontinue training in skills that are obsolete.
7.5 To establish and fulfil annual
training and job placement targets that are gender-equitable
for people with disabilities, for joint action by
all ministries (for example, those responsible for
employment, human resources development, rural development),
government development programmes, as well as employers'
and workers' organizations and organizations of
people with disabilities.
7.6 To provide appropriate training
and employment opportunities for people with extensive
disabilities and those who require a supportive
environment (through, for example, the establishment
of production centres, the provision of support
services and assistive devices for self-employment
and supported employment and, where necessary, arrangement
of accommodation).
7.7 To introduce measures to ensure
the equitable participation of persons with disabilities
in all rural and urban schemes for poverty alleviation,
income-generation in the formal and informal sectors,
and the promotion of self-employment.
7.8 To introduce and undertake effective
implementation of a national scheme for entrepreneurial
skills development (including identification of
business opportunities, development of a business
plan, management and bookkeeping skills); support
services to marketing and production; and access
to interest-free or low-interest loans.
7.9 To identify disabled people in
order to place them in jobs or to assist them in
self-employment in rural and urban areas, through
appropriate public and private agencies (including
employment placement services) and NGOs.
7.10 To use funds to promote training
and employment opportunities for people with disabilities
(for example, through adaptation of the environment,
provision of support services and assistive devices)
to benefit people with extensive disabilities as
well.
7.11 To protect the rights of disabled
workers in all laws, policies and collective agreements
relating to employment (including provisions on
recruitment, promotion, dismissal and retrenchment).
7.12 To identify and commission appropriate
institutions to carry out research studies in the
areas of ergonomics, workplace adaptations, safety
devices and other topics relevant to the training
and employment of disabled persons in the context
of Asian and Pacific developing and least developed
countries and areas, to encourage innovations, and
to identify research topics in consultation with
service providers, user groups and the collaborative
body for the identification of new work opportunities,
and other relevant agencies.
7.13 To establish a monitoring and
evaluation mechanism, with the active participation
of representatives of disabled persons, to ensure
that legislation relating to training and employment
is effectively enforced, that policy is effectively
implemented and that the relevant Decade targets
are achieved.
7.14 To establish an international
clearing house to identify, gather and disseminate
information on existing employment-related equipment
and facilities for people with disabilities, as
well as similar clearing houses at national, regional,
state, provincial and district levels.
8. Prevention of causes of disability
and 9. Rehabilitation (community-based rehabilitation,
and health and social development)
(a) Critical issues
26. Most rural and slum people with
disabilities do not have access to any form of rehabilitation
services, particularly when access is considered
in terms of time, cost and availability. Many countries
and areas lack a comprehensive strategy to address
prevention, rehabilitation and measures for the
improvement of the quality of life of disabled persons.
27. Reliable and comprehensive data
are required if disability issues are to be accorded
high government priority for resource allocation
and programme development. However, disability data
are limited because data collection problems have
not yet been resolved.
28. There is also a lack of expertise,
information materials, training tools and programmes
on disability issues to support personnel in diverse
development sectors. This seriously limits the development
of service provisions, including prevention programmes
and community-based rehabilitation. Much more funding
and other support are required to address these
needs through the sharing of resources.
29. Policies and programmes in diverse
sectors need to be strengthened to support preventive
efforts and community-based rehabilitation as approaches
to the delivery of appropriate health, educational,
vocational and social services involving the combined
efforts of people with disabilities, their families
and communities.
30. People with psychosocial problems
(mental illness) constitute an increasingly large
and underserved group in many countries and areas
of the ESCAP region. In view of the rapid increase
of the ageing population in the ESCAP region, particular
attention needs to be given to programmes for older
persons with disabilities.
(b) Revised targets concerning the
prevention of causes of disability
8.1 To initiate public education campaigns,
including gender-sensitive demographic data, associated
with and directed at the prevention of the five
most prevalent preventable causes of disability,
together with smoking, consumption of alcohol and
other addictive substances. Such campaigns, while
targeting problems, should uphold the dignity of
persons with disabilities.
