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Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons 1993-2002
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The Seoul Proposals
for the second half of the Decade
Recognizing the extent to which the
Agenda for Action for the Asian and Pacific Decade
of Disabled Persons, 1993 - 2002, had already been
implemented during the first half of the Decade,
and noting the extent to which further implementation
would be required in order to meet the Decade goal
of full participation and equality of people with
disabilities, the Meeting of Senior Officials to
Mark the Mid-point of the Asian and Pacific Decade
of Disabled Persons, 26 -29 September 1997, Seoul,
Korea stressed the importance of a recommitment
by all Governments, concerned United Nations bodies
and agencies and other intergovernmental and non-governmental
organizations to the full implementation of the
Agenda for Action.
In the context of the continued implementation
of the Agenda for Action, the Meeting agreed on
the following proposals for implementation during
the second half of the Decade as guidelines for
practical action.
National Coordination
Governments should:
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Recommit themselves to promoting
national coordination on disability-related matters
through the establishment and strengthening of
national coordinating committees on disability,
emphasizing the multi-sectoral approach, with
a view to ensuring the participation of all stake-holders
in the planning and implementation of Decade-related
programmes and activities;
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Formulate national plans of action
for the second half of the Decade and incorporate
those sectoral plans in their overall national
development plans and ongoing programmes. Each
national plan for the second half of the Decade
should follow a time-frame, include an inter-sectoral
emphasis with special consideration for disadvantaged
groups and include a built-in mechanism for monitoring
and evaluation as well as appropriate means of
resource allocation.
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Legislation
Governments should:
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Where not already enacted, promulgate
legislation on a priority basis to remove the
barriers that prevent the full participation and
equality of all persons with disabilities, with
special reference to the barriers faced by women
and children with disabilities.
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Take action to ensure that legislation
for the removal of barriers to the full participation
and equality of people with disabilities is effectively
implemented and monitored.
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Establish suitable mechanisms
to examine and identify all substantive and procedural
laws, including criminal and civil codes as well
as policy provisions, in preparation for (i) amendment
or repeal of provisions that restrict the full
participation of persons with disabilities and
that discriminate against the equalization of
opportunities and (ii) enactment of basic legislation
to protect the rights of people with disabilities
and to eliminate discriminatory practices, including
architectural and communications barriers.
Information
Governments should:
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Establish and maintain information
centres and databases on disability-related concerns.
Initiate training of national statistical personnel
and, where appropriate, with support of the Statistical
Institute for Asia and the Pacific (SIAP) and
other relevant institutions, on disability issues,
with particular reference to the generation of
reliable disability statistics, including definitions
of disability, questionnaire design, sampling
design, enumerator training and other data collection
activities, as well as tabulation and presentation
of gender- and age-specific disability data.
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Include questions on disability
issues in all future censuses and conduct periodic
surveys on disability issues. To that end, census
and survey personnel should receive appropriate
training.
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Make appropriate use of the Internet
for the dissemination and retrieval of data concerning
disability.
Public Awareness
Governments should:
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Undertake, starting in 1998, a
national public awareness campaign to commemorate
the Mid-point of the Decade and to publicize the
start of the second half of the Decade, through
various means, such as issuing first-day postal
covers and commemorative stamps and coins promoting
the full participation and equality of persons
with disabilities, organizing art and performing
arts festivals, and sports competitions of people
with disabilities, and organizing national and
sub-national mass media campaigns, including private
sector, folk media and grass-roots activities,
noting the International Day of Disabled Persons,
3 December.
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Promote awareness and sensitivity
among young people towards people with disabilities
through producing information materials on people
with disabilities, involving prominent personalities,
and encouraging young people to perform volunteer
work for people with disabilities.
Accessibility and Communication
Governments should:
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Where they have not already done
so, examine and evaluate their national situations
regarding the accessibility of people with disabilities
to public buildings and facilities, and public
transportation services, with the involvement
of people with disabilities.
