Regional Workshop on Comprehensive National Plan of Action on Disability - Towards the Mid-point Review of the Biwako Millennium Framework for Action towards an Inclusive, Barrier-free and Rights-based Society for Persons with Disabilities in Asia and the Pacific (BMF)
Bangkok, Thailand, 19-21 October 2005

GENERAL
ENGLISH ONLY
UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMISSION FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC

Regional Workshop on Comprehensive National Plan of Action on Disability –
Towards the Mid-point Review of the Biwako Millennium Framework for Action
Towards an Inclusive, Barrier-free and Rights-based Society for Persons with
Disabilities in Asia and the Pacific (BMF)
19-21 October 2005
Bangkok

REINFORCING THE DISABILITY PERSPECTIVE IN INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AGENDA*

WORKING DOCUMENT 2

REINFORCING THE DISABILITY PERSPECTIVE IN INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AGENDA

I. INTRODUCTION

This paper reviews normative and substantive aspects of promoting the rights and empowering persons with disability to participate as agents and beneficiaries of all aspects of development in the twenty-first century.

With the adoption by the High-level Plenary Meeting of the sixtieth session of the General Assembly of its “2005 World Summit outcome”[1] persons with disabilities were recognized as agents and beneficiaries of an international development agenda. This is in marked contrast to the absence of any reference to persons with disabilities in the Millennium Declaration[2] adopted by the United Nations Millennium Assembly (New York 6-8 September 2000), which set forthfundamental values considered essential to international relations in the twenty-first century and eight development objectives and commitments related to these shared purposes.

The “2005 World Summit outcome” is the product of wide-ranging pre-Summit consultations, including consultations with civil society, intensive pre-Summit negotiations and dialogue among heads of State and government at the High-level Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly, from 14 to 16 September 2005, on progress in achieving the development objectives of the “Millennium Declaration” and related goals and commitments of major United Nations summits and conferences.

Persons with the disabilities are considered in the “Human rights and the rule of law” section of the “2005 World Summit outcome”:

“We recognize the need for persons with disabilities to be guaranteed full enjoyment of their rights without discrimination. We also reaffirm the need to finalize a comprehensive draft convention on the rights of persons with disabilities (GA resolution 60/1, paragraph 129).”

The “2005 World Summit outcome” reflects the commitments of governments to global partnership for development and the resolution of the participating Heads of State and government “to adopt, by 2006, and implement comprehensive national development strategies to achieve the internationally agreed development goals and objectives, including the Millennium Development Goals (GA resolution 60/1, paragraph 22(a)).”

However, the “2005 World Summit outcome” makes no reference to persons with disabilities in its “Development” section (GA resolution 60/1, paragraphs 17-38), which discusses actions aimed at achieving the goals and commitments of the Millennium Declaration with the emphasis on eradication of extreme poverty and hunger.

A possible explanation for the absence of persons with disabilities in the development component of the “2005 World Summit outcome” is that the situation of persons with disabilities was not addressed either in studies carried out by the United Nations Millennium Project,[3] headed by Professor Jeffrey Sachs, special advisor to the Secretary-General on the Millennium Development Goals, or in its report of findings and recommendations on actions to achieve the development goals and commitments of the Millennium Declaration – Investing in Development: A Practical Plan to Achieve the Millennium Development Goals.[4]

Similarly, the report submitted by the Secretary-General to the 2005 Summit presenting his recommended actions to further achieve the development goals of the Millennium Declaration – “In larger freedom: towards development, security and human rights for all”[5] – discusses neither the situation of persons with disabilities nor their empowerment as agents and beneficiaries of actions to further achieve the development goals and commitments of the Millennium Declaration.

II. DISABILITY PERSPECTIVE ON DEVELOPMENT IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY

The disability perspective on development is the key value proposition of the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons,[6]which was adopted unanimously by the General Assembly with the goals of "full participation" of disabled persons in social life and development, and "equality". The General Assembly expressed the view that equality of opportunities for persons with disability must be considered on the basis of parity with the entire population. Parity in this sense is a dynamic concept related to the processes of growth and change in society as a whole.

While the disability perspective is not evident in studies carried out under the UN Millennium Project, the role of persons with disabilities as agents and beneficiaries of international development agenda was a recurring theme in pre-Summit consultations and in selected studies prepared by the United Nations Secretariat, which examined the larger development agenda of the twenty-first century, characterized by a concern with human-centred development, and issues involving longer-term approaches, which transcend the Millennium Declaration timeframe of 2015, such as the differential impact of globalization on countries, participation of developing countries in global economic governance, and linkages between development and conflict

A. Disability-sensitive analyses of progress in implementing the development goals of the Millennium Declaration

The substantive session of 2005 of the Economic and Social Council considered progress, obstacles and opportunities in implementing the development goals of the Millennium Declaration as well as the outcomes of major United Nations summits and conferences in the economic, social and related fields. The Council had for its consideration a comprehensive report of the Secretary-General, “Towards achieving internationally agreed development goals, including those contained in the Millennium Declaration.”[7] The report noted that the Millennium Declaration did not address the role of social integration – a key theme of the “Copenhagen Declaration and Programme of Action on Social Development”[8] - in promoting sustainable, inclusive and equitable development for all and urged the 2005 World Summit to consider “more integrated efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals”, proposed that the “concepts of social integration be further mainstreamed into efforts to achieve the [Millennium Development] Goals” and proposed that “policy interventions to achieve the Millennium Development goals of halving poverty and hunger… take into account the needs and concerns of… vulnerable groups,” which the “Copenhagen Declaration” had noted include “older persons, persons with disabilities, youth, migrants and indigenous peoples, as well as refugees and the internally displaced.” ^[9]

In the Asia and Pacific region, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP), in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme and Asian Development Bank produced its second review of progress in implementing the Millennium Development Goals: A future within reach: reshaping institutions in a region of disparities to meet the Millennium Development Goals in Asia and the Pacific.[10] The report noted that assessing progress in achieving the Millennium Development Goals is hampered by shortages of relevant data.

