Towards a society for all:
Long-term Strategy to Implement the
World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons to the Year 2000 and Beyond*
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Contents
The Long-term Strategy to Implement the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled
Persons (the "Long-term Strategy") was developed at the end of the United Nations Decade of Disabled Persons (1983-1992) through
broad-based consultations in accordance with General Assembly resolutions 45/91, 46/96 and
48/99 and Economic and Social Council resolution 1993/20.
The Long-term Strategy provides a framework for collaborative action in implementing
the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons (the
"World Programme") (A/37/351/Add.1 and Add.1/Corr.1, annex, sect. VIII,
recommendation 1 (IV)), as well as the Standard Rules on the
Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities (the "Standard
Rules") (resolution 48/96, annex). It incorporates those national, regional and
global measures which proved successful and sustainable in the course of the Decade. It
envisages national medium-term plans as the leading edge of the Strategy. The component
elements of a national plan are suggested expecting, however, that these will be adapted
to national needs, resources and aspirations. The Strategy's guiding vision is the concept
of a society for all. Its foundation remains the three themes of the World Programme -
prevention of disability, rehabilitation and equalization of opportunities for disabled
persons.
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During the United Nations Decade of Disabled Persons (1983-1992), consensus was reached
on the need to remove the social and physical barriers that limit the participation of
individuals in society. It became clear that society creates a handicap when it fails to
accommodate the diversity of all its members.
People with disabilities often encounter attitudinal and environmental barriers that
prevent their full, equal and active participation in society. These barriers impinge
particularly on the well-being of persons with intellectual, mental or multiple
disabilities. They add to the disadvantage customarily experienced by disabled persons
belonging to such populations or social groups as women, children, the elderly and
refugees.
In developing countries, where 80 per cent of the disabled population live, the
widespread lack of basic necessities of life such as medical services, education,
training, employment and shelter is acutely experienced by disabled persons.
The achievements of the Decade have been significant. They include a new level of
leadership by organizations of disabled persons; an increasing willingness by civil
society to adjust to the diversity of its members, including those with disabilities;
greater recognition by the international community of the need to equalize opportunities
for disabled persons, and widespread agreement on the effectiveness of community-based
rehabilitation with disabled persons and their families actively involved in programme
design, implementation and evaluation.
These and other achievements, as well as operational measures that proved successful
during the past decade, provide the springboard for the Long-term Strategy. The Strategy,
however, does not stand alone. It must be seen as an integral part of the goals and
programmes of the greater society, including in the areas of sustainable development,
technical cooperation, reduction of hunger and malnutrition, protection of the environment
and promotion of peace, human rights, employment, shelter and functional literacy.
It is in this broad context that the challenges faced by disabled persons need to be
continuingly articulated and ultimately resolved.
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In a society for all, the needs of all citizens constitute the basis for planning and
policy. The general system of society is made accessible to all.
By accommodating its structures and functioning to the needs of all, a society
mobilizes the potential of all its citizens and, consequently, strengthens its
developmental potential.
People with disabilities are a natural and integral part of society and, in the
interest of society as a whole, should have opportunities to contribute their experience,
talents and capabilities to national and international development.
The concept of a society for all, encompassing human diversity and the development of
all human potential, can be said to embody, in a single phrase, the human rights
instruments of the United Nations. Defining and translating the human rights of disabled
persons into specific measures and programmes remains a major challenge. The recently
adopted Standard Rules can help guide public policy in the direction of ensuring the human
rights of disabled persons.
The Standard Rules focus on the equalization of opportunities for disabled persons, one
of the three main themes of the World Programme of Action. Rules 5 to 12 directly address
eight areas of equal participation (each area containing a number of specific targets):
accessibility, education, employment, income maintenance and social security, family life
and personal integrity, culture, recreation and sports, and religion.
The concept and scope of rehabilitation, another major theme of the World Programme,
evolved during the Decade so that greater emphasis is now placed on disabled persons and
their families participating in the design, organization and evaluation of rehabilitation
services concerning them, particularly in community-based rehabilitation. Rehabilitation
encompasses counselling, training in self-care, provision of aids and devices, specialized
education, vocational rehabilitation and others.
The third major theme of the World Programme, prevention of disabilities, calls for
all-encompassing strategies such as those needed to end war, famine and malnutrition, as
well as for quite specific programmes such as those needed to control certain diseases or
make the roads and workplace safe.
