REVIEW OF REGIONAL-LEVEL
ACTIONS IN SUPPORT OF THE IMPLEMENTATION
OF THE AGENDA FOR ACTION FOR THE ASIAN AND PACIFIC
DECADE OF DISABLED PERSONS,
1993-2002
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| SUMMARY
The Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled
Persons, 1993-2002, is the unique regional
initiative undertaken by the Governments in
the Asian and Pacific region to strengthen
regional cooperation to address issues affecting
the achievement of the goals of the World
Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons.
The Decade will conclude in 2002.
The present document reviews the regional-level
actions in support of Governments in the Asian
and Pacific region in their efforts to achieve
the full participation and equality of persons
with disabilities, the goals of the Asian
and Pacific Decade. It specifically reviews
regional-level support actions by ESCAP and
contributions made by other United Nations
bodies and specialized agencies as well as
intergovernmental agencies towards the implementation
of the Agenda for Action for the Asian and
Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons, 1993-2002.
|
Introduction
1. The Expert Group Meeting to Review and Appraise
the Achievements of the United Nations Decade of
Disabled Persons in the Asian and Pacific Region,
organized by ESCAP at Bangkok in August 1991, recognized
that there was a need for a second decade of disabled
persons to consolidate the gains achieved thus far
in the ESCAP region. This need was also supported
by the Fourth Asian and Pacific Ministerial Conference
on Social Welfare and Social Development, held at
Manila in October 1991. However, Governments and
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in other regions
did not echo the view of the Governments in the
ESCAP region to extend the Decade at the international
level.
2. The Governments of the ESCAP region, which consists
of two thirds of the world’s population, therefore
proclaimed the unique regional decade, the Asian
and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons, 1993-2002,
by resolution 48/3 of 23 April 1992, adopted at
the forty-eighth session of the Commission, held
at Beijing in April 1992. The resolution was intended
to strengthen regional cooperation in resolving
issues affecting the achievement of the goals of
the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled
Persons, especially those concerning the full participation
and equality of persons with disabilities.
3. The Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons
will end in 2002. The present document reviews the
regional-level actions in support of Governments
in the Asian and Pacific region in their efforts
to achieve the goals of the Decade. It specifically
reviews regional-level support actions by ESCAP
and contributions made by other United Nations bodies,
specialized agencies and intergovernmental agencies.
I. OVERVIEW OF REGIONAL DECADE SUPPORT ACTIONS
4. In pursuance of resolution 48/3, ESCAP convened
the Meeting to Launch the Asian and Pacific Decade
of Disabled Persons, 1993-2002, at Beijing in December
1992. The Meeting adopted the Proclamation on the
Full Participation and Equality of People with Disabilities
in the Asian and Pacific Region and the Agenda for
Action for the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled
Persons, 1993-2002.
5. Through resolution 48/3 the Executive Secretary
was requested to report to the Commission biennially
until the end of the Decade on the progress made
in the implementation of the resolution and to submit
recommendations to the Commission. In pursuance
of that resolution, ESCAP convened regional meetings
to review progress in the implementation of the
Agenda for Action. The Meeting held at Bangkok in
June 1995 examined the progress made since the inception
of the Decade and adopted 73 targets and 78 recommendations
concerning the implementation of the Agenda for
Action, including the gender dimensions of implementation.
6. The Meeting of Senior Officials to Mark the
Mid-point of the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled
Persons, hosted by the Government of the Republic
of Korea at Seoul in September 1997, reviewed the
progress made during the first half of the Decade.
The Meeting adopted the Seoul Proposals for the
Second-half of the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled
Persons and recommitted to the implementation of
the Agenda for Action. The third in the series of
regional reviews was the Regional Forum on Meeting
the Targets for the Asian and Pacific Decade of
Disabled Persons, and Equalization of Opportunities
for Persons with Disabilities in the ESCAP Region,
held at Bangkok in November 1999. That meeting reviewed,
for the first time since their adoption in 1995,
the targets and the implementation of the Agenda
for Action. The targets for the implementation of
the Agenda for Action were strengthened and increased
from 73 to 107.
7. Throughout the Decade, a regional cooperation
mechanism played an important role in coordinating
regional actions in the development and monitoring
of the implementation of the Agenda for Action and
its targets. The following section examines the
role and achievements of this mechanism.
II. REGIONAL COOPERATION MECHANISM
8. During the Asian and Pacific Decade, action on
partnership development aimed at generating broad
support for the implementation of the Agenda for
Action was undertaken, while existing cooperative
arrangements were continued and strengthened. The
Regional Inter-agency Committee for Asia and the
Pacific (RICAP) Subcommittee on Disability-related
Concerns (formerly known as the Asia-Pacific Inter-organizational
Task Force on Disability-related Concerns), of which
ESCAP served as the secretariat, was expanded and
strengthened after 1992. The Subcommittee included
11 United Nations bodies and agencies. A wide range
of service-delivery and self-help NGOs in the field
of disabilities joined the Subcommittee and actively
participated in its activities. Representatives
of Governments interested in contributing to regional
cooperation also attended its sessions at no expense
to the secretariat. Subcommittee members organized
themselves into teams to develop regional support
for the implementation of particular areas of the
Agenda for Action. Members with the mandates, competence
and resources volunteered to serve as team coordinators.