The situation of persons with disabilities in Asia and Pacific is discussed in the “Rethinking service delivery” chapter of the report. The discussion draws upon Biwako Millennium Framework (BMF) concepts and commitments and notes that more than 200 million persons with disabilities are estimated to be living in Asia and the Pacific, and more than 40 per cent of them are estimated to be living in poverty.[11] Post-natural disaster and post-conflict countries have especially urgent needs in this regard. The report states that persons with disabilities have similar needs for health and educational services as do non-disabled populations but that they often face challenges in securing services access due to physical and social barriers. In spite of improvements in legislation in many countries, people with disabilities continue to experience discriminatory practices and deep-rooted stigmatization. The report notes that women with disabilities are among the most marginalized and experience multiple disadvantages related to gender and to physical, sensory, intellectual or psychological condition. Available data suggest that fewer than 10 per cent of children and youth with disabilities in the region have access to any form of education, compared with an enrolment rate in primary education of over 70 per cent for non-disabled children and youth. Most education facilities for children and youth with disabilities are concentrated in special schools in urban areas, while most persons with disabilities live in rural areas. Other education-related issues include limited early identification and intervention efforts, negative attitudes, exclusionary policies and practices, poor or limited teacher training and inflexible curricula and classroom practices. Incorporating children with disabilities into regular school systems will require progressive removal of social and physical barriers and arranging suitable transport services for children and youth with disability.[12]

The “Jakarta Declaration on the Millennium Development Goals in Asia and the Pacific: the Way Forward 2015”, adopted by the Ministerial Regional Meeting on the Millennium Development Goals in Asia and the Pacific (Jakarta, 3-5 August 2005), “welcomed” the joint UN ESCAP, UNDP and ADB assessment of progress by Asian and Pacific countries in achieving the Millennium Development Goals.[13]

Strong concern with persons with disabilities in the context of implementing the Millennium Development Goals is evident in the ”Arab Declaration on the pursuit of the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals”, adopted by the Joint Ministerial Conference of Arab Ministers of Social Affairs and Planning on the Millennium Goals (Cairo, 30 June 2005). The “Declaration” includes specific recommendations concerning persons with disabilities when formulating comprehensive development policy:

“Taking the necessary measures to ensure that people with disabilities enjoy to the full all rights on an equal basis with other groups in the community in both the public and private fields, including the possibility of obtaining a good education, comprehensive health care and protection of people with disabilities against violence, ill treatment and neglect; the necessary legislation should be drafted to prohibit discrimination against them, to ensure their dignity and to implement and to make effective the Arab Decade for People with Disabilities, taking account of the particularly difficult situation of poor people with disabilities.”[14]

B. Disability perspective in pre-Summit interactive hearings of the General Assembly and high-level intergovernmental dialogue

The General Assembly decided in its resolution 59/291 of 15 April 2005 that preparations for the 2005 World Summit shall include wide-ranging consultations with governments, non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations and the private sector with reference to the four issue clusters discussed in the report of the Secretary-General to be considered by the High-level Plenary Meeting on further actions to achieve the development goals of the Millennium Declaration, “In larger freedom: towards development, security and human rights for all” (A/59/2005), namely: (I) Freedom from Want, (II) Freedom from Fear, (III) Freedom to Live in Dignity and (IV) United Nations reform.

1. Interactive hearings with civil society

The President of the General Assembly, Mr. Jean Ping, presided over informal interactive hearings with representatives on non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations and the private sector at the United Nations from 23-24 June 2005. The hearings consisted of a brief opening plenary meeting followed by four sequential sessions of hearings on the issue clusters that would be considered at the 2005 World Summit. The hearings resulted in findings and proposals for action for consideration by the High-level Plenary Meeting of the sixtieth session of the General Assembly.

A key finding of the hearings is the importance participants attach to a human-rights centred approach to development, peace and security and a need to elevate human rights in the work of the United Nations. The hearings directed special attention to the need for further action directed to gender quality, empowerment of women and protection of their human rights. The hearings urged the 2005 World Summit outcome accord greater attention to the rights, needs, and contributions of specific social groups, including persons with disabilities, to actions to further development, peace and security and human rights.

Concerning the role of persons with disabilities in actions to implement development goals 1 to 7 of the Millennium Declaration, hearing participants recommended:

“[T] he rights of persons with disabilities and the need to engage them in development be addressed in the [2005 World Summit] outcome document. Their access to education, employment and health services must be ensured, as well as their inclusion in the decision-making process.”[15]

Hearing participants noted that civil society at all levels can make important contributions to preventing conflict and in building just and sustainable peace; it is crucial that persons with disabilities and other groups with special interests or needs be effectively involved in these efforts.[16]

Participants urged that the 2005 World Summit outcome document affirm the universality of human rights, value of cultural diversity and tolerance and recognize the essential role of civil society and non-governmental organizations in these efforts. Hearing participants further urged that the 2005 World Summit “highlight the importance of combating discrimination on the basis of… disability.”[17]

2. High-level dialogue on financing for development

The second General Assembly High-level dialogue on financing for development was held at the United Nations from 27-28 June 2005 with the theme of progress in implementing the Monterrey Consensus and tasks ahead.[18] Effective mobilization of resources, domestic and international, trade, financial and technical cooperation, and debt relief were identified as central to efforts to further implement the development goals of the Millennium Declaration. Participants noted in this regard the critical role of domestic resource mobilization in financing development and emphasized that domestic resource mobilization should address financing of a “comprehensive range of measures to promote development and poverty reduction” and that these measures be “inclusive and address the needs of children and the disabled” among other groups with special needs or in special circumstances.[19] Many participants noted that financial and technical cooperation should accord priority to health, access to water and education, while others suggested that support be directed to agriculture and rural development, and small- and medium-sized enterprises in the light of opportunities to leverage additional private sector investments. Many participants emphasized that reducing extreme hunger should be a key objective of financial and economic cooperation; and several noted the important role of infrastructure development in support of economic growth and eradication of poverty.