The three themes of the World Programme, equalization of opportunities, rehabilitation
and prevention provide the intellectual foundations of the strategy. During the Decade,
efforts to equalize opportunities for disabled persons gained particular momentum, which
should be maintained in the coming years, with special focus on the following three areas:
human rights of disabled persons; empowerment of persons with disabilities; and
involvement of disabled persons and their organizations as true partners in the
development of programmes, policies and projects concerning them.
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Since not all the necessary changes can be implemented immediately or simultaneously, a
step-by-step approach is proposed, guided by the long-term vision of a society for all.
The core element of the Long-term Strategy is a series of national plans supported by
regional and global activities.
After a lead-in period, 1995-1996, a medium-term national plan is proposed for
1997-2002, coinciding with the quinquennial review of the World Programme. A second plan
for the years 2002-2007 would follow.
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A major effort will be required during the lead-in period of 1995-1996. Proposed
activities for the lead-in include establishing a task force, convening a forum,
organizing a national review, issuing a long-term policy statement and adopting
medium-term targets. The nature and scope of each of these steps will be shaped by
existing human and material resources, including by drawing on innovation, ingenuity and
the involvement of institutions of civil society.
After the lead-in period, a five-year plan is proposed from 1997 to 2002, aiming to
reach selected targets in that period. Operational measures that proved effective during
the Decade could help to ensure that the targets are reached. Those measures are discussed
below and include integrating disability issues into national policies, setting standards,
mobilizing resources, decentralizing programme implementation, establishing partnerships,
strengthening organizations of disabled persons, strengthening national coordinating
committees and monitoring progress.
Success of the interim plans and overall Strategy rests upon government commitment,
leadership by disabled persons' organizations, involvement of civil society and, where
possible, permanent structures for implementation and monitoring. Setting well-defined and
feasible targets will help all players to act towards the same objectives. Keeping plans
simple, flexible and participatory from the outset will ensure their ongoing
effectiveness.
Activities for lead-in period of 1995-1996
The following activities are proposed for the lead-in years of 1995-1996:
- Establishing a task force. Members of the task force should include representatives of
the Government, of organizations of disabled persons, of rehabilitation and prevention
specialists, and of important segments of civil society. Their principal task would be to
prepare for a broad-based national forum;
- Convening a forum. A broad-based national forum should be convened to obtain input and
long-term commitment to a national disability strategy. The forum could review the
national disability situation, formulate a long-term policy statement and agree on
medium-term targets. Participants could include representatives of selected ministries,
the national coordinating committee, organizations of disabled persons, professionals,
citizens groups, communities and families. It could involve legislators, business persons,
donors and representatives of the United Nations agencies or bodies;
- Reviewing the situation. A review of existing policies and programmes should be made or
updated as the basis for determining priority needs and resources. Needs and resources
must be matched and translated into operational terms in a set of medium-term targets;
- Formulating or updating a long-term policy statement. The policy statement would form
the conceptual framework of the Long-term Strategy,
stating overall objectives and essential principles;
- Setting medium-term targets. Targets are necessary for the medium term since not all
needs can be achieved at once. In setting targets, the following points may be helpful:
- Targets should encompass the important issues raised in the World Programme - human
rights, equalization of opportunities, rehabilitation and prevention. The World Programme
and other United Nations instruments provide a guide for setting rehabilitation and
prevention targets. The Standard Rules provide a source of targets in the area of
equalization of opportunities. Conventions, guidelines and programmes both national and
international are other sources of targets;
- Within these broad areas, some targets may focus directly on improving the actual living
conditions of disabled persons (for example, the actual removal of physical barriers),
while others may focus on enabling infrastructure or measures (such as legislation leading
towards the eventual removal of physical barriers);
- Targets may also be of a promotional nature, intended to generate action that would be
difficult to measure (for example, changing attitudes of the general public), while others
may lend themselves more readily to measurement (for example, a precise increase in the
numbers of disabled persons working in the media);
- Once agreement is reached on what is to be achieved, it is important to clarify who will
be responsible, how and when;
- Variables and indicators for each target should be clearly identified to assist in
monitoring and evaluation, as discussed below in chapter IV, section C;
- Possible targets include the following:
- Institutional/organizational: by 1997, a medium-term plan with a menu of targets for the
years 1997-2002 to be formulated;
- Human rights: by 1998, plans to be formulated for (a) implementing Convention 159 of the
International Labour Organization concerning employment of disabled persons; and (b)
applying the Convention on the Rights of the Child (resolution 44/25, annex) as it
pertains to children with disabilities (articles 23, 27 and 39);
- Equalization of opportunities: by 1998, the Standard Rules to be adopted in principle
and certain rules selected for implementation before 2002;
- Rehabilitation: by 1999, community-based rehabilitation to be established in __ rural
areas (the number to be determined at national level);
- Prevention: by 2002, the causes of avoidable impairment that lead to disability to be
reduced by __ per cent (to be determined at the national level), in keeping with the
strategies of the World Health Organization's Global Strategy of Health for All and those
of IMPACT of the United Nations Development Programme.
