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II. Implementation of the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons A. Measures undertaken by the United Nations system 1.United Nations Secretariat B.Cooperation with Governments and international |
II. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE WORLD PROGRAMME OF ACTION CONCERNING DISABLED PERSONS
A. Measures undertaken by the United Nations system
3. Specialized agencies
(a) International Labour Organization
29. ILO activities in the disability field focus on promotion of equal
training and employment opportunities for people with disabilities. ILO
Convention No. 159 on Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment of
Disabled Persons, the main tool in this area, has been ratified by 48
countries.
30. Thirty one technical cooperation projects currently are being
implemented by ILO in this area, of which some are being undertaken in
cooperation with other United Nations bodies and organizations. ILO has
published a guide for employers' organizations and a guide for workers'
organizations on job creation for disabled people. ILO also published a
guide for specialists working in its multidisciplinary teams on
inclusion of disability issues in the advisory and training activities
of the team.
31. In connection with its seventy-fifth anniversary, in 1994, ILO
issued two publications in the disability field: "Towards
Equalizing Opportunities for Disabled People in Asia: Guide", and
"Disability Employment in Asia". The guide is a product of a
consultative workshop organized by the ILO Regional Office for Asia and
the Pacific and the ILO East Asia Multidisciplinary Advisory Team; it
describes changes taking place in Asia and worldwide, suggests policy
targets, describes a range of alternative strategies, including relative
strengths and weaknesses, and underlines the goal of the equality of
opportunity of people with disabilities. The second publication aims to
promote awareness of the disability situation in the region and provide
guidelines on disability and employment issues.
(b) Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations
32. FAO has ongoing vitamin A deficiency projects in a number of
developing countries, including Burkina Faso, Ghana, India, Nepal,
Nigeria and Viet Nam; possible expansion to other countries is under
review. FAO reports that schemes to settle people who were formerly
threatened with river blindness has been proceeding satisfactorily; many
people are now returning or moving to the lands, estimated at 25 million
hectares, that have been freed from the threat of oncocerciasis.
33. The 1992 International Conference on Nutrition produced the World
Declaration and Plan of Action for Nutrition, which inspired Governments
to take the initiative for the elaboration of a national action plan,
including specific activities for disabled persons. Integration of
disabled persons as beneficiaries of national development projects for
high value horticulture crops has been a feature of programmes under
implementation in Uganda and Bangladesh. FAO also provides technical
assistance to train disabled groups in the production of fruit and
vegetables in India.
(c) United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
34. UNESCO cooperated with the Government of Spain to organize the World
Conference on Special Needs Education: Access and Quality (Salamanca, 7
10 June 1994). The Conference considered new thinking on learning
disabilities and on the relationship between special education provision
and general school reform.
(d) World Health Organization
35. WHO continued its efforts to promote the strengthening of
rehabilitation services through community based services and health care
referral services. During the period under review, 34 countries
benefited from WHO workshops focusing on disability issues. Fourteen
countries received direct assistance for programme planning, monitoring
or evaluation. Guidelines for management, training and selected
rehabilitation interventions have been prepared and are available.
36. WHO prepared, in cooperation with ILO and UNESCO, a joint position
paper on the concept of community based rehabilitation to inform policy
makers and programme managers on its objectives and methods for
implementation.
4. Technical cooperation activities
37. In its resolution 48/99, the General Assembly urged Governments to
integrate disability concerns in technical cooperation activities,
including exchanges of knowledge and experience. This has been
considered in the preceding paragraphs. In addition, the United Nations
Secretariat, in cooperation with the Government of the Netherlands and
the World Veterans Federation, a non governmental organization,
organized on request an advisory mission to Belarus in January 1993. The
mission focused on disability policy formulation, legislation, services,
training and programme coordination. The mission assisted in analyses of
the current situation of disabled persons, in identification of
priorities for policy formulation and in formulation of options for
short- and long term action. An ad hoc advisory mission was undertaken
to South Africa in October 1993 at the request of Government, the
African National Congress and the National Council for the Physically
Disabled. Consultations focused on national disability programmes and
implementation of the Standard Rules on the Equalization of
Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities.
5. United Nations Voluntary Fund on Disability
38. Pursuant to General Assembly resolution 47/88 of 16 December 1992,
special attention was directed to building national capacities and
expanding technical exchanges among developing countries to further
implementation of the development objectives of the World Programme of
Action concerning Disabled Persons.
39. During the period under review the Fund received more than 100
inquiries about possibilities of obtaining technical and financial
assistance in the disability field. Inquiries came in the main from the
non governmental community, which reflects the growing sense of
empowerment among organizations of people with disabilities. Proposals
received are reviewed by substantive specialists, whose appraisals are
provided to all parties concerned with the proposal. Funding
recommendations are prepared for activities that reflect most closely
priorities identified for the Fund by the General Assembly. Proposals
from non governmental organizations require endorsement of the concerned
governmental office.
40. Table 1 indicates that 11 of the 12 proposals approved for funding
during 1993 supported specific action benefiting people with
disabilities at national and regional levels. This involved a resource
commitment by the Fund of $160,120. Of that total, $57,520 (36 per cent)
was provided in the form of co financing grants from the Arab Gulf
Programme for United Nations Development Organizations (AGFUND) under
its cooperative programme with the Fund. Co financing grants from AGFUND
now total more than $1 million and AGFUND remains the single largest
contributor to the Fund. It should be noted that, consistent with the
Fund mandate, each $1 granted by the Fund helps to mobilize on average
an additional $4 for action in the disability field.