3. High-level segment of the substantive session of 2005 ofthe Economic and Social Council

The High-level segment considered progress and obstacles in implementing internationally-agreed development goals of major United Nations conferences and summits in the economic, social and environmental fields in the context of a comprehensive international development agenda for the twenty-first century. Delegates emphasized that implementing an international development agenda involved both good governance and respect for human rights. The rule of law and strong democratic processes based on social justice were considered essential for a broad-based and inclusive process of development. Delegates agreed that eradication of extreme poverty and hunger remained elusive goals for many countries. This would require complementary sets of policies and programmes to strengthen the productive sectors, agriculture and rural development in particular, and to provide immediate and direct access to food and related supports to the most needy. Delegates took note of the importance of the social dimensions of development, which included investments in people, promotion of opportunities for productive and just employment, and enhancing educational systems for all; action in support of the social dimensions of the Millennium Declaration would have positive impacts on eradication of poverty, sustainable development and human security. However, the summary of the High-level dialogue indicates that persons with disabilities were not considered in its deliberations, other than an implied reference as members of “marginalized and vulnerable groups” in the pursuit of the goal of universal primary education for all.[20]

III. REINFORCING THE DISABILITY PERSPECTIVE IN INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AGENDA

A. Disability perspective in major United Nations conferences and summits

While the 2005 World Summit outcome includes a reference to persons with disabilities, albeit with reference to promotion of their human rights, the document provides no normative guidance on their role in implementing international development agenda in the twenty-first century.

In contrast, most recent United Nations conferences and summits in the economic and social fields did consider the disability perspective and development in their respective areas of substantive concern:

    (a) Education. The “Salamanca Statement and Framework for Action on Special Needs Education, adopted by the World Conference on Special Needs Education: Access and Quality (Salamanca, Spain, 7-10 June 1994) proclaims that every child has a fundamental right to an education, that education systems must take into account diversity and that those with special needs must have access to regular schools with an inclusive orientation. The Salamanca Statement urges governments to adopt inclusive education as a policy or law. The Framework for Action defines special educational needs as needs that arise from disability or learning difficulties; its guiding principle is schools should accommodate all children within a child-centred pedagogy.[21]

The Dakar Framework for Action, adopted by the World Education Forum (Dakar, 26-28 April 2000) includes two goals related to implementation of the Salamanca statement and framework: (1) expanding and improving comprehensive early childhood care and education, especially for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children, and (2) ensuring that by 2015 all children, particularly girls, children in difficult circumstances and those belonging to ethnic minorities, have access to and complete free and compulsory primary education of good quality.[22]

    (b) Population and development. The “Programme of Action, adopted by the International Conference on Population and Development (Cairo, 5-13 September 1994) considers the situation of persons with disabilities in a broad rights framework and, inter alia, urges Governments to (1) consider the needs of persons with disabilities in terms of ethical and human rights dimensions; (2) develop infrastructure to address the needs of persons with disabilities with regard to education, training and rehabilitation; (3) promote mechanisms to ensure the rights of persons with disabilities; and (4) promote systems for the social and economic integration of persons with disabilities.[23]

The twenty-first special session of the General Assembly met from 30 June to 1 July 1999 to consider progress in implementing the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development. The report adopted by the special session includes recommendations to Governments on improving management and delivery of services in urban agglomerations so that they meet the needs of all citizens, including the disabled, and on expanding youth and adult education with particular attention to people with disabilities.[24]

    (c) Social development. The Copenhagen Declaration and Programme of Action, adopted by the World Summit for Social Development (Copenhagen, 6–12 March 1995) note that people with disabilities often are forced into poverty, unemployment and social isolation. The situation of persons with disabilities is addressed in each of the three priority themes of the World Summit: eradication of poverty, expansion of productive employment, and social integration. The Copenhagen Declaration contains a commitment to promote social integration by fostering societies that are stable, safe, just and tolerant and respect diversity. The Programme of Action directs special attention to promoting social justice and progress, non-discrimination, tolerance and mutual respect, and eliminating physical and social barriers with the aim of creating as society “accessible for all”.[25]

The twenty-fourth special session of the General Assembly, met from 26 to 30 June 2000 in Geneva to consider progress in implementing the Copenhagen Declaration and Programme of Action on Social Development, recognized social integration as a prerequisite for creating harmonious, peaceful and inclusive societies. General Assembly resolution S-24/2 of 1 July 2000, inter alia, urged Governments not to discriminate against persons with disabilities in efforts to promote quality education and health care.

    (d) Women. The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, adopted by the Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing 4-15 September 1995) addressed the situation of women who face barriers to advancement and empowerment because of disability and other factors. The Beijing Platform for Action addresses women with disabilities in several strategic objectives: Women and poverty; Education and training; Women and health; Violence against women; Women and armed conflict; Women and the economy; Institutional mechanisms for advancement of women; Human rights of women; Women and the media; and the girl child.[26]

The twenty-third special session of the General Assembly met from 5 to 10 June 2000 to consider progress in implementing the Beijing Declaration and the Platform for Action. General Assembly resolution S-23/3 of 10 June 2000, recommends that Governments take into account needs and concerns of “vulnerable and marginalized” members of society, including women with disabilities, in policies and programmes aimed at further implementing the goals and commitments of the Beijing Declaration and Programme of Action.

    (e) Habitat. The Istanbul Declaration on Human Settlements and the Habitat Agenda, adopted by the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) (Istanbul, 3-14 June 1996), express the commitment to “promote full accessibility for people with disabilities, as well as gender equality in policies, programmes and projects for shelter and sustainable human settlements development.”[27] Commitment A of the Habitat Agenda, “Adequate shelter for all” states that accessible shelter and basic services and facilities shall be promoted in a manner fully consistent with human rights standards.[28] Commitment B, “Sustainable human settlements” discusses options to provide equal opportunities for a healthy, safe and productive life for those who belong to vulnerable and disadvantaged groups. Commitment C, “Enablement and participation” focuses on capacity-building in human settlements planning and management, based on dialogue among all actors, especially women and persons with disabilities, for promoting equal access to information, and for facilitating participation in the management of public and community-based housing by women and those who belong to vulnerable and disadvantaged groups.[29]