An important mode of Subcommittee cooperation was
through the sharing of information and the pooling
of expertise.
9. In 2000, the Thematic Working Group on Disability-related
Concerns replaced the RICAP Subcommittee. The primary
objective of the Working Group was to sustain the
momentum towards the fulfilment of the goals of
the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons,
1993-2002. It has been co-chaired by ESCAP, the
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations (FAO) and NGOs. Its membership was expanded
to include 50 NGOs, 15 government representatives
and the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The Working
Group’s members have been active in the process
of reviewing the achievements in the implementation
of the Agenda for Action. It was instrumental in
advocating for the extension of the Asian and Pacific
Decade for another decade, 2003-2012. Members of
the Working Group have been actively involved in
drafting the Biwako Millennium Framework for Action
towards an Inclusive, Barrier-free and Rights-based
Society for Persons with Disabilities in Asia and
the Pacific, which will be submitted for adoption
at the High-level Intergovernmental Meeting to Conclude
the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons,
1993-2002, to be held at Otsu City, Shiga, Japan,
from 25 to 28 October 2002.
III. WORK OF ESCAP IN SUPPORT OF THE DECADE
A. Overview
10. In support of resolution 48/3, the Commission
adopted the following three resolutions: 49/6 of
29 April 1993 on the Proclamation and Agenda for
Action for the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled
Persons, 1993-2002; 54/1 of 22 April 1998 on strengthening
regional support for persons with disabilities into
the twenty-first century; and 58/4 of 22 May 2002
on promoting an inclusive, barrier-free and rights-based
society for people with disabilities in the Asian
and Pacific region in the twenty-first century.
In pursuance of those resolutions, ESCAP implemented
numerous projects to strengthen national capacity
in policy areas under the Agenda for Action.
11. In support of Governments and NGOs in the implementation
of the Agenda for Action, ESCAP provided numerous
technical advisory services to them, in particular,
to organizations of disabled persons, during the
Decade. It also promoted the exchange of good practices
among Governments, NGOs and self-help organizations
through the organization of regional and subregional
meetings, seminars and workshops as well as through
the provision of financial support through the trust
fund for the Decade. ESCAP has been active in disseminating
technical information through publications, a web
site and CD-ROM. Almost all ESCAP publications on
disability are available online from its Decade
homepage (http://www.unescap.org/decade).
B. ESCAP activities under the policy areas of the
Agenda for Action
12. Of the 12 policy areas under the Agenda for
Action, ESCAP has focused its efforts on areas that
were not covered by the mandates or expertise of
other United Nations bodies and agencies. ESCAP
focused on policy areas concerning national coordination,
legislation, information (in particular, disability
statistics), accessibility, assistive devices and
self-help organizations of disabled persons.
13. Flagship programmes of ESCAP include the promotion
of non-handicapping physical environments for disabled
persons, which was initiated in 1993, and the empowerment
of persons with disabilities through support for
the development of their self-help organizations,
which started in 1990, before the Asian and Pacific
Decade was proclaimed. Single-year and multi-year
projects were implemented in both policy areas.
In 1998, ESCAP began to merge the two policy areas
mentioned above (accessibility and self-help organizations)
and created projects on the training of disabled
persons as trainers for the promotion of non-handicapping
environments.
14. To implement project activities, ESCAP undertook
a multisectoral approach within the secretariat.
A comparative advantage of the ESCAP disability
programme was the development of active inter-divisional
collaboration, including the ESCAP Human Settlements
Section, in the promotion of non-handicapping environments;
the Rural Development Section, in poverty alleviation
among rural disabled persons; the General Transport,
Coordination and Communications Section and the
Tourism Unit, in the promotion of accessible public
transport and the promotion of barrier-free tourism.
15. The following sections highlight various programmes
and activities carried out by ESCAP. The activities
are organized in terms of the policy areas under
the Agenda for Action, as well as a number of cross-cutting
and emerging issues.
1. National coordination
16. Strengthening national coordination committees
is the key to the implementation of the Agenda for
Action at the national level. ESCAP has been active
in promoting a multisectoral approach to the implementation
of the Agenda for Action.
17. ESCAP assisted the Governments of India and
Malaysia in the organization of intercountry seminars
on multisectoral collaboration for people with disabilities
in 1996. Each country team consisted of representatives
of diverse governmental agencies and disability
NGOs. Many insights were gained on the issues and
conditions concerning multisectoral dialogue and
action. In order to further promote multisectoral
collaboration and to address critical issues faced
by national coordination committees on disability,
ESCAP provided technical assistance to the Government
of the Philippines in the organization of a regional
conference on issues of national coordination committees
on disability and strategies in Manila in 1997.
ESCAP conducted a questionnaire survey in 1997 to
assess the progress made in the establishment and
strengthening of such committees in the region.
