Site map | Search | Contact Us

OPENING STATEMENT
 BY
MR. KIM HAK-SU
EXECUTIVE SECRETARY
UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMISSION FOR ASIA
AND THE PACIFIC

Excellencies,
Distinguished participants,
Ladies and gentlemen,

On behalf of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), I would like to extend my warmest welcome to you all at the opening of Regional Workshop on Monitoring the Implementation of the Biwako Millennium Framework for Action towards an Inclusive, Barrier-free and Rights-based Society for Persons with Disabilities in Asia and the Pacific (BMF).

I would like to express my appreciation to each of you for having accepted our invitation. We are indeed very fortunate to be able to bring together such a distinguished body of experts to discuss the important subject of this Workshop.

As you may be aware, Governments in the Asian and Pacific region have proclaimed the second Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons from 2003 to 2012.  The Biwako Millennium Framework for Action towards an Inclusive, Barrier-free and Rights-based Society for Persons with Disabilities in Asia and the Pacific (BMF) was adopted as the major regional policy guideline for the new decade at the 2002 High-level Intergovernmental Meeting to conclude the first Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons from 1993 to 2002.

The BMF clearly states that UNESCAP should convene biennial meetings to review its implementation and to identify further necessary actions during this Decade.   Each of the three expected meetings in the coming years will focus on specific BMF priority areas. Our partners including representatives of national coordination mechanisms on disability matters, disability focal points, NGOs, self-help organizations, media and other civil society groups will participate in these important meetings.  As you know, the BMF also encourages Governments in the region to establish statistical and policy-oriented indicators with an aim to assess situations of persons with disabilities in order to plan and implement relevant policies.  Such efforts will eventually lead to the formulation and implementation of a five-year comprehensive national plan of action on disability, which is an essential component of the implementation of the BMF goals and targets.

In light of these mandates, this Workshop intends to produce an action-oriented joint statement delineating key indicators and principles to effectively monitor the implementation of the BMF as well as reconfirming our commitments to this Decade. The success of this Workshop will rely on your active participation, the outcome of which will lead to a promising future for the rest of the Decade.

As you are aware, the BMF presents a paradigm shift from viewing disability primarily as a social welfare issue to a rights-based issue, in which empowerment of persons with disabilities is an essential component.   In connection with this, I would like to appreciate the fact that many of you are playing crucial roles in the elaboration of a Comprehensive and Integral International Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities internationally, and that many of you have contributed a lot to the success of the UNESCAP/APDF Workshop on this topic, which was just concluded yesterday.

Distinguished participants,

It is not an easy task for us to implement the goals and targets of the BMF, but it is imperative that we make efforts to do so in order to achieve our ultimate goals of creating an inclusive, barrier-free and rights-based society, not only for persons with disabilities but also for all of us in this region where two-thirds of the world population live.

Last but not least, I would like to express my deepest appreciation to resource persons and our staff who have devoted their time and energy in preparing this Workshop.

I wish you all the best for a very successful Workshop and an enjoyable stay in Thailand.

Thank you.