The twenty-fifth special session of the General Assembly met from 6 to 8 June 2001 to consider progress in implementing the “Habitat Agenda”. The Declaration on Cities and Human Settlements in the New Millennium adopted by the special session includes the commitment to promote basic infrastructure and urban services, “which is integrated and accessible to all, including people with disabilities.”[30]

    (f) Sustainable development. The World Summit on Sustainable Development (Johannesburg, 26 August-4 September 2002) considered issues and trends related to poverty eradication, changing consumption and production patterns, and protection and management of the natural resource base for economic and social development and their implications for sustainable development of current and future generations, cognizant of the need for human dignity for all. The Plan of Implementation of the World Summit on Sustainable Development considers the situation of persons with disabilities in the context of “health and sustainable development (chap. VI).” The Plan identifies persons with disabilities as members of “a vulnerable group of society” who require protection from debilitating diseases and special care from the causes of ill health, including environmental causes (para. 53).[31]

    (g) Financing for development. The International Conference on Financing for Development (Monterrey, Mexico, 18-22 March 2002) was the first United Nations conference to address financial and development issues; it is also included the first quadripartite exchange of views between Governments, civil society, the business community and institutional stakeholders on global economic issues. The Monterrey Consensus of the International Conference on Financing for Development presents leading actions to support development, which include mobilizing resources – domestic and international-for development, trade, financial and technical cooperation, debt and systemic issues. While the Monterrey Consensus does not specifically address the situation of persons with disabilities in the context of development, it does provide critical guidance on the importance of policy commitments to mainstreaming and equity, including gender equity, respect for human rights and investments in people — in terms of economic and social infrastructure and social services and social protection — as important factors in the pursuit of growth, poverty eradication and sustainable development, which represent essential preconditions to inclusive and development for all.[32]

The situation of children and implications of population ageing in the twenty-first century obtain prominent consideration in both the Millennium Declaration and 2005 World Summit outcome. However, neither document considers the question of children with disability in the context of development or the social and economic implications of impairment of sensory or physical capacities or both as populations age. Both issues were, however, addressed in major United Nations conferences organized following the adoption of the Millennium Declaration, which begs the question of why these considerations are not prominent in the 2005 World Summit outcome.

    (a) Older persons. The Second World Assembly on Ageing (Madrid, 8-12 April 2002) considered opportunities and challenges of population ageing in the twenty-first century and measures to promote development of a society for all ages. The Political Declaration and Madrid International Plan of Action, adopted by the Second World Assembly,[33] notes that the population aged 60 and above is estimated to increase from 600 million in 2000 to more than 2 billion in 2050 – 21 per cent of the global population, which will be greatest and most rapid in developing countries.

It should be recalled that the third review and appraisal of the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons noted that, as populations age, there is an observed decline in motor and sensory abilities but that these do not represent necessary conditions to include older persons as members of the set of persons with a disability. Population ageing introduces policy considerations related to furthering environmental accessibility for all, planning and delivering appropriate and accessible social services and safety nets, and promoting opportunities for sustainable livelihoods to provide conditions for independent living in non-institutional settings.[34]

Priority direction II (Advancing health and well-being in old age) of the Madrid Plan of Action identifies “older persons and disability” as a specific issue for policy concern and sets forth the objective of promoting the maintenance of maximum functional capacity throughout the life course and promotion of full participation of older persons with disabilities (paras. 87-90).

    (b) Children with disabilities. The twenty-seventh special session of the General Assembly (8-10 May 2002) considered progress made in the decade since the 1990 World Summit for Children and the World Declaration on the Survival, Protection and Development of Children and the Plan of Action for its implementation in the 1990s.[35]

The outcome document adopted by the special session, “A world fit for children”[36] contains a Declaration and a Plan of Action, which aim to strengthen international cooperation to promote the rights of children in the twenty-first century. The Declaration acknowledges the international legal standards for the protection and well-being of children in the Convention on the Rights of the Child[37] and its optional protocols[38] and sets forth 10 principles to make a world fit for children, which are also expected to contribute to advancement of children with disabilities in the mainstream. The Plan of Action addresses the situation of children with disabilities with reference to their full and equal enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms (para. 21), promotion of healthy lives (para. 37, item 17) and quality education (para. 40, item 4).

B. Options to promote awareness of the disability perspective in international development agenda

While the situation of persons with disabilities has been considered in major United Nations conferences and summits in the social, economic and related filed and reflected in their respective outcomes, it was not until the 2005 Summit – and considerable input provided by interactive hearings and high-level dialogue – that persons with disabilities were included in an international development agenda. It should be recalled that in his report on progress in implementing the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons, the Secretary-General informed the Assembly at its fifty-fourth session (2001) that the Millennium Declaration contained “no mention of persons with disabilities” among its development goals and commitments.[39]

Action is required in at least three substantive areas to promote greater awareness of the role and contributions of persons with disabilities to action to implement international development agenda, to contribute to the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger and to promote sustainable, just and inclusive development for all. These are: (1) continued improvements in data and statistics on disability in populations to have an informed basis for disability-sensitive analysis for policies and plans and programmes, and evaluation; (2) identification of disability-sensitive priorities among the eight development goals and 18 targets of the Millennium Declaration; and (3) participatory monitoring and evaluation from the disability perspective.

1. Data and statistics on disability – issues in defining disability for purposes of measurement

The critical role of improved data and statistics on disability in promoting inclusive and sustainable development for all is a topic to which the General Assembly attaches considerable importance. In 2005 the Statistics Division of the United Nations Secretariat will initiate a systematic and regular collection of basic statistics on human functioning and disability by introducing a disability statistics questionnaire to the existing Demographic Yearbook data collection system.

At the international level the Washington Group on Disability Statistics, which reports to the Statistical Commission of the United Nations, promotes and coordinates international cooperation in the area of health statistics by focusing on disability-related measures suitable for censuses and national surveys, which will provide information on the nature and incidence of disability in the population.[40] The Washington Group currently is developing a general disability measure, discussing options for pre-testing and implementation, and extended measurement sets on disability with the focus on equalization of opportunities.[41]

This discussion focuses on a single topic – defining disability for purposes on data collection and analysis - without prejudice to findings and recommendations that are expected from the United Nations Statistical Commission on further development of concepts and methods of disability statistics.