2. Legislation
18. There was considerable interest in the development
and strengthening of equalization legislation in
the ESCAP region. The secretariat received many
requests from Governments in the region and NGOs
for model frameworks of legislation. In response
to the requests, ESCAP issued two companion publications
in 1995: Legislation on Equal Opportunities and
Full Participation in Development for Disabled Persons:
A Regional Review (ST/ESCAP/1622) and Legislation
on Equal Opportunities and Full Participation in
Development for Disabled Persons: Examples from
the ESCAP Region (ST/ESCAP/1651). Examples from
16 countries of the region were included in the
publications, which were disseminated to lawmakers,
policy makers in Governments and their NGO partners.
3. Public awareness
19. ESCAP has actively supported the regional campaigns
for the promotion of the Asian and Pacific Decade
of Disabled Persons since 1993. These campaigns
have been organized by the Regional NGO Network
for the Promotion of the Asian and Pacific Decade
of Persons with Disabilities, in collaboration with
host governments and local NGOs. Campaign 1994,
held at Manila in July 1994, adopted the Decade
logo. ESCAP provided financial support for the regional
campaigns in Hong Kong, China in 1998, Bangkok in
2000 and Hanoi in 2001 to facilitate the participation
of least developed and developing countries.
20. ESCAP joined the organizers of Campaign 2000
in Bangkok, which provided a regional forum to review
action on targets for the implementation of the
Agenda for Action and share experiences on good
practices in their implementation. Campaign 2001,
held at Hanoi in December 2001, was the largest
regional Campaign. The Campaign adopted the Hanoi
Declaration of Campaign 2001 on the Facilitation
of Community Integration of People with Disabilities,
which urged Governments in the region to extend
the Asian and Pacific Decade, 1993-2002, for another
10 years. ESCAP will support the final regional
campaign to be held at Osaka, Japan, in October
2002.
21. An ESCAP videotape entitled “Freedom
from barriers” was produced to promote access
by people with disabilities to physical environments
and public transport. Another video to promote the
Asian and Pacific Decade, entitled “To be
seen, heard and counted”, was produced and
disseminated widely.
4. Information
22. In 1994, ESCAP supported activities that included
subregional information dissemination and the translation
of Decade documents into national languages. ESCAP
created a Decade homepage (http://www.unescap.org/decade)
in 1997. Information, resources, links to disability-related
organizations, reports of the Thematic Working Group
on Disability-related Concerns and most ESCAP publications
and activities on disability can be obtained on
this web site.
23. An important area of information is disability
statistics. The Statistical Institute for Asia and
the Pacific and ESCAP organized a subregional workshop
on disability statistics at New Delhi in February
2000. The workshop, hosted by the Government of
India, brought together statisticians from national
statistical offices and related agencies and policy
makers for disability-related matters. A similar
subregional workshop was organized at Shanghai,
China in April 2001. Subregional workshops could
be organized for the Pacific and Central Asian subregions
during the next decade.
5. Accessibility and communication
(a) Accessibility
24. To address the urgent need to remove barriers
in the built environment, ESCAP embarked in 1993
on a project to promote non-handicapping environments
for people with disabilities in the ESCAP region.
(i) Projects on the promotion of non-handicapping
environments
25. As its first-phase project, ESCAP undertook
the development of regional guidelines for the promotion
of non-handicapping environments for persons with
disabilities and older persons. In 1994, ESCAP convened
an expert group meeting at Bangkok in June and a
regional meeting in November. These meetings generated
a set of guidelines and case studies for the improvement
of access to the built environment. The guidelines
cover planning and building design, access policy
provisions and legislation and the promotion of
public awareness to improve access. The guidelines
(ST/ESCAP/1492) were published in 1995.
26. The phase-two project was formulated to support
the implementation of the guidelines at the municipal
level through pilot projects. The pilot projects
were designed to generate demonstration sites under
conditions in developing countries of the ESCAP
region. The pilot projects were implemented in three
cities: Bangkok, Beijing and New Delhi. In each
city, a pilot project site of approximately one
square kilometre was selected and made accessible.
27. Under the project, a five-day study visit-cum-workshop
to Yokohama, Japan, in November 1995 was organized
for six members of the working committees from the
three pilot project cities to observe the current
status of access to the built environment for persons
with disabilities and develop a pilot project action
plan. The workshop was co-organized by the City
of Yokohama and the Regional Network of Local Authorities
for the Management of Human Settlements (CITYNET).
28. Seminars and local workshops to implement the
pilot project at each of the three pilot project
cities were organized with technical and financial
support from ESCAP. At Bangkok, a training workshop
of technical personnel from the Bangkok Metropolitan
Administration, Nonthaburi and Pattaya, Thailand,
in May 1997 was organized. At Beijing, an inaugural
seminar and workshop were convened from January-February
1996, a mid-point project review workshop was held
there in April 1997 and the final workshop was held
in May 1998, with 60 participants from 16 cities
in China and 8 cities in the region. At New Delhi,
an inaugural seminar was held in December 1996 and
a final workshop was held in June 1998. Persons
with disabilities from other South Asian countries
also participated in the final workshop.
