Vice
President U Henry Van Thio, Chairman of the National Committee on the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities, delivered a speech at the committee’s second meeting
held at the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement in Nay Pyi Taw
yesterday.
Present
at the meeting were committee Vice-Chairmen Union Minister Dr. Win Myat Aye and
U Aung Ko Myint, committee members including Deputy Ministers, Nay Pyi Taw
Council members, state and region ministers for social affairs, Vice-Chairman
of the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission, Permanent Secretaries,
Directors-General, officials from the Myanmar Federation of Persons with
Disabilities and representatives from a diverse number of associations for
various disabilities.
There
are one billion living with some form of disability around the world, according
to the 2010 World Report on Disability conducted by the World Health
Organization (WHO) and the World Bank, said the Vice President. He also said
that persons with disabilities (PWDs) have a harder time accessing healthcare
and education, entering society, politics and the economy, and finding
employment, compared to the rest of us. He added that PWDs face higher rates of
poverty and unemployment and receive a lower income.
The
UN’s Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) was adopted
in 2006 to reduce the aforementioned inequalities and to ensure all persons
with all types of disabilities can enjoy human rights and fundamental freedom,
said the Vice President.
Myanmar
signed the CRPD on 7 December 2011 and since then the Union Government has been
working to make certain the 2.3 million PWDs in Myanmar can exercise their
rights and are entitled to their freedom.
Myanmar’s
legislature passed the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Law in 2015 and the
bylaws on 27 December 2017. Additionally, the National Committee on the Rights
of Persons with Disabilities was formed on 14 September 2017, with Union
Government Announcement (70/2017) and is serving as a beacon of hope for the
PWD community. The committee held its first meeting on 28 December 2017.
The
Vice President said he believes the crucial first steps for the PWD community
were taken at the committee’s first meeting, when decisions were made to form
state- and regional-level sub-committees and the Nay Pyi Taw sub-committee, the
Ministry of Construction made plans to make transportation more disabled
inclusive, and the Ministry of Education arranged for children with
disabilities to have access to free education. He added the Working Committee
for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was formed during the first meeting
as well.
The
Vice President said there are future plans to form a Fund Management Group,
various relevant sub-committees under the working committee, and a Technical
Support Group for the national committee backed by the Department for International
Development (UK).
Various
strategic goals and projects are being implemented with international
organizations to provide support, rehabilitation and personal development to a
wide range of people with disabilities in Myanmar, said the Vice President.
These include a project to develop blind massage training for people with
visual impairment, a project to enable people with auditory impairment easy
access to news and information, a project to provide vocational training to
people with physical disabilities, and a project to provide personal
development to people with mental disabilities, such as autism and Down
syndrome.
The
Union Government is allotting monetary aid from its respective fiscal year
budgets to fund community-based inclusion campaigns for PWDs concerning their
education, healthcare, employability, legal affairs and disability awareness.
The
Vice President said the people of Myanmar have inborn empathy and a willingness
to help others, which can be combined with the knowledge and experience gained
from the aforementioned campaigns to support the personal development and
empowerment of PWDs.
The
Vice President said if respective ministries in Myanmar can fulfill the 17
Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) set by the UN for 2015-2030, then PWDs,
other vulnerable populations, and all of society can reap the benefits.
The
Vice President requested all relevant government departments and other
organizations to plan for more disabled inclusion in their development
programmes, as regional or national development requires every member of
society to be involved.
The
modern world is facing a multitude of global issues which can be solved hand in
hand with PWDs if we adhere to the 2017 International Day of Persons with
Disabilities theme—‘Transformation towards sustainable and resilient societies
for all’, said the Vice President. He added that PWDs can utilise the skills
they acquired from the various campaigns to aid in disaster risk management
projects and rural development.
Later,
Vice-Chairman of the National Committee on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities Union Minister Dr. Win Myat Aye spoke about forming committees for
ensuring the success of operations for the rights of PWDs, planning laws,
bylaws and strategic plans concerning PWDs, and creating job opportunities,
access to education and healthcare for the personal development and livelihood of
PWDs.
This
was followed by the other Vice-Chairman of the national committee and Chairman
of the Myanmar Federation of People with Disabilities U Aung Ko Myint
explaining plans for ensuring equal rights and opportunities for all citizens,
the ability to join political and social sectors, full access to education and
social benefits, non-discrimination against PWDs, and setting up policies and
pre-planning for the rights of PWDs.
Next,
national committee Secretary Deputy Minister for Social Welfare, Relief and
Resettlement U Soe Aung gave a presentation on the implementation progress of
the first meeting’s decisions, the working committee’s decisions and the
committee’s future plans.
Vice
President U Henry Van Thio then took a photograph with the meeting attendees.
The
second part of the meeting continued later, with the meeting attendees
discussing the rights of PWDs, future plans, requirements for implementation
and possible collaboration.
Myanmar
News Agency
Ref;
The Global New Light of Myanmar
No comments:
Post a Comment