For purposes of policy analysis, planning and advocacy, determining “who is to be covered” is a fundamental consideration. Determination of “who is to be covered” should not be considered a “:gatekeeper” function; the aim, rather, is to formulate goals, commitments and instruments in accordance with needs and interests of intended beneficiaries on the basis of equality.

Disability is defined by a condition and not an attribute, such as gender or demographic cohort.

The definition of persons with disabilities used in the World Programme of Action and the Standard Rules is based World Health Organization’s 1980 International Classification of Impairment, Disabilities and Handicap (ICIDH).[42] ICIDH is based on the health experience with the aim of describing the consequences of disease, injury or disorder at the level of specific body function (biomedical status), of a person (body structures and functions) or of society in terms of impairment, disability and handicap.

ICIDH implies a causal link between impairment, disability and handicap unmediated by environmental factors:

    “Impairment: Any loss or abnormality of psychological, physiological, or anatomical structure or function.

    “Disability: Any restriction or lack {resulting from an impairment) of ability to perform an activity in the manner or within the range considered normal for a human being.

    “Handicap: A disadvantage for a given individual, resulting from an impairment or disability that, limits or prevents the fulfillment of a role that is normal, depending on age, sex, social and cultural factors, for that individual.”[43]

ICIDH was soon criticized for its health status and disease focus, so the Statistics Division of the United Nations Secretariat in cooperation with specialists at the World Health Organization – among other national and international organizations - initiated work on the question of definition and measurement of disability in the population. The Statistics Division prepared recommendations for the year 2000 round of population and housing censuses on measurement of disability in the population in its Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing Censuses; revision 1.[44] The Statistics Division also published Guidelines and Principles for the Development of Disability Statistics[45]which recommend that measurement of disability be done within the conceptual framework of the WHO International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health: (ICF),[46] which was endorsed by the World Health Assembly in May 2001.

ICF is a classification of health and health-related domains that describe body functions and structures, activities and participation. Domains are classified from body, individual and societal perspectives. Since an individual's functioning and disability occurs in a context, ICF includes a list of environmental factors:

“In the ICF framework disability and functioning are viewed as outcomes of interactions between health conditions (diseases, disorders and injuries) and contextual factors.

“Among contextual factors are external environmental factors (for example, social attitudes, architectural characteristics, legal and social structures, as well as climate, terrain and so forth); and internal personal factors, which include gender, age, coping styles, social background, education, profession, past and current experience, overall behaviour pattern, character and other factors that influence how disability is experienced by the individual.”[47]

ICF identifies three levels of human functioning: (1) functioning at the level of body or body part, (2) the whole person, and (3) the whole person in a social context. In the context of ICF, disability involves dysfunctioning at one or more of these same levels: impairments, activity limitations and participation restrictions. Definitions of the ICF components are presented below:

• Body Functions are physiological functions of body systems (including psychological functions).
• Body Structures are anatomical parts of the body such as organs, limbs and their components.
• Impairments are problems in body function or structure such as a significant deviation or loss.
• Activity is the execution of a task or action by an individual.
• Participation is involvement in a life situation.
• Activity Limitations are difficulties an individual may have in executing activities.
• Participation Restrictions are problems an individual may experience in involvement in life situations.
• Environmental Factors make up the physical, social and attitudinal environment in which people live and conduct their lives.[48]

ICF provides a conceptual framework for the collection and classification of data on disability through standardized concepts and terminology, which facilitates international comparisons. It has obtained interest and support because of its focus on “functioning” and definition of disability as an outcome of the interaction between a person with impairment and the environmental and the attitudinal barriers he or she may face.

However, ICF is not without critics. ICF links functioning and disability with health conditions and contextual factors, but some argue that disability is not a health issue but a socially-created mechanism to exclude persons with disabilities from social life and development. Disability is a human rights issue, and definitions of disability should use the “social model “of disability, which places a person's impairment in the context of social and environmental factors that can create disabling barriers to participation of persons with disability in society.[49]

Substantive comments on ICF focus on its presentation of environmental elements, failure to elaborate systematic measures of access, and absence of a definition of disability per se.[50] ICF considers a variety of disability experiences and the environments that shape them, but it cannot form the basis to organize information for disability-sensitive development instruments since many attributes that relate to human rights of persons with disability are not elaborated in ICF, such as marginalization and disadvantage,[51]access and social exclusion.[52]

In contrast to the health experience-based work of WHO, some analysts have carried out conceptual and analytical work on a “new universe of disability”.[53]This work focuses on life spheres approaches to disability and is characterized by the shift in analytical concern from physical, sensory or developmental abilities to access to opportunities in society. Units of analysis are the person, family, society and the larger environment over the life cycle. The shift in analytical focus from individual abilities to life situation opportunities represents a shift from a particular activity to the day-to-day results for an individual operating in his or her environment. The key issue is access by the individual to exercise choice in decisions about well-being and livelihoods without recourse to aid or assistance.[54]

A second component of the “new universe of disability” relates to transition, which includes population ageing. While transition and preparation for life changes as a result of changes in physical and sensory capacities is a recognized fact of ageing, this is not considered to be a sufficient basis to include older persons among the set of persons with disability. From the policy perspective, as populations age, the percentage of the population that experiences some degree of impairment – but which is not disabled - will increase. Planning considerations would include budgeting for measures to promote and provide accessible environments and to create opportunities to acquire assistive devices to promote self-reliant life styles.

The third component of the “new universe of disability” relates to population groups that include persons who have a mental health condition and those with active, acute conditions. Policy and planning issues include identification of preconditions and preparations for appropriate participation and social integration as well as for improving living conditions for those who may require institutional care.