Measures for the medium term 1997-2002
Experience gained during the Decade suggests that certain measures are particularly
effective. These are discussed briefly below:
- Designating a lead agency, which could establish high visibility for the plan and ensure
clear division of responsibilities among the many possible players. The lead agency would,
ideally, be a government ministry or agency at the highest level;
- Strengthening national coordinating committees, which were very effective during the
International Year of Disabled Persons (1981). The national coordinating committees should
have a permanent structure with membership comprising the concerned government ministries,
organizations of disabled persons, business and civil associations. As the name implies,
the Committee's chief function could be coordination, but it should not preclude setting
standards, mobilizing resources, forming partnerships, implementing programmes and
projects, and facilitating information exchange within and between countries and between
Governments and non-governmental organizations;
- Strengthening organizations of disabled persons, particularly their resource base,
organizational skills and participation in decision-making. Governments may wish to
consider providing those organizations with facilities, equipment and an operational
budget in view of the fact that they are expected to be at the leading edge of change
concerning the status of disabled persons and the transformation of social values,
attitudes and practices required in achieving a society for all;
- Establishing partnerships, including among non-traditional partners. Certain sectors can
effect change and produce well-defined benefits. For example, the media can influence
values and attitudes. The business sector can provide opportunities for work. Religious
and civil sectors can facilitate participation. Families and communities can provide a
benign and encouraging atmosphere. Health and social sector personnel can set up an
enabling environment. Sports and leisure organizations can broaden the experience of
participation for all concerned. "South-South" and "North-South"
partnerships or "twinning" between organizations could lead to effective
innovations;
- Integrating disability issues into national policies pertaining to the greater society.
This should be done in a natural way at the planning stage of all policies, programmes and
projects in all countries. Such integration is particularly important where resources are
scarce, as in developing countries and those in transition from central planning;
- Setting standards is an ongoing process pertaining to human rights, life-style, services
and products. Standards should seek to ensure that patterns of behaviour and design of
services and products are non-harmful over time for all citizens. Standards can be set in
legislation and policy guidelines. Countries that already have comprehensive legislation
may need to focus on reaching the established standards by educating and persuading the
broad public, employers, service providers and others;
- Generating awareness of the lives, experiences, talents and contributions of disabled
persons in an integrated setting is important for providing disabled persons with highly
visible role models and for changing negative stereotyping of disabled persons by the
media where this happens;
- Mobilizing resources, which may go beyond monetary resources to encompass, for example,
such assets as family and community solidarity and goodwill, teamwork and leadership
skills, knowledge and technology (data banks, manuals, etc.), infrastructure and
organization, alliances and partnerships, add-on possibilities to broad-based communal
programmes and skills developed within organizations of disabled persons, including for
technical cooperation and fund-raising;
- Decentralizing programme implementation, including responsibility and resources, in
order to ensure appropriateness of actions and to build up local capabilities. The final
choice of options should rest with end-users with, if necessary, the assistance of a
professional or guardian;
- Monitoring and evaluating progress should be undertaken simultaneously for both the
medium-term plan and the Long-term Strategy, as discussed below in chapter IV, section C.
Monitoring of the medium-term plan could be guided by the targets.
Perspective plan for 2002-2007
Building on the knowledge, experience and momentum generated during the first
medium-term plan and a critique of its achievements, a plan for the years 2002 to 2007
should aim to achieve more. Its targets could be bolder, moving closer to the society for
all, yet not losing sight of prevailing realities.
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Regional and international support can assist countries in becoming self-sufficient, on
setting standards, on facilitating exchange of information and experience and on
promoting, where applicable, participation of disabled persons' organizations in
decision-making and of disabled persons in programme implementation.
Regional measures
Regional organizations are well positioned to facilitate the adaptation and transfer of
global approaches, standards and technology to the specific needs and options of the
region. During the United Nations Decade of Disabled Persons, some regions were very
active, others less so. Inaction has been attributed to wars, political instability and
economic constraints.