29. The final national workshops in Beijing and
New Delhi provided an opportunity to share the outcomes
of pilot projects in three cities. Both workshops
adopted recommendations, including the establishment
of an access initiative network among cities participating
in the Beijing workshop.
30. Actual accessibility improvements were achieved
at all three sites. In Bangkok, nearly 5,000 points
of ramp access were made and 15 kilometres of footpaths
with Braille blocks were installed. In Beijing,
23 targets in residential, commercial and educational
facilities were made accessible. In New Delhi, 14
public buildings and their external environment
became accessible.
31. The pilot projects led Governments to the examination
of policies and programmes concerning accessibility
for people with disabilities and the issuance of
improved regulations on accessibility, in addition
to the physical improvement of the pilot project
sites.
(ii) Other ESCAP initiatives in access promotion
32. ESCAP developed training guidelines for disabled
persons as trainers on the promotion of non-handicapping
environments. An expert group meeting on the subject
was held at Pattaya, Thailand, in June 1998 for
the purpose of drafting the guidelines, which were
then field tested in Bangalore, India, Pattaya,
Thailand and Penang, Malaysia. The training guidelines
were published as Disabled Persons as Promoters
of Non-handicapping Environments: Guidelines for
Training Trainers (ST/ESCAP/2046) in 2000.
33. ESCAP and the China Disabled Persons’
Federation organized the first training seminar
on accessible public transport at Shenzhen, China,
in November 2000. This seminar brought together
participants from six countries, including China
and Hong Kong, China. The training was provided
by international experts with a field trip to Hong
Kong, China to experience examples of accessible
transport systems.
34. The Asia-Pacific Conference on Tourism for
People with Disabilities, held at Bali, Indonesia,
in September 2000, represented a new initiative
in the area of accessibility. This Conference, organized
by a local NGO in close collaboration with the Government
of Indonesia and ESCAP, was the first of its kind
in the ESCAP region and provided a forum for the
discussion of major issues related to accessible
tourism for people with disabilities. It adopted
the Bali Declaration on Barrier-free Tourism for
People with Disabilities.
35. A series of 14-day regional training of trainers
courses on the promotion of non-handicapping environments
for persons with disabilities took place at Bangkok
in March 2000 and February-March 2002. A team of
architects, urban planners and disabled persons
from 11 countries was trained. The tripartite collaboration
involving the Japan International Cooperation Agency,
the Government of Thailand and ESCAP produced an
excellent outcome for South-South cooperation. The
three collaborators have agreed to continue the
course for two more years.
36. All the aforementioned activities contributed
to the formation of a regional network of persons
with disabilities, architects and urban planners
who are active in training concerned government
officials and advocating non-handicapping environments
at the municipal, provincial and national levels.
(b) Communication
37. Information and communications technology (ICT)
is increasingly important to address the access
needs of persons with disabilities to information
and communications. ESCAP, the ICT Task Force of
the Thematic Working Group on Disability-related
Concerns, the Government of Thailand and NGOs co-organized
a seminar on ICT accessibility for people with disabilities
at Bangkok in June 2002, the first of its kind in
the region. The seminar adopted recommendations
on policy/legislative guidelines concerning ICT
accessibility for persons with disabilities in the
Asian and Pacific region.
6. Education
38. ESCAP activities in this area were directed
at supporting the inclusion of children and youth
with disabilities within the Education for All campaigns.
In 1998 and 2001, ESCAP participated in inclusive
education seminars in India and the Lao People’s
Democratic Republic. ESCAP organized the Regional
Forum on Education for Children and Youth with Disabilities
into the Twenty-first Century at Bangkok in November
1999. This Forum was convened in collaboration with
the UNESCO-Principal Regional Office for Asia and
the Pacific programme. A report was presented on
findings of regional surveys on early intervention
and education of children and youth with disabilities.
The Forum also reviewed and revised the education
targets of the Agenda for Action.
7. Training and employment
39. ESCAP collaborated with and supported the International
Labour Organization (ILO) in its efforts to strengthen
employment placement services. ESCAP and ILO jointly
organized a regional technical consultation on effective
placement services for people with disabilities
in Singapore in March 1999. In May 2000, ESCAP and
ILO contributed to the technical meeting in conjunction
with the RICAP Subcommittee on Disability-related
Concerns to explore training and employment activities
in the region. Other related activities include
ESCAP input to the Global Applied Disability Research
and Information Network on Employment and Training
opportunities for persons with disabilities through
technology in May 2001.
8. Prevention of causes of disability and rehabilitation
services
40. In 1994, ESCAP co-sponsored a community-based
rehabilitation workshop in Solo, Indonesia, as part
of the Disabled Peoples’ International fourth
Asia-Pacific Regional Assembly held at Jakarta,
in December 1994. The workshop focused on the involvement
of persons with disabilities in community-based
rehabilitation programmes. ESCAP also provided advisory
and technical assistance to the Second Conference
of the Forum of the Resource Group for Community-based
Rehabilitation Human Resource Development at Singapore
in September 1997. In 2000, ESCAP provided inputs
to an intercountry workshop on strategy on improving
rehabilitation services on which WHO collaborated.