In its Recommendations for the year 2000 round of population and housing censuses the Statistics Division of the United Nations Secretariat included for the first time guidance on enumerating “disability” – but not impairment or handicap - in the population:

“…to measure the disability dimension, a person with disability should be defined as a person who is limited in the kind or amount of activities that he or she can do because of ongoing difficulties due to a long-term physical condition, mental condition or health problem. Short-term disabilities due to temporary conditions such as broken legs and illness are excluded. Only disabilities lasting for more than six months should be included.”[55]

The Recommendations include seven tabulations to obtain information on disability characteristics.

Group 8. Tabulations dealing with disability characteristics

P8.1. Total population, by type of disability,¹ geographical division, urban/rural residence, whether living in household or institution, age and sex.

P8.2. Households with one or more persons with disability, by type, size of household, urban/rural residence.

P8.3. Total population 15 years of age and over, by type of disability, marital status, urban/rural area, age and sex.

P8.4. Population with disability, by cause and type of disability, urban/rural area, age and sex.

P8.5. Population 5² to 29³ years of age, by school attendance, type of disability, urban/rural area, age and sex.

P8.6. Population age 5 years of age and over, by educational attainment, type of disability, urban/rural area, age and sex.

P8.7. Population 15 years and over, by activity status, type of disability, urban/rural area, age and sex.

Notes to proposed tabulations:

¹ Types of disability are broad categories of disability based on the 1980 ICIDH codes, as follows: seeing difficulties (even with glasses, if worn); hearing difficulties (even with hearing aid if used); speaking difficulties (talking); moving/mobility difficulties (walking, climbing stairs, standing); body movement difficulties (reaching, crouching, kneeling); gripping/holding difficulties (using fingers to grip or handle objects); learning difficulties (intellectual difficulties, retardation); behavioural difficulties (psychological, emotional problems); personal care difficulties (bathing, dressing, feeding); others (specify). The sum of numbers under “type of disability” would not correspond to the reported population with disabilities since a person may have more than one disability.

² Usual age to enter the first level of school.

³ Upper age-limit may be adjusted to reflect people with disabilities who attend school even in higher years.

While ICF is widely-recognized as a common conceptual framework and set of standardized concepts and terminology for collection of data on disability and production of statistics, it is not a consensus definition on disability in the population. Moreover, the Ad Hoc Committee has not yet adopted draft article 3 – Definitions – of the international convention on rights of persons with disability.

Consequently, for the purposes of policy analysis, planning and evaluation from the disability perspective it may be useful to use definitions based on functional capacities of individuals, which is to say definitions that focus on physical, sensory or intellectual and psychological capacities, as an appropriate approach to measurement and analysis of disability in populations for which there currently are limited or no data and statistics on the nature and extent of disability. Functional approaches could conceivably exclude persons with non-evident disabilities. However, since the focus on improving well-being and livelihoods for all in the context of inclusive development and eradication of extreme poverty and hunger, functional approaches would provide a practical point of departure to assess the nature and incidence of disability with the individual and family as units of analysis. National systems could address extended measures of disability in the population as both improved concepts and methods and resources – technical, personnel and financial - become available for this task.

2. Priorities in international development agenda

The Millennium Declaration has eight development goals, 18 targets and 48 indicators related to improved levels of living and livelihoods by 2015. With eradication of extreme poverty and hunger as the first priority, progress in achieving the development goals and commitments of the Millennium Declaration are the concern of all. However, progress on some – but not all - goals and commitments would make decided contributions to improved well-being and livelihoods of persons with disability - if these were modified to incorporate the disability perspective in recommended action to implement international development agenda.

Establishment of priorities among the development goals and targets demonstrates that concern with reinforcing the disability perspective in international development agenda is about better use of available resources for inclusive development and eradication of poverty for all in the twenty-first century.

Guidance on setting priorities among the development goals and commitments of the Millennium Declaration can be obtained from periodic global reviews and appraisal of the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons. The fourth five-year review was considered by the General Assembly at its fifty-second (1997) and fifty-eighth sessions (2003), which identified three policy prioritiesto further equalization of opportunities for persons with disability:

(1) accessibility,

(2) social services and social safety nets, and

(3) employment and sustainable livelihoods in open markets.[56]

The Assembly also directed special attention to measures to promoting the full and effective participation of persons with disability in mainstream civil and political life.

The “Road map towards the implementation of the United Nations Millennium Declaration,”[57]outlines strategies for action to meet the goals and commitments of the Millennium Declaration. The annex to the report presents the eight development goals, 18 targets and 48 indicators, which are summarized in Table 1.

Table 1. Development goals and targets of the Millennium Declaration

Poverty eradication, the first priority of the Millennium Declaration, should include a disability dimension, since the data suggest that persons with disability often are among the most impoverished and marginalized groups in countries. Interactive hearings with representatives of non-governmental organizations emphasized the importance that actions addressing extreme poverty and hunger direct special attention to the rights, needs and contributions of persons with disabilities among other social groups with special needs or in special circumstances. Both the interactive hearings, the high-level dialogue on financing for development, and the high-level segment of the substantive session of 2005 of the Economic and Social Council identified expanded access to health and education and improved access to safe water, sanitation, transportation and infrastructure supporting production as priorities in achieving the poverty eradication goal of the Millennium Declaration. Several ministers at the high-level dialogue on financing for development expressed the view that special attention should be accorded to support for small- and medium-sized enterprises and agricultural and rural development in actions directed to eradication of extreme poverty. Pre-Summit consultations also emphasized the need to accord greater attention to environmental sustainable, promotion of opportunities for employment and humane conditions of work, including employment promotion among youth, and gender equality as both a specific goal and horizontal theme in actions aimed at further implement the goals and commitments of the Millennium Declaration.

From the disability perspective, actions to further implement the goals and commitments of the Millennium Declaration should provide accessibility with reasonable adaptation and promote progressive removal of barriers – of a social, institutional, physical or technical nature – to full and effective participation by all in inclusive development and poverty eradication. Table 2 summarizes linkages between the development goals of the Millennium Declaration and priorities identified by the General Assembly to equalize opportunities.

Table 2. Policy priorities to further equalization of opportunities and related development goal and target(s) of the Millennium Declaration

This review suggests that accessibility to the general systems of society – a principal theme of the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons - was not a concern of the authors of the development goals and targets of the Millennium Declaration. Development goals 1-7, which address the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger policy priority and focus on improving levels of living and well-being on the basis of equality between women and men. From the disability perspective, it is important that all investments in building human capacities provide accessibility with reasonable adaptation.