Table 1. Distribution of grants for 1993, by region
Grant amount Total budget
Region Number of grants United States dollars
Africa 2 18 000 49 100
Asia and the Pacific 3 35 600 361 805
Latin America and the
Caribbean 2 21 000 58 100
Western Asia 4 75 520 267 500
Interregional 1 10 000 47 000
Total 12 160 120 783 315
41. Table 2 provides a list of Fund assisted activities approved during
1993. More than half are concerned with training and institution
building, including two projects co financed with AGFUND. Two projects
focused on improving the flow of information on disability issues and
concerns of peoples with disabilities. Support was also provided for NGO
initiatives in income generation in rural Zambia and in sports for
people with disabilities in Western Asia. The Fund assisted initiative
of the Alvarez International Centre on Ageing, in the Dominican
Republic, focuses on increasing the involvement of older persons in the
organization and delivery of essential services among rural people with
disabilities.
Table 2. Projects approved in 1993
Location
Project title
Dominican Republic Survey and seminar on self-help networks of older
disabled persons
India Woodwork training for the deaf
Interregional World Federation of the Deaf: preparation of an
organization manual
Lebanon Al-Amal Institute for Mentally Handicapped Children (phase II)
a/
Regional
Africa
Training leaders of the Eastern Africa Federation of the Disabled
Asia and Pacific Training instructors in oesophogeal speaking
Asia and Pacific Support for initiatives of developing countries in
education of the deaf/blind
Western Asia Arab regional summer games for people with disabilities
Western Asia Regional seminar on disabled women
Western Asia Workshop for key medical and technical personnel in
prosthetics and orthotics
Trinidad and Tobago Production of a career booklet on people with
disabilities
Zambia Self-help project for the disabled at Kasama
a/ Co-financed by AGFUND: $26,550.
42. The review of project cycle activities in 1993 indicates that the
Fund plays a unique role both in furthering implementation of policies
and programmes of benefit to persons with disabilities and in supporting
efforts by disabled people to strengthen negotiating capacities for
policy design, programme planning and project implementation. The data
suggest that seed money grants of the Fund are instrumental in
mobilizing resources not otherwise available for action of benefit to
people with disabilities. The increased involvement of organizations of
disabled people in cooperation with government reflects growing public
private voluntary sector partnership for action in the disability field.
6. Panel of Eminent Persons
43. In its resolution 48/99, the General Assembly requests the Secretary
General to pursue his efforts to establish a panel of persons with wide
experience in the field of disability to advise him on disability
matters. In that connection it might be recalled that chapter IV,
"Monitoring mechanism", of the Standard Rules on the
Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities, adopted by
the General Assembly in its resolution 48/96, refers to the
establishment of a panel of experts from among international
organizations of persons with disabilities to be consulted by the
Special Rapporteur for the Rules and when appropriate the Secretariat.
In conjunction with the designation of Mr. B. Lindqvist as Special
Rapporteur, representatives of organizations of disabled persons met at
Headquarters (20 and 21 August 1994) to review and discuss his programme
of work and took a decision on a framework for the expert panel
envisaged in the Standard Rules. In the light of those developments
further study is required of experience gained in such a manner of
providing expert advice in the disability field to the Special
Rapporteur and to the Secretariat.
B. Cooperation with Governments and international non governmental
organizations
44. In its resolution 1993/20, the Economic and Social Council
requests that the draft plan of action to implement a long term strategy
to further implementation of the World Programme of Action be developed
in consultation with international non governmental organizations of
persons with disabilities. In fact the non governmental community, in
cooperation with Governments concerned, made important contributions to
furthering implementation of the World Programme itself during the
period under review.
45. The Secretariat collaborated with the Government of Iceland, the
Icelandic National Federation of Persons with Disabilities and the
Icelandic Organization of Disabled Persons to organize an international
conference entitled "Beyond normalization; towards 'One Society for
All'" (Reykjavik, 1 3 June 1994). The meeting was attended by 700
participants, had substantive sessions dealing with such issues as
national disability legislation and international cooperation, and
adopted the Reyjkavik Declaration in support of the Standard Rules on
the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities and the
work of the Special Rapporteur for the Standard Rules.
46. The World Veterans Federation organized its Sixth International
Conference on Legislation Concerning Veterans and Victims of War at
Lisbon from 13 to 16 March 1994. The Conference was sponsored by the
Government of Portugal and was attended by representatives of 41
countries and observers from both the United Nations and 15 additional
countries. The Conference adopted a series of recommendations, which
included international cooperation in the field of prosthetic and
orthotic devices, on the situation and welfare of war disabled persons
and their families, and on assistance to civilian victims of war.
47. Major upcoming events of international non governmental
organizations in the disability field include the Assembly and Sixth
European Regional Conference of Rehabilitation International (Budapest,
4 9 September 1994); the Eleventh World Congress of the International
League of Societies for Persons with Mental Handicap (New Delhi, 17-20
November 1994); the First World Assembly (and Fourth World Congress) of
Disabled Peoples' International (Sydney, Australia, 1 11 December 1994);
and the Twelfth World Congress of the World Federation of the Deaf
(Vienna, 6 15 July 1995).
