23 May, 2012Bratislava

Addressing the rights of persons with special abilities, including women

Monjurul Kabir, Komila Rakhimova, Louise Sperl

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The world’s largest disadvantaged group….

• 650 million in the world (10% of the population)• 80% live in developing countries• 20% of the poor are persons with disabilities• Several times higher poverty & unemployment

rates• Segregated and incomplete education• Increased risk of abuse, especially among women

Persons with Special Abilities…

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Due to….

• Attitudinal barriers/prejudices• Barriers in the physical environment• Inaccessibility of information• Institutional and systemic barriers• Invisibility

Persons with Special Abilities face Marginalization…

Challenges related to:

• Education• Employment• Lack of Engagement

& Inclusion• Violence• Access to justice

Danijela Jovanovic at the peak of Mt. Elbrus (Photo: UNDP)

Overall Challenges of Persons with Special Abilities in ECIS

• Reproductive rights• Vulnerability to

violence and sexual exploitation

• Access to education• Employment

opportunities

Women with Special Abilities in ECIS

Social exclusion focus group discussion with women with disabilities in Uzbekistan. (Photo: UNDP Uzbekistan)

• Adoption by the United Nations General Assembly - 13 December 2006

• Opened for signature - 30 March 2007• Entry into force – 3 May 2008• First session of the Committee on the Rights of

Persons with Disabilities – 23-27 February 2008• 112 ratifications worldwide• 14 ratifications in countries covered by RBEC

The CRPD Convention

Ratification of the CRPD in ECIS

RBEC

Western CIS

Belarus

Moldova

Ukraine

Western Balkans

Albania

Bosnia & Herzegovina

Croat ia

Kosovo

Montenegro

Serbia

Macedonia

EU Members/ Candidates

Cyprus

Lithuania

Poland

Romania

Turkey

Central Asia

Kazakhstan

Kyrgyzstan

Taj ik istan

Turkmenistan

Uzbekistan

Caucasus

Armenia

Azerbai jan

Georgia

• Response to an overlooked development challenge

• Potential to promote & protect rights of PWD through other human rights conventions was not being tapped. 

CRPD does not create new rights!• Promotes, protects and ensures full & equal

enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms of all persons with disabilities, and promotes respect for their inherent dignity.

The CRPD Convention

• Convention marks a ‘paradigm shift’ in attitudes and approaches to persons with disabilities.

• Persons with disabilities - not viewed as objects" of charity;

- but as "subjects" with rights - essence of the HRBA

The CRPD Convention

Natalya Plotnikova, head of self-starter women’s DPO in Uzbekistan (photo: UNDP Uzbekistan

• The Convention does not explicitly define disability– Disability as an evolving concept– Results from the interaction between a non-inclusive society

and individuals.

• Article 1 of the Convention states: – ‘Persons with disabilities include those who have long-term

physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others’.

The CRPD Convention

Rights in the Convention

• Equality before the law without discrimination (article 5)

• Right to life, liberty and security of the person (articles 10 & 14)

• Equal recognition before the law and legal capacity (article 12)

• Freedom from torture (article 15)• Freedom from exploitation,

violence and abuse (article 16)• Right to respect physical and

mental integrity (article 17)• Freedom of movement and

nationality (article 18)• Right to live in the community

(article 19)

• Freedom of expression and opinion (article 21)• Respect for privacy (article 22)• Respect for home and the family (article 23)• Right to education (article 24)• Right to health (article 25)• Right to work (article 27)• Right to adequate standard of living (article 28)• Right to participate in political and public life (article 29)• Right to participation in cultural life (article 30)

The Rights in the CRPD

• The CRPD recognizes that women and girls with

disabilities are subject to multiple forms of

discrimination.

• Art. 6: State parties obliged to take measures to

ensure full and equal enjoyment of all human rights

and fundamental freedoms by all women and girls with

special abilities.

• General principles (Art. 3) of- Non-discrimination- Equality between men and women

The Rights of Women with Special Abilitiesin the CRPD

• Conference of States Parties

• Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

• Other Treaty Bodies• UPR –

recommendations specific to disability

• Special Procedures

CRPD Convention & Other UN Mechanism

Media campaign on rights of PwD (Photo: UNDP Uzbekistan

• Article 4.1.(c): ‘States Parties undertake to take into account the protection and promotion of the human rights of persons with disabilities in all policies and programmes’

• Mainstreaming of disability issues according to the int standards in:– Work of existing human rights treaty bodies– Human Rights Council-UPR– Millennium Development Goals (MDG) - national and international

strategies– Common Country Assessment (CCA)/United Nations Development

Assistance Framework (UNDAF)– Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSP)– The development activities of international donors and NGOs– Census data: disaggregated – Sectoral and cross-sectoral policies – Programmes and policies for women (article 6) and children (article 7) – and others...