Moreover, the authors of the development goals and commitments of the Millennium Declaration do not address the role of institutions in promoting participatory, equitable and sustainable development other than the reference in target 12 of development goal 8 to “a commitment to good governance”. In contrast, the Biwako Millennium Framework attaches considerable importance to the role of participatory institutions and community approaches in implementing its goals of “an inclusive, barrier-free and rights-based society for persons with disabilities in the Asian and Pacific region.”[58]

This is not a criticism of the goals and commitments of the Millennium Declaration but an observation that neither the Millennium Declaration nor the 2005 World Summit outcome provide formulations that address the needs or present options for mobilizing the capacities of an estimated 650 million persons – the estimated 10 per cent of the world’s population with disability – in the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger for all.

What then are suggested priorities for action to implement international development agenda in the twenty-first century from the disability perspective?

• Accessibility to the general systems of society should be the critical horizontal theme in all actions proposed to achieve the goals and commitments of the Millennium Declaration. Without accessibility it is difficult to envisage full and effective realization of development goals 1-7, which would include progress on the Biwako Millennium Framework priority of gender equality and empowerment of women with disability.

• Expanded access to accessible health and educational services in the mainstream – development goals 2 and 4-6 - represent essential preconditions for building human capacities for inclusive, equitable and sustainable development for all.[59]

• Improved access to safe water, sanitation, accessible shelter and public infrastructure is essential for improving levels of living and well-being; investments in accessible infrastructure would also contribute to expanded opportunities for productive employment in open markets, which is essential for sustainable eradication of extreme poverty and hunger.

At the macro-policy level, completion of agreements and practical action on trade, finance and debt relief are essential preconditions for the creation of an enabling global environment for equitable and sustainable development to further implement the development goals of the Millennium Declaration. In this regard, the Development Committee of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund called in their “Communiqué” of 23 September 2005 “for the consideration of suitable debt conversion mechanisms to finance social and economic projects in low- and middle-income countries to achieve the [Millennium Development Goals].”[60]

3. Determining data needs for disability-sensitive monitoring and evaluation

Participatory monitoring and evaluation is a central concern of the priority strategies for implementing the goals and commitments of the Biwako Millennium Framework:

“Strategy 4. Governments should ensure that persons with disabilities, including disability groups in civil society, fully participate from an early stage in helping to shape the laws and policies that will affect their lives and in monitoring and evaluating the implementation of these laws and policies and in recommending improvements.”

Participatory monitoring and evaluation is not a particular type of monitoring and evaluation. It is based on the same set of information flows as any system established to monitor performance and to evaluate results and outcomes: monitoring information focuses on the ways in which inputs are used to produce planned results – the conversion processes, while evaluation information focuses inputs and outputs and changes among intended beneficiaries –the effects of an intervention.[61]

Participatory monitoring and evaluation represents an essential component of the process of social learning on progress and obstacles encountered in implementing regional as well as international development agenda – a task that complements the activities of “development specialists” at all levels.

Use of the term “participatory” emphasizes the critical role that intended beneficiaries – indeed all stakeholders, public as well as private – as well as “development experts” play in the determination of data needs, design of procedures that are appropriate to local conditions and practices, and open and democratic exchanges on findings and decisions on implications for further action.[62]

As is the case for any monitoring and evaluation system, it is possible to identify eight decisions points that relate to design and operation of participatory monitoring and evaluation:

• Decision point 1: identify the programme, its area of operations and potential beneficiaries;
• Decision point 2: prepare a logical programme framework to present goals and targets with reference to means and timeframes for implementation;
• Decision point 3: specify information requirements – what to measure;
• Decision point 4: identify the sources of information – what to measure and collect data;
• Decision point 5: decide on the research design – how to collect data and analyze findings;
• Decision point 6: determine the time schedule for the applied research / community studies – when and how often to collect data in terms of baseline, and restudies;
• Decision point 7: determine a communications and outreach strategy for presentation of monitoring and evaluation findings – how to report findings;
• Decision point 8: assign responsibilities for self-evaluation – who supervises, who provides advice, who performs the monitoring and evaluation tasks, and institutional structure for this work.

This section is concerned with the determination of data needs for participatory monitoring and evaluation from the disability perspective, since valid and reliable measures of performance (monitoring information) and results (evaluation information) are essential for informed decisions by all parties concerned. The focus is on quick and effective options to modify priority goals and targets so they will be disability–sensitive.

As discussed in section 1, it is suggested that disability-sensitive monitoring and evaluation of progress and outcomes of inclusive development and poverty reduction use functional definitions of disability so that improvements in well-being and livelihoods at individual and family levels between persons with disabilities and non-disabled persons can be assessed though practical, objective and verifiable quantitative measures.

In practice, determination of data needs for purposes of monitoring and evaluation is based on the goals and objectives of a particular development intervention. The Millennium Declaration has eight development goals for which 18 targets and 48 indicators have been identified.[63] None of the goals, targets or indicators incorporates disability-sensitive measures.

Identification of a short list of indicators of progress and performance in reinforcing the disability perspective in actions to implement the goals and commitments of the Millennium Declaration builds upon its set of 18 targets and 48 indicators. Targets and indicators of priority goals would be modified only to the extent that this will allow systematic measurement and assessment of progress in implementing designated variables with regard to persons with disability and non-disabled persons.

In line with the priority goal of eradication of extreme poverty and hunger, targets and indicators identified relate to the social services and social safety nets, and the employment promotion priorities identified in the Millennium Declaration and the 2005 World Summit outcome. Indicators of accessibility to the general systems of society are considered only as this pertains to information and communication technologies – target 18 of development goal 8 of the Millennium Declaration - due the lack of comparative data.