9. Assistive devices
41. In September 1995, ESCAP organized a technical
workshop, with an extensive field visit component,
on the indigenous production and distribution of
assistive devices in Madras, India. This regional
study tour-cum-workshop on assistive devices resulted
in a two-part ESCAP publication, Production and
Distribution of Assistive Devices for People with
Disabilities (ST/ESCAP/1774) in 1997.
10. Self-help organizations
42. The empowerment of persons with disabilities
through self-help organizations has been a major
focus of ESCAP, which initiated a project to support
the development of self-help organizations of persons
with disabilities in 1990. ESCAP, in close collaboration
with self-help organizations in the region, developed
guidelines on establishing and strengthening self-help
organizations and published Self-help Organizations
of Disabled Persons (ST/ESCAP/1087) in 1991. The
publication was translated into five national languages
and into English Braille.
(a) Subregional training workshops on the management
of self-help organizations
43. Under the project on self-help organizations
and in close collaboration with the Asia-Pacific
Regional Council of Disabled Peoples’ International
and other NGOs, ESCAP organized a series of subregional
workshops on the management of self-help organizations
at Dhaka in December 1993; at Bacolod City, Philippines,
in January 1994; and at Suva, in February 1996.
The workshops addressed the training needs of executives
and senior administrators of self-help organizations.
They were directed at enhancing participants’
management skills and their ability to play a more
effective, cooperative role in developing national
policies and programmes on people with disabilities.
Information, discussion and experiences shared by
the participants were included in the publication
Management of Self-help Organizations of People
with Disabilities (ST/ESCAP/1849).
(b) Other activities undertaken or supported by
ESCAP
44. During the Decade, ESCAP regularly provided
technical and advisory services in support of strengthening
self-help organizations. These included assistance
at the first seminar of people with disabilities
of Cambodia in September 1994, which laid the foundation
for setting up the first national self-help organization
of persons with disabilities in Cambodia; financial
and technical support for the organization of the
first national workshop on the promotion of self-help
initiatives of people with disabilities in Viet
Nam in October 1996; support to the development
of self-help organizations in the Lao People’s
Democratic Republic in 1999; support and input to
the Disabled Peoples’ International Oceania
Office training seminar on capacity-building for
persons with disabilities from eight Pacific countries,
held at Port Vila in September 2001.
45. ESCAP merged the two policy areas of accessibility
and self-help organizations and created projects
to train persons with disabilities as trainers for
the promotion of non-handicapping environments.
Training guidelines were developed. Eighteen trainees
with disabilities from seven countries of the region
were trained through a series of three training
workshops. The participants conducted eight months
of field work in their own cities between the workshops.
Their field work included organizing workshops for
public administration personnel involved in infrastructure
development and public transport and conducting
access surveys of various public facilities. Those
trainers with disabilities remain active in their
own cities and towns and joined a regional access
initiative network, which was first set up by the
group which had completed its ESCAP training in
2000.
C. Other issues supported by ESCAP
46. In 2001, ESCAP published Pathfinders: Towards
Full Participation and Equality of Persons with
Disabilities in the ESCAP Region (ST/ESCAP/2170),
reporting case studies of good practice across many
of the 12 policy areas under the Agenda for Action.
In addition, ESCAP has supported the issues described
in the following sections.
1. Women with disabilities
47. Women with disabilities comprise one of the
most neglected segments of the population. ESCAP,
in close collaboration with the United Nations Development
Fund for Women and other members of the RICAP Subcommittee
on Disability-related Concerns, developed and implemented
a project to promote the advancement of women and
girls with disabilities. The Swedish Organization
of Handicapped International Aid Foundation contributed
funding support. The project outcome included recommendations
for strengthening the gender dimension in the implementation
of the Agenda for Action. Under the project, ESCAP
issued a publication entitled Hidden Sisters: Women
and Girls with Disabilities in the Asian and Pacific
Region (ST/ESCAP/1548). It was distributed to government
delegations and NGO participants at the Fourth World
Conference on Women, held at Beijing in September
1995.
48. ESCAP also organized a Regional Training Workshop
on the Inclusion of Women and Girls with Disabilities
in Mainstream Gender Equality Initiatives at Phitsanulok,
Thailand, in June 2001, in conjunction with the
Asia-Pacific Summit of Women Mayors and Councillors.
Ten women with disabilities from eight countries
participated in the workshop. The focus of the workshop
was on the development of gender awareness and advocacy
skills. A network of women with disabilities was
formed as a result of the regional training.
2. Poverty alleviation of rural disabled persons
49. The Field Study-cum-Regional Seminar on Poverty
Alleviation among Rural Persons with Disabilities
was organized at Hyderabad, India, in December 1999,
in close collaboration with the Ministry of Rural
Development, Government of India. This Seminar was
the first of its kind that ESCAP organized to draw
attention to the issues of poor disabled persons
in the rural areas of the developing countries of
the ESCAP region.
