Arab Nations Launch Regional Decade for People with Disabilities
By Kay Schriner (kays@uark.edu)
Disability advocates in the Arab nations have pulled off a major accomplishment - they have gained political support for an Arab Decade for People with Disabilities (2003-2012).
The final agreement was reached at an October 2002 meeting which included representatives from 19 Arab countries and more than 100 Arab Non Governmental Organizations active in disability issues. The declaration culminated a long process of consultation with the ministers of Social Affairs in those nations.
The October meeting was held in Lebanon under the auspices of Lebanese President General Emile Lahoud. Among those in attendance at the October meeting were the Head of the Arab Council of Ministers of Social Affairs, the Syrian minister of labor and social affairs Ghada El-Jabi, and six general directors of Arab Ministries of Social Affairs. Also attending were some 100 people with disabilities.
The introductory remarks for the conference included clear statements of the interrelationship of disability with broader social and political events.
Conference speakers estimated that more than 400 newly disabled persons are the outcome of violence that is still taking place in Palestine since the outbreak of the late Intifada in September 2000. An additional similar number may be the result of the UN sanctions on Iraq and this number would be increased by the eruption of war against Iraq in the region. All these events show clearly how important is the work for the promotion of the human rights principles in the region and for that of people with disability in particular. In fact, these are the motives that made both the Arab League and the Arab Organization of Disabled People join together in work for the launching and implementation of an Arab decade of disabled people in the region.
The reality of the matter clearly shows that if one would like to cross over the Arab World from the Morocco region to the Gulf, one can come out with the following observations. We have an increase in the number of disabled people as a result of violence in Algeria, Sudan, Iraq and Palestine. Disability is also growing as a result of poverty and malnutrition. This can be found in Egypt, Sudan, Somalia, Djibouti and Yemen. A third source of disability is blood marriage, a very common tradition in most Arab countries, which is leading to an increase in mental disability across the Arab world. All three factors show clearly the need for a collective and concerted effort to promote preventive policies, rehabilitation services and disability rights all over the region.
Over four days, the attendees hammered out ten focal points for the Decade, including
- Education
- Legislation
- Health
- Employment
- Accessibility
- Women with disability
- Children with disabilities
- Sports and Leisure
- Media and disability
- Poverty
- Globalization and disability
Experts in each of the areas prepared papers and the conference attendees agreed on a final draft of the declaration of the Decade.
The Arab ministers of social affairs have agreed to implement the Decade. Following an initial six-month period of preliminary planning, a series of regional meetings and seminars for ministries, Disabled Peoples Organizations and NGOs will decide on final implementation strategies.
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