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Take steps to improve accessibility
to all existing public buildings and facilities,
housing and educational facilities as well as
sports and recreational facilities; promote appropriate
action by local authorities and incorporate barrier-free
design features in all new construction, as well
as in all renovation and expansion.
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Take action to promote full access
to all new mass transport facilities and systems,
including railway systems; and develop plans to
incorporate barrier-free facilities and user-friendly
features for people with disabilities and older
persons in existing transportation systems on
a step by step basis.
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Support communication systems
for people with disabilities which improve their
access to information, their mobility and their
independence.
Education
Governments should:
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Provide education for all children
with disabilities which meets their specific needs,
including inclusive education, through: (i) sensitization
of the public to the educational needs of children
with disabilities; (ii) ensuring improvement and
increase in education opportunities for all children
with disabilities by improving the school enrolment
rate, physical access, necessary teaching equipment
and support staff, early intervention services
and tailored curricula; (iii) training professional
personnel on the special needs of children with
disabilities and winning the support of regular
school administrators and teachers; and (iv) providing
economic and social support for disabled children
from disadvantaged circumstances to continue their
education.
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Provide access to distance education
for people with disabilities unable to attend
conventional schools.
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Promote adult and non-formal education,
including vocational education, for persons with
disabilities in appropriate environments.
Training and Employment
Governments should:
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Improve job placement opportunities
for persons with disabilities by: (i) strengthening
capabilities of government officials, NGO personnel,
the private sector and family members to assist
people with disabilities in finding employment,
(ii) formulating policies to develop and support
job placement programmes and appropriate vocational
training opportunities for persons with disabilities
and (iii) recognizing the rights of duly qualified
disabled persons to regular employment.
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Identify and develop new job opportunities
for people with disabilities which are geared
towards the present and future demands of the
labour market and provide them with training in
those fields. This should include special arrangements
for people with extensive disabilities and those
who require a supportive environment.
Prevention of Causes of Disability
Governments should:
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Join the international campaign
to ban the production, use and sale of anti-personnel
land mines.
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Develop specific disability prevention
programmes with priorities as indicated by the
data collected in different countries.
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Develop and strengthen programmes
for early detection of causes of disability, and
for immunization coverage and eradication of the
most prevalent preventable causes of disability
to reduce both the prevalence and incidence of
disabilities.
Rehabilitation Services
Governments should:
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Undertake studies and surveys
on national rehabilitation needs, and as appropriate
establish and strengthen rehabilitation services,
especially in rural areas.
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Place high priority on the development
and implementation of national community-based
rehabilitation (CBR) strategies and programmes,
with emphasis on human resources development in
this area.
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Increase efforts to involve people
with disabilities, their families, their communities,
NGOs and other appropriate organizations in rehabilitation
programmes.
Assistive Devices
Governments should:
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Promote the local production,
distribution and maintenance of low-cost and high-quality
assistive devices through active exchange of information
and contact among users, local manufacturers and
concerned scientific institutes, with implementation
of standardization of components of and materials
for assistive devices.
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Take action to exempt assistive
devices, as well as components, materials and
production, repair and maintenance equipment from
custom duties.
Self-help Organizations
Governments should:
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Encourage programmes in support
of disabled persons to focus more emphatically
on rural self-help organizations of people with
disabilities, where there is a demonstrated need.
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Recognize the value of promoting
self-help organizations of people with specific
disabilities, and further promoting a cross-disability
federation of such self-help organizations.
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Channel resources, to the extent
possible, directly to self-help organizations
of people with disabilities to enable them to
carry out, on behalf of their national constituencies,
programmes aimed at independent living of disabled
persons.
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ESCAP and other concerned United
Nations bodies and agencies, as well as other
intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations,
and the private sector, should:
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Promote the implementation of
the above-mentioned national initiatives though
all possible means of technical assistance.
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Assist ESCAP members and associate
members in formulating national plans of action
for the second half of the Decade for implementation
of the Agenda for Action.
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Continue to monitor the progress
of the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons.
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Undertake an in-depth evaluation
of accomplishments at the national and regional
levels and submit it to the Commission for its
consideration at the close of the Decade.
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