D. Trust fund for the Decade
50. The technical cooperation trust fund for the
Decade was established in pursuance of Commission
resolution 49/6 of 29 April 1993 on the Proclamation
and Agenda for Action for the Asian and Pacific
Decade of Disabled Persons, 1993-2002; contributions
amounted to over US$ 424,000 as of August 2002.
Governments, including a local government, labour
organizations and a private company have contributed
to the fund. China annually donated US$ 10,000 to
the fund. The fund enabled ESCAP to promote intercountry
cooperation and facilitate national and local implementation
of the 12 areas of the Agenda for Action through
technical exchange, training, information dissemination
focusing on best practices, and advisory services.
The Decade fund also provided for personnel support
for the secretariat’s Decade promotion activities.
IV. ACTIVITIES OF OTHER UNITED NATIONS AGENCIES
A. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations
51. FAO has collaborated closely with ESCAP and
has co-chaired the Thematic Working Group on Disability-related
Concerns since its inception in 2000. It is committed
to local institution-building for skills development
of people with disabilities as well as for networking
and collaboration among all the stakeholders to
improve the self-help capacities of people with
disabilities. The following are some FAO activities
related to the Agenda for Action:
(a) Development of a mushroom production training
programme for persons with disabilities in rural
Thailand in 1999, which resulted in the successful
establishment of village-level mushroom enterprises
providing employment to both disabled and non-disabled
family members.
(b) In Cambodia, collaboration with Handicap International
in a project for the integration of farmers with
disabilities in ongoing training programmes conducted
by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries,
aimed at capacity-building for integrated pest management.
(c) Special training for extension workers and
trainers from the Department of Agricultural Extension,
Thailand, was provided to enable them to assist
farmers with disabilities who had been included
in the assistance to sericulture project in Thailand
in 2000.
(d) Village-level training on food processing for
vulnerable groups in Cambodia was aimed at micro-enterprise
development for ex-soldiers with disabilities and
their families, as a basis for their social and
economic integration in their community and the
establishment of a network of self-help groups focusing
on small-scale enterprise development in rural areas.
(e) Preparation of a training of trainers’
manual on small enterprise development by people
with disabilities in rural areas. The training methodology
was originally developed in a joint ESCAP/FAO project
which had proven to be successful for the replication
of viable small agro-based and other group-based
rural enterprises.
(f) Establishment of food standards with WHO in
1999 to improve food safety, which has a direct
impact on health and in the reduction of avoidable
disabilities associated with malnutrition or food
inadequacy; provision of dietary guidelines and
nutrition education materials for use at the community
level along with advice to policy makers and programme
designers to improve women’s knowledge of
nutrition and food safety, which can prevent illnesses,
disabilities and premature deaths; development of
special programmes for the prevention of disabilities
through the reduction and prevention of accidents
in agro- and forestry-industry operations by the
safe use of agricultural tools and agro-chemicals.
(g) Assistance to small farmers’ groups and
organizations, including persons with disabilities,
in capacity-building for enhanced participation
in decision-making, self-employment and entrepreneurship,
including agricultural and credit cooperatives;
work with public institutions to strengthen their
capacities in policy advice, planning and training
on programmes and activities to promote the inclusion
of rural disabled persons, with particular emphasis
on institutional mechanisms for stakeholder dialogue
and collaboration.
B. International Labour Organization
52. As a contribution to the Asian and Pacific Decade
of Disabled Persons (1993-2002) ILO has carried
out many activities and programmes, collaborating
closely with ESCAP and other United Nations agencies.
Among them:
(a) Promotion of the role of employers’ organizations
and groups in increasing opportunities for people
with disabilities, for example, the Employers’
Federation of Ceylon, Mongolian Employers’
Federation and the Cambodian Business Advisory Council.
(b) Promotion of the issues of disability among
trade unions by providing technical inputs into
a workers’ meeting in Mongolia.
(c) Promotion of employment of people with disabilities
among individual employers by the production of
a regionally focused video, “AsiaAbility”,
disseminated through ILO regional channels and available
to NGOs and others, and a video for Thailand, “AbilityThailand”.
(d) Development of an ILO regional web site, www.ilo.org/abilityasia,
as a vehicle for the dissemination of information
related to the employment and training of people
with disabilities, and the Decade targets, with
web pages to encourage the involvement of trade
unions and employers in the training and employment
of people with disabilities.
(e) Demonstration of effective strategies for integrating
people with disabilities in rural vocational training
programmes and addressing the needs of those in
remote areas through peer training.
(f) Publication and dissemination of Integrating
Woman and Girls with Disabilities into Mainstream
Vocational Training: A Practical Guide.
(g) Regional projects on integrating people with
disabilities into mainstream employment services
and training of trainer workshops involving workshops
and technical assistance with several countries
in the region. The projects resulted in publications
which have been translated into Chinese, Khmer,
Thai and Vietnamese.
(h) ILO and FAO have conducted a joint mission
to the Lao People’s Democratic Republic to
explore ways to promote agribusiness.