8.2 To eliminate iodine deficiency,
vitamin A deficiency, poliomyelitis and leprosy
as major public health problems.
8.3 To achieve a substantial reduction
in the incidence of three other preventable causes
of disability, without neglecting good disability
prevention efforts that may already be under way.
8.4 To formally join the international
campaign to ban the production, use and sale of
anti-personnel landmines, which has led to the Convention
on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production
and Transfer of Anti-personnel Mines and on Their
Destruction.
8.5 To mount an immediate campaign
to prohibit the manufacture and sale of laser weapons
whose sole purpose is to cause total blindness.
8.6 To initiate, develop and implement
legislation for road safety and the safe design
and use of the built environment and equipment,
as well as the compulsory use of personal, protective
and employer-provided equipment for workers whose
wages do not cover the provision of such equipment.
8.7 To develop mechanisms for the
very early detection of new-born babies who are
at risk of developing disabilities.
8.8 To promote, through the government
and NGO sectors, early intervention services related
to childhood disabilities.
8.9 To provide training for existing
grass-roots workers in early detection of and early
intervention in childhood disabilities.
8.10 To initiate special measures
for prevention, early detection and intervention
services for persons with psychosocial problems.
8.11 To initiate services for the
early detection and management of age-related disabilities
and to promote activities to improve the quality
of life of older persons with disabilities.
(c) Revised targets concerning rehabilitation
(community-based rehabilitation, and health and
social development)
9.1 To increase substantially the
involvement of people with disabilities and their
families in the entire process of action to address
disability-related issues and services.
9.2 To develop and adopt a comprehensive
national strategy to address prevention, rehabilitation
and measures for the improvement of the quality
of life for persons with disabilities, including
community-based rehabilitation as a preferred approach.
9.3 To integrate disability issues,
including those which specifically concern women
and girls with disabilities, into mainstream programmes,
especially those for poverty alleviation, health,
housing, transport, human resources development,
labour, education, communications, culture, tourism,
political activities and disaster management programmes.
9.4 To strengthen the coordination
of all government and NGO efforts to support community-based
rehabilitation programmes.
9.5 To include prevention and rehabilitation
issues in the training curricula for personnel in
the health, education and social development sectors,
and to initiate the integration of disability-related
issues in the training of other professionals concerned
with the improvement of the quality of life of persons
with disabilities.
9.6 To include rehabilitation services
in all primary health care programmes and projects,
as emphasized in the Declaration of Alma-Ata on
primary health care, 1978, to support community-based
rehabilitation programmes.
9.7 To facilitate and support the
intercountry sharing of specialized personnel, materials
and good practices between governments and NGOs.
9.8 To initiate and promote action
research and innovative approaches on disability
and rehabilitation.
9.9 To promote social security measures
for persons with disabilities living in poverty
as identified through appropriate means.
10. Assistive devices
(a) Critical issues
31. The functional independence of
persons with disabilities is essential for full
participation in development programmes and social
activities. Having the use of appropriate and affordable
assistive devices is a matter of entitlement of
all persons with disabilities. Disabled persons
also need to be trained in the effective use of
assistive devices.
32. Research and development should
be promoted on indigenous assistive devices that
are culturally appropriate for and affordable by
rural and urban disabled persons.
33. Systems for the production and
distribution of low-cost and appropriate assistive
devices should be developed and strengthened to
meet the needs of the majority of disabled persons.
(b) Revised targets
10.1 To take immediate action to set
up sustainable systems and procedures, including
subsidy schemes, to ensure the production and distribution
of assistive devices, as well as repair and maintenance
services, with due attention to addressing the needs
of all, especially the needs of the most marginalized
groups of disabled persons.
10.2 To work with the department responsible
for customs duties to introduce exemption of customs
and other duties on the import of assistive devices,
as well as components, materials and equipment for
their production, repair and maintenance, especially
items from within the ESCAP region.
10.3 To take immediate action to simplify
customs clearance procedures to facilitate the import
and export of assistive devices, as well as components,
materials and equipment for their production, repair
and maintenance, especially those items from within
the ESCAP region.
10.4 To encourage research, innovation
and improvements concerning indigenous assistive
devices, especially those using local resources,
by associating leading institutions in such activities,
allocating funding, personnel and facilities for
this purpose, and promoting intercountry exchange
of information on related issues.
10.5 To encourage immediately the
development of appropriate and sustainable local
technology to provide quality standard assistive
devices for people with disabilities.
10.6 To take immediate action to introduce
schemes actively to encourage NGOs and private entrepreneurs,
through tax incentives and subsidies, to pursue
research on, as well as the indigenous production,
distribution and maintenance of, assistive devices.
10.7 To promote the training of personnel
on indigenous technology for assistive devices to
improve services at subnational levels where the
need is greatest.
11. Self-help organizations
(a) Critical issues
34. For full participation and equality,
persons with disabilities must play a key role in
the formulation of national policy on all issues
that directly affect their lives. Self-help organizations
provide the means for persons with disabilities
to voice their needs and aspirations collectively.
Lack of coordination and consultation among self-help
organizations can reduce their effectiveness in
this role. National forums of self-help organizations
can facilitate the formation of common positions
and strengthen their representation.
35. There has been a lack of understanding
of the role of self-help organizations of disabled
persons in some countries of the ESCAP region. Thus,
in such countries, there are still no self-help
organizations of disabled persons. Another issue
is the low level of organizational and management
skills on the part of disabled persons in the organizations,
including skills for working effectively in the
community. In some instances, the absence of an
environment that is conducive to the development
and strengthening of self-help organizations is
a serious obstacle.
36. Particularly marginalized are
slum and rural disabled persons, women and girls
with disabilities, persons with psychosocial disabilities,
users of psychiatric services, HIV-positive persons
and persons affected by leprosy. There is a need
for cross-disability organizations to address the
issues of these particularly marginalized groups,
to include them as members where appropriate, and
to encourage them to form their own groups and organizations.
(b) Revised targets
11.1 To establish and strengthen a
national forum of self-help organizations of persons
with disabilities to include groups and organizations
from rural areas, as well as of particularly marginalized
disabled persons such as women and girls with disabilities,
persons with psychosocial disabilities, users of
psychiatric services, persons with intellectual
disabilities, persons who are HIV-positive and affected
by leprosy.
11.2 To develop self-help organizations
of diverse disability groups, which focus on addressing
the needs of rural people with disabilities in the
provision of mutual support, advocacy and referrals
to programmes and services, and which collaborate
actively with rural and urban development NGOs.
11.3 To establish mechanisms under
the direction of the national coordination committee
on disability, aimed, inter alia, at increasing
consultations between self-help organizations of
persons with disabilities and diverse government
ministries, as well as civil society and the private
sector, to strengthen the implementation of the
Agenda for Action.
11.4 To establish a national policy
with the requisite resource allocations to support
the development and formation of self-help organizations
of persons with disabilities in all areas, and with
a specific focus on slum and rural areas.
11.5 To develop programmes for capacity-building
to empower all persons with disabilities, including
youth and women with disabilities, as trainers in
the leadership and management of self-help organizations,
with the skills and confidence to work in the community.
11.6 To introduce the concept of independent
living to all concerned with disability matters
and promote the achievement of independent living
in the community by implementing measures to respect
the self-determination and control by people with
disabilities over their own lives.
12. Regional cooperation
(a) Critical issues
37. There is a need for small countries
in the ESCAP region, including those in the Pacific
that have recently joined as signatories to the
Proclamation on the Full Participation and Equality
of People with Disabilities in the Asian and Pacific
Region, to have access to support, particularly
funding, to pursue the fulfilment of the targets
for the implementation of the Agenda for Action.
(b) Revised targets
12.1 Small countries, including those
that have recently joined as signatories to the
Proclamation on the Full Participation and Equality
of People with Disabilities in the Asian and Pacific
Region, will approach the United Nations Development
Programme and other concerned members of the United
Nations system to mobilize the requisite funding
and technical support to strengthen their capacity
for developing and implementing policies that will
lead to increased public awareness of disability
issues and achievement of access by persons with
disabilities to prioritized areas of development
identified by each country and area from the Decade
targets listed above.
