Jordan: Prince Raad bin Zaid in Support of the UN Convention

Your Excellency, Representative of the Greek Government,
President Phil Craven,
President Michael Fox,
Distinguished Delegates and Friends,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

May I first of all begin by conveying to His Excellency, the Representative of the Greek Government to both Presidents Phil Craven and Michael Fox and to all those present here today His Majesty King Abdulla's II' heartfelt greetings, and best wishes for the success for this momentous international gathering.

It is indeed an honor to be here with you, in Athens, the ancient birthplace of the Olympic Games, in celebrating of the very good and noble in mankind. We rejoin here today, two and a half thousand years after the birth of the Olympics inspired by its refined values of diversity and participation. Certainly, our gathering here in Greece resonates ancient principles that accepts our differences and celebrates our common values.

And while the whole world has just commemorated the triumphant reunion of the Olympics in Athens, we also the supporters and the promoters of the rights of persons with disabilities are rejoicing with gusto Athens acceptance and embrace of the Paralympic Movement for the first time in fifty years since its birth; a union that reinforces the core values of dignity and equality for all human beings, where all human abilities are united by humanity's strive for excellence. With more than 4,500 athletes participating here with us, it is truly a momentous occasion to speak to you from here.

Dear Excellencies,
Distinguished Colleagues,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

After a long history of total neglect, disability as a human rights issue has finally gained momentum in international recognition. After continually being denied their basic human rights, people with disabilities have experienced such severe and tortuous lifelong discrimination, which hopefully would be eradicated in the days to come the world over.

More than 500 million people with disabilities around the globe live in the developing world, and are denied access to the resources necessary to meet their basic needs; their vulnerability is even greater during times of conflict or disaster when they are often ignored and are ill-treated.

The elimination of all forms of discrimination lies at the heart of the UN mandate and is reflected in all international instruments. Moreover, human equality is central to the system of basic freedoms postulated by human rights law. Its core premise is that all persons not only possess inestimable inherent self- worth but also are inherently equal in terms of self- worth, regardless of their difference. Thus differences based on arbitrary factors from a moral point of view over which a person has no control, are considered invalid. This is not to say that there are no differences between the people; but in the realm of disability rights our struggle was to call for a genuinely egalitarian society, one that has a positive and just approach human differences. The disability rights debate is not about the enjoyment of specific rights, but about ensuring the effective enjoyment of all human rights .

While the UN Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities adopted in 1993, are not considered legally binding; they do however, contain internationally accepted guidelines on disability, which are intended to enforce policy-making and comprehensive program implementation at both national and international levels.

  The call for an International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has been at the heart of our efforts to support and promote the rights of persons with disabilities for a number of years. I still recall the meeting that was chaired by Dr. Arthur O'Reilly former RI President, in July 1999, at the Royal Palace in Jordan, where it was suggested then that it was time to try again to get the United Nations to adopt a Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and to which there was unanimous agreement that RI should, in its Charter for the Third Millennium call on nations to support this proposal.

But though there were numerous calls supporting this Convention, it was not until December 2001 that the General Assembly adopted resolution 56/168 establishing an Ad Hoc Committee for a Comprehensive and Integral International Convention to Promote and Protect the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities, based on a holistic approach in the work done in the fields of social development, human rights and non-discrimination and taking into account the recommendations of the Commission on Human Rights and the Commission for Social Development. A year and a half later, the Ad Hoc Committee decided to establish a Drafting Working Group that included, for the first time, 12 NGO representatives and one representative from National Human Rights Institutions; in addition to 27 government representatives.

The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan has been among the forefront countries throughout the process and has fully supported the substantiation of the Convention. In addition, Jordan was nominated to represent NGOs in West Asia through the nomination of Jordanian Director of the Landmine Survivors Network. Ever since, Jordan has actively participated in every Ad Hoc Committee meeting and we have included people with disabilities on our delegations as experts. I cannot emphasize enough our firm belief in the active participation of people with disabilities and their representative organization in the drafting of this Convention, and in its monitoring and implementation. There is no excuse for leaving people with disabilities outside the room as their treaty is being negotiated.

Dear Excellencies,
Distinguished Colleagues,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Allow me to briefly touch upon the main issues in drafting this Convention. The evolution of international human rights law requires us to build on, and not undercut what we have achieved. The structure of this Convention should cover all traditionally defined areas of rights, whether civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights underscoring indivisibility, mutual reinforcement and equal importance of these rights. The importance of equalization of opportunities requires that we go beyond the mere non-discrimination model to specific elaboration of measures to address barriers to enjoyment of rights by persons with disabilities.

As Lord Morris of Manchester remarked so poignantly and I quote: "Issues related to persons with disability should not always be viewed in the context of cost - effectiveness, but rather emphasis should be made on value as well as costs. Let us all join hands and see to it that all persons with a disability are seen as giving as well as receiving, where their potential is understood and valued where needs come before means, where if years cannot be added to their lives at least life can be added to their years."

It must be emphasized that we are not calling for "special" rights, we are calling for securing the rights already enjoyed by non-disabled people; no more "CHARITY" to receive but "RIGHTS" to claim.

We believe that the implementation and monitoring of international instruments starts at home. The enforcement of human rights law changes obligations from words to action. In view of the many challenges that currently face treaty bodies, we see the substantiation of this Convention as an opportunity to establish a more effective monitoring mechanism. While we cannot accept any monitoring mechanism below existing standards, we agree with the notion of focusing on both the international and national levels; also we hear with interest, creative ideas of complementing both these levels of monitoring with that of a regional level, moving the dialogue on implementation closer to home. Participation of persons with disabilities and their representative organizations in monitoring at all levels is considered by us as indispensable and has to be fully supported.

And I cannot conclude my statement without reference to Article 24 of the Draft treaty text, which is dedicated to the persons with disability's participation in cultural life, recreation, leisure and sport. This article was not discussed at the last Ad Hoc Committee meeting, but I note comments made in the Legal Analysis of the 3 rd Report prepared by Landmine Survivors Network that support proposals of separating participation in Sports and recreation from that of cultural life. The standard Rules 10 and 11 address Culture and Sports separately. In fact, sports and recreation have independent mechanisms of implementation at the national, regional and international levels; moreover, sports has proven to be an invaluable vehicle for early rehabilitation for people with disabilities and plays an important role in their integration. It needs to gain more focus and attention around the globe.

As supporters and promoters of the rights of persons with disabilities and integration, I take this opportunity to congratulate the IPC on signing the IOC- IPC Cooperation Agreement. The fact that Olympic and Paralympic summer games have one organizing Committee this year is indeed an important step; it is the dream of many supporters and promoters of the rights of persons with disabilities to see athletes with and without disabilities walk alongside each other, saluting billions of spectators in an integrated opening ceremony.

In conclusion, I take this opportunity to thank our hosts for organizing these games with renowned Greek hospitability; and special thanks to the International Paralympic Committee and RI for organizing this most stupendous gathering.

Friends,

Let us engage in the noble field of competitive sports striving for excellence, driven by sheer will, strength and ability. Let our athletes inspire us by their unique spirit to overcome all barriers; and let them teach us the true way towards acceptance and peace and may peace be the ultimate winner.

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