53. As a contribution to the end of the Decade,
ILO is conducting country studies in 14 countries,
which will be the basis for a comparative analysis
of training and employment policies and practices
to mark the conclusion of the Decade. The study
should serve as a baseline of the current situation
and suggest activities for regional attention during
the next Decade.
C. International Telecommunication Union
54. ITU does not have any specific programme designed
for persons with disabilities. However, it has integrated
the concerns of disabilities groups into its regional
activities.
55. At the Asia-Pacific Regional Workshop on Equal
Access of Women in ICT, held at Seoul, in October
2001, ITU invited a representative from the Korean
Differently Abled Women’s United to present
a paper. The paper indicated that there was a lack
of policy and regulations to ensure universal and
affordable access to ICT, particularly by rural
women and people with disabilities. ITU made a recommendation
to raise funds to develop programmes for women,
including women with disabilities, to enhance their
skills in ICT.
56. The Regional Seminar for ICT Industry Associations
in the Asian and Pacific Region was held at Bangkok
in June 2002. ITU invited a representative from
the Japanese Society for Rehabilitation of Persons
with Disabilities to present a paper on social implications
of ICT: potential for those less privileged at the
Seminar. Recommendations were submitted to ITU.
D. United Nations Development Programme
57. The UNDP Disability Action Group, which started
in 1990, has as its main objective to promote community-based
rehabilitation and the inclusion of persons with
disabilities in mainstream programmes concerned
with sustainable human development. At the request
of Governments, UNDP country offices or NGOs, the
Disability Action Group makes country visits and
provides advisory services with a view to:
(a) Assisting in initiating and planning services
for people with disabilities in developing countries;
encouraging ongoing and planned development programmes
to include people with disabilities; planning and
conducting courses for personnel in developing countries,
with special emphasis on managers/coordinators of
community-based rehabilitation programmes; planning
and conducting courses for managers of disabled
people’s organizations;
(b) Promoting awareness of the abilities and human
rights of people with disabilities, and of disability
and rehabilitation; evaluation of ongoing programmes;
follow-up to the Standard Rules on the Equalization
of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities.
58. In the spring of 1999, UNDP, in partnership
with the World Rehabilitation Fund, began the coordination
of a three-year global effort to plan and promote
new approaches to the socio-economic integration
of landmine survivors and others with disabilities
in three countries, including Cambodia.
E. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization
59. In preparation for the World Conference on Special
Needs Education, held at Salamanca, Spain, in June
1994, UNESCO organized two subregional seminars
in the region, in China and Nepal. The preparation
and the follow-up to that Conference helped shift
the focus from special needs education to more inclusive
classroom education. For UNESCO, inclusive approaches
to education are seen as a strategy towards achieving
education for all. UNESCO aims to enable both teachers
and learners not only to feel comfortable with diversity
in the classroom, but also to see this diversity
as a challenge and enrichment to the learning environment,
rather than as a problem.
60. UNESCO co-chaired the task force on education
for all children with disabilities, one of four
task forces of the Thematic Working Group on Disability-related
Concerns. The following are some examples of UNESCO
activities to promote inclusive education within
the Asian and Pacific region:
(a) UNESCO has produced various materials on inclusive
education. Among them is the “Teacher Education
Resource Pack: Special Needs in the Classroom”,
developed to help schools and teachers respond to
pupils with special needs. This resource pack has
been distributed and translated into the local languages
of the region and UNESCO has organized national
training workshops for teachers in several countries.
(b) As a follow-up to the Salamanca Conference,
UNESCO launched a project to support action and
disseminate information on small-scale innovations
at a national, provincial and local level, promoting
the inclusion of children with disabilities and
learning difficulties in regular schools - inclusive
schools and community support programmes. Some 30
countries have participated in this global project,
including China, India, the Lao People’s Democratic
Republic and Viet Nam.
F. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
61. UNHCR prioritizes assistance to refugees with
disabilities. A special quota for resettlement to
a third country is allocated to refugees with disabilities.
UNHCR works with agencies such as Handicap International
and the International Committee of the Red Cross
to implement a number of specific projects for refugees
with disabilities, including a community-based rehabilitation
project for people with disabilities living in the
camps. Handicap International initiated this project
in some Myanmar refugee camps. It was aimed at raising
awareness, building the capacity of community groups
and networks and giving people with disabilities
and their families access to knowledge, resources
and services for medical rehabilitation and socio-economic
integration.
62. Given various difficulties in service delivery,
UNHCR is working towards:
(a) Coordination of services by various agencies
at the camp and district levels;
(b) Effective medical services to be provided at
the homes of the persons with disabilities;
(c) Discussions with refugee organizations and
NGOs on how to support persons with disabilities
in the camps with additional essential food and
non-food items, without creating dependencies that
will hamper voluntary repatriation.
G. United Nations Children’s Fund
63. UNICEF is committed to ensuring special protection
for the most disadvantaged children, including children
with disabilities. Major progress is reported in
preventing major causes of childhood disabilities.