Within the Long-term Strategy, regional organizations are invited:
- To review their socio-economic policies, programmes and projects to determine the extent
to which they address the needs, rights and concerns of people with disabilities;
- To develop a disability component in their socio-economic policies, programmes and
projects;
- To develop or update regional strategies concerning disability, in consultation with
organizations of disabled persons;
- To improve exchange of information and experience by organizing conferences, workshops
and task forces to address specific issues of disability, including adaptation of the
Standard Rules;
- To consider the feasibility of convening a broad-based regional forum at which to
develop or refine a regional long-term strategy with interim five-year plans commencing
with the years 1997-2002;
- To support national plans.
Global measures
Global organizations can support regional and national initiatives for reaching the
society for all, guided by policies and programmes of the United Nations system. Global
policies should be continually refined on the basis of regional and national experience.
Specifically, international organizations are invited:
- To support regional and national plans;
- To consult with organizations of disabled persons when developing or revising a wide
range of socio-economic policies, programmes and events such as international conferences,
special anniversaries or observances;
- To promote human rights, health, hygiene, food, education, rehabilitation, employment
and shelter for all, in keeping with their mandates;
- To integrate a well-defined disability component into their socio-economic policies and
programmes, including technical cooperation and public information;
- To utilize the expertise of disabled persons among their administrative and project
staff;
- To improve exchange of information among international organizations as well as between
donors, policy-makers and implementing agencies;
- To produce instructive materials and information on successful programmes;
- To examine the feasibility of initiating a joint model project with the aim of assisting
a limited number of interested Governments in designing a comprehensive disability policy
that could be tested and, in time, serve as a practical model for replication or
adaptation in other countries;
- To review and revise plans and procedures every five years in order to integrate in them
disability issues and an active participation by disabled persons.
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As is evident from the preceding sections, monitoring and evaluation of the Long-term
Strategy needs to be considered from two perspectives: national data disaggregated in
terms of geographical location, gender, socio-economic characteristics or programmatic
activity, and aggregated national-level data in terms of regional or global measures.
An essential first task is selection of variables and indicators of performance in
terms of achievements and obstacles encountered. Indicators should be clear, unambiguous,
accurate and explain variations in performance and results. Monitoring indicators will
focus on input delivery and use; evaluation indicators focus on results attained and
observed changes among intended beneficiaries.
Monitoring should occur periodically and reports should coincide with annual plan and
budget reviews. This will provide an empirical basis for assessing and instituting
necessary adjustments in targets and activities. Monitoring activities of the United
Nations system, including the work of the Special Rapporteur for the Standard Rules,
represent important sources of collateral input to monitoring the Long-term Strategy.
Evaluation findings should be produced so that they can coincide with quinquennial
reviews of implementation of the World Programme scheduled for 1997, 2002 and 2007. This
will provide a sound basis for identification, review and assessment of salient issues,
trends and specific areas of need.
Organizations of people with disabilities should be appropriately involved in
identification of suitable measures of progress and obstacles, analysis of findings and
interpretation of results.
National-level monitoring is the core activity in the monitoring and evaluation of the
Long-term Strategy. This can be carried out either by a specially designated body or
organization, such as a national coordinating committee on disability, or in connection
with ongoing procedures to survey national socio-economic trends. Monitoring reports
should be organized as an integral part of national assessments of socio-economic
performance to ensure that monitoring findings and recommendations are effectively
reflected in decisions taken on development policies, programmes and projects.
Regional-level monitoring would build upon national-level findings. A number of
regional bodies and organizations are concerned with disability issues, which include the
regional commissions of the United Nations, the Council of Europe, the European Union, the
League of Arab States, the Organization of African Unity, the Organization of American
States and the Nordic Council. It is necessary to identify measures that are both
consistent among national settings and capable of aggregation at supranational level.
Monitoring of global instruments and conventions in the social and economic fields can
provide important contextual indicators for monitoring the Long-term Strategy. Conversely,
that process could also be used to integrate disability concerns in mainstream
development.
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* Implementation of the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled
Persons; report of the Secretary General (A/49/435, annex). General Assembly resolution
49/153 of 23 December 1994: "Calls upon Governments, when implementing the World
Programme of Action, to take into account the elements suggested in the Long-term Strategy
to Implement the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons to the Year 2000
and Beyond" (sect. II, para. 2)
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