Mainstreaming Disability in Existing Processes

National Monitoring and Implementation

• National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) play important role

• National focal points & coordination mechanisms within governments– Multi-sectoral involvement of all government ministries– Outreach to other national stakeholders (civil society

organizations, academic/scientific institutions, private sector

• All activities must include participation of persons with special abilities:

‘Nothing about us without us.’

National Monitoring and Implementation

• Currently at least 21 active projects in RBEC with nexus to persons with special abilities

• Projects in 14 countries in the region &

3 regional projects

UNDP Responses - Addressing Rights of Persons with Special Abilities in ECIS

Training for architects on physical accessibility standards

(Photo: UNDP Uzbekistan)

UNDP Responses - Addressing Rights of Persons with Special Abilities in ECIS

UNDP Projects in ECIS – Main areas of intervention

Source: http://europeandcis.undp.org/governance/hrj/show/20E0D735-F203-1EE9-B76FB09D3679E9EE

• 780,000 PwD (2-3% of total population), 5% of working age employed. In 2010, 18,555 quota jobs advertised to PwD, 7,559 people were employed. Number of PwD employed in factories/branches of DPO - 2,365 or 7% of all working PwD

• Average monthly wage - 265,800 soums, half of nation’s average

• Perception of population (2008)– Philanthropic approach - 80 %– Medical approach - 40 %– HRBA and inclusion - 25 %

• Lack of disaggr.statistics and research on women’s issues, PwD perceived as homogenous group

Country examples - Uzbekistan

An employee in one of the social enterprises supported by UNDP (Photo: UNDP Uzbekistan)

ACCESS project (2008-2011)Inclusive Employment and Social

Partnership project (2011-2013) with Ministry of Labour&Social Protection:

- Accessibility- Changing perceptions- Participatory decision-making- Employment- Social services

Women’s empowerment component- disaggregated statistics collection for

state employment programme - leadership and empowerment training

for women DPOs- catering training (UN caterers)- sewing/design workshop (folders/gifts)- participation in UN events (sale/bazar)

Country example - Uzbekistan

Club for persons with disabilities looking for a job (Photo: UNDP Uzbekistan)

• Avoiding paternalistic approach to DPOs (e.g. UNDP supported catering/sewing). Instead focus on capacity building & coaching

• Walking the talk by ourselves – – mandatory accessible buildings,

renovation & event venues,– braille business cards, – clear commitment in recruitment

VAs, – passing mandatory courses.

• Intervention niches/needs:– Continue current activities– Statistics disagr. by sex &

research on women’s issues– Reproductive health, right to

family– Access to education

Uzbekistan – lessons learned/recommendations

Ramp to UNDP Uzbekistan canteen – the only accessible meetings venue in office (Photo: UNDP Uzbekistan)

The PHASE Project (2011-14) – National HR System, International HR Mechanisms, Access to Justice and Legal Empowerment-mainstreaming special ability• Ongoing work: Sub regional (CA) strategy for NHRIs – inclusive of elements for gender mainstreaming (eg indicators, targets etc);• Regional Policy Study and Programming Guide;• A2J & Disability Study –challenges & Innovative Solutions • Forthcoming Regional CoP Meeting in Tashkent (2012);• Supporting Multi-donor Trust Fund on Disability: Global-Regional-Country synergy

Regional examples

• Need for targeted training, capacity building of duty bearers, policy awareness raising, good practices collection and validation, knowledge management

• Need to mainstream disability in all development activities and to give more attention to specific challenges faced by women

• Need to include persons with disabilities in all stages of implementation, and build capacity of organizations of persons with disabilities to do so

• Analyzing disaggregated statistics and research on women’s needs and institutionalizing with National Statistics Office

• Access to education to women with disabilities, and reproductive health issues (currently not covered by UNDP)

Future areas of interventions?

Thank you!

Alexandra Plotnikova, member of the “Lik” theater of persons with disabilities (Photo: Tatyana Style)