Following the end of the United Nations Decade of
Disabled Persons (1983-1992), an inter-agency working
group consisting of ILO, UNESCO, UNICEF and WHO
was formed to consult on issues related to childhood
disability and to build joint technical capacity
by developing training materials, workshops, guidelines
with indicators for early detection and designing
effective interventions, including access to mainstream
education and other social services. Highlights
of these joint programmes include:
(a) Support to mine awareness and education to
prevent injuries in 16 countries, including Afghanistan,
Cambodia, and the Lao People’s Democratic
Republic.
(b) Childhood disability programmes in prevention
and intervention, advocacy and public education,
community-based rehabilitation, partnership and
capacity-building, education, training, mainstreaming
and data collection/surveys in Cambodia, China,
India, Islamic Republic of Iran, Mongolia, Nepal,
Sri Lanka and Viet Nam.
H. World Health Organization
64. The disability and rehabilitation programme
of WHO gives special attention to low-income countries
in its global disability and rehabilitation activities.
In 1998, WHO established a global network for monitoring
disability issues and trends in rehabilitation.
Within the region, WHO continued to promote the
concept and implementation of community-based rehabilitation.
Activities included:
(a) A bi-regional training workshop on management
of rehabilitation programmes at Ciloto, Indonesia,
in October 1996, which focused on strengthening
managerial skills in developing and implementing
community-based rehabilitation programmes.
(b) A regional workshop on strengthening community-based
rehabilitation programmes as an integral part of
primary health care was held at New Delhi in December
1996. It recommended some country and regional action
points for the sustainability and expansion of programme
activities as well as for incorporating components
into health systems. As a result, the integration
of community-based rehabilitation into primary health
care services has been initiated in Bangladesh,
Bhutan, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and
Thailand. To support this initiative, the WHO manual
on community-based rehabilitation was printed in
Bangladesh, Bhutan and India. India initiated community-based
rehabilitation for disadvantaged people in the slum
areas of Mumbai. In Bhutan, a programme on community-based
rehabilitation was established as a priority programme
of national health development.
(c) Technical support was provided to Sri Lanka
for reviewing the feasibility of local production
of low-cost artificial limbs and holding training
programmes on community-based rehabilitation for
health workers and volunteers. A training worksheet
on community-based rehabilitation for provincial
health personnel was produced in Indonesia, while
seminars and conferences dealing with various aspects
were supported in India.
(d) A study was conducted in Thailand on alternatives
to the community-based rehabilitation model, while
the community-based rehabilitation programme was
expanded in several provinces and an intercountry
consultation on strengthening training of health
workers in community-based rehabilitation was held
at Bangkok in May 1999. Recommendations of the meeting
helped improve the efficacy of community-based rehabilitation
training in countries in the ESCAP region.
(e) A four-week training course was organized for
managers of national community-based rehabilitation
programmes in Colombo in October and November 1997.
Following this training, several district training
courses were organized in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India,
Myanmar and Sri Lanka.
(f) WHO supported the training of trainers of rehabilitation
workers on community-based rehabilitation development
and sustainability in Jakarta in November 2000.
This helped member countries in developing the much-needed
human resources in this neglected area of health
development.
I. Asian Development Bank
65. The work of ADB in the area of disability has
only emerged during the last few years. In October
1999, ADB organized a regional workshop on development
and disability at Manila, with the involvement of
government officials from 10 countries in the region;
representatives from ESCAP, ILO, UNDP, UNICEF, WHO,
and the United States Agency for International Development,
Disabled Peoples’ International, other international
NGOs and staff members of the Bank.
66. ADB has launched a major project on the issue
of disability. The outcomes of this project are
expected to assist ADB to have a greater awareness
about disability issues and provide tools for including
disability issues in its activities. It is expected
that outputs will also make a significant contribution
towards the goals and objectives of the Decade.
The project is focused on identifying disability
issues in poverty reduction, covering four countries
- Cambodia, India, the Philippines and Sri Lanka
- and is expected to be completed by the end of
November 2002, with a regional approach and inter-sectoral
and inter-agency collaboration. The stakeholders
that are involved include Governments, disability
NGOs, the United Nations system, donor agencies
and development organizations. The project involves
working with the national task forces on disability
in each country to enhance their ability to play
a key role in identifying and coordinating disability
policies.
67. Other ADB initiatives in relation to disability
include a social protection strategy which the Bank
adopted in 2001, in which disability issues were
introduced, and a major project in promoting employment
opportunities in Mongolia which includes people
with disability.
V. CONCLUSION
68. It is evident that without strong support at
the regional level, the implementation of the unique
regional Decade at the national level would have
been difficult. The role of regional cooperation
mechanisms, namely, RICAP Subcommittee on Disability-related
Concerns and the Thematic Working Group on Disability-related
Concerns, has been significant in the development
of policy tools to support the achievement of the
regional Decade goals as well as to monitor the
implementation of such policy tools. In the regional
coordination mechanism for the Decade, the United
Nations system has played an important role. This
has been clearly seen in this review document. This
region will implement another decade to achieve
an inclusive, barrier-free and rights-based society
for persons with disabilities. To achieve this goal,
each member of the United Nations system needs to
further strengthen its work and join hands to create
synergy of its regional cooperation and support.