Table 3. Reinforcing the disability perspective in selected goals, targets and indicators of the Millennium Declaration

Goal 1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

Measurement of progress in reducing extreme poverty and hunger – priority goal 1- should include data on the situation of persons with disability – women and men - as follows

Target 1. Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people is less than US$1 per day

Indicator 1. Proportion of population below $1 (PPP) per day.¹

New text: Add, following population – persons with disability – women and men, and non-disabled persons….

Note to Indicator 1

¹ For monitoring country poverty trends, indicators based on national poverty lines should be used, where available.

Target 2. Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people who suffer from hunger

Indicator 4. Prevalence of underweight children under 5 years of age

New text: Add to under-5 children …boys and girls with disability, and non-disabled children (boys and girls).

Indicator 5. Proportion of population below minimum level of dietary energy consumption

Modified text: Add… population – with reference to persons with disability, and non-disabled persons.

Goal 2. Achieve universal primary education

Access to education and educational attainment of children with disability in the mainstream – rural and urban - can be assessed with slight modification of target 3 and its indicators:

Target 3. Ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling.

New text: Add … and girls with disability and non-disabled alike….

Indicator 6. Net enrolment ratio in primary education

New text: Add … for boys and girls with disability, and non-disabled children (boys and girls) in mainstream education facilities; and for children with disability in special education facilities; rural and urban.

Indicator 7. Proportion of pupils starting grade 1 who reach grade 5¹

New text: Add … for boys and girls with disability, and non-disabled children (boys and girls) in mainstream education facilities; and for children with disability in special education facilities; rural and urban.

Indicator 8. Literacy rate of 15–24 year-olds

New text: Add … for boys and girls with disability, and non-disabled children (boys and girls); rural and urban.

Note to Indicator 7

¹ An alternative indicator under development is “primary completion rate”.

Goal 3. Promote gender equality and empower women

This is a critical goal since women with disabilities often encounter double discrimination, as noted in both the Beijing Platform for Action for Advancement of Women and the Biwako Millennium Framework. Data should be collected on access to services, employment opportunities and to participation in civil and political life in term of both women and men, and women and men with disabilities and non-disabled persons. To the extent possible, data on action related to gender equality and empowerment of women should be disaggregated in terms of rural and urban conditions.

Target 4. Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably by 2005, and in all levels of education no later than 2015.

New text: Add… gender disparity on the basis of equality between persons with disability and non-disabled persons….

Indicator 9. Ratio of boys to girls in primary, secondary and tertiary education

New text: Add… boy to girls in terms of boys and girls with disability and non-disabled boys and girls in….

Indicator 10. Ratio of literate women to men, 15-24 years old

New text: Add… women to men in terms of women and men with disability and non-disabled women and men….

Indicator 11. Share of women in wage employment in the non-agricultural sector.

Modified text: Add… women with disability and non-disabled women in….

Indicator 12. Proportion of seats held by women in national parliament.

Modified text: Add… women with disability and non-disabled women in….

Goal 5. Improve maternal health

Achieving improved maternal health should be accompanied by improved access to accessible ante-natal and neo-natal care, including access to early screening, detection of possible disabling conditions and appropriate intervention services.

Indicator 17. Proportion of birth attended by skilled health personnel

Modified text: Add… personnel and access to early screening, detection and intervention services.

Goal 7. Ensure environmental sustainability

Targets 10 – access to water and sanitation - and 11 – improved shelter – are the concern of the entire population; they should be modified only to the extent that the term “accessibility with reasonable adaptation” in included with the references to water and sanitation and to shelter, respectively.

Goal 8. Develop a global partnership for development

While promotion of opportunities for employment and sustainable livelihoods in open markets are recognized components of poverty reduction, other than indicator 11 -share of women’s wage employment in the non-agricultural sector - only target 16 – youth employment – specifically address employment promotion. Target 16 needs to be modified to obtain data on access to gainful employment by youth with disability:

Target 16. In cooperation with developing countries, develop and implement strategies

for decent and productive work for youth

New text: Add … and for youth – young women and men – with disability and non-disabled youth (young women and men).

Indicator 46. Unemployment rate of young people aged 15-24 years, each sex and total.¹

New text: Add … and of young men and women with disability.

Note to Indicator 46

¹ An improved measure of the target for future years is under development by the International Labour Organization.

Indicators need to be developed on accessibility to the general systems of society, since this represents a key horizontal theme in measures to promote inclusive development and poverty reduction for all. Environmental accessibility increasingly is recognized as a basic right.

Target 18. In cooperation with the private sector, make available the benefits of new technologies, especially information and communications.

If new technologies - information and communication technologies, in particular – do not provide accessibility with reasonable adaptation, they will contribute little to improving levels of living and well-being of the many. Indicators 48A – personal computer access - and 48B – Internet usage – are essentially input measures and provide no basis for assessing socioeconomic outcomes as a result of increase access. There is a need for a fundamental reformulation of the indicators to incorporate accessibility considerations and to link technology dissemination to income effects and poverty eradication, indicator 1.

While the design of a disability-sensitive and participatory monitoring and evaluation system will be based on the goals and objectives of the particular development intervention, the system’s design should aim to obtain information on three key participation variables to measure and assess the degree of transparency in development decision making and accountability of results:

(1) Are persons with disability involved in decisions on planning, design and implementation of mainstream development and poverty eradication efforts; and if so, what have been the outcomes of their participation in disability-sensitive poverty eradication and mainstream development?

(2) What benefits did persons with disability achieve from mainstream development and poverty eradication efforts; how were benefits distributed; and how were costs to produce results apportioned?

(3) Are persons with disability involved in decisions on follow-up action to reduce extreme poverty and hunger; and if so, are lessons of disability-sensitive poverty eradication being incorporated in follow up actions to address needs and challenges experienced by social groups in special circumstances or with special needs?

4. Relationship with the international convention process

The 2005 World Summit outcome reaffirmed “the need to finalize a comprehensive draft convention on the rights of persons with disabilities.” Progress in reinforcing the disability perspective in international development agenda is invariably tied to the convention process.

It might be recalled that when President Vicente Fox Quesada of Mexico proposed that the fifty-sixth session of the General Assembly initiate elaboration of a “comprehensive and integral convention” on the rights of persons with disabilities, he presented this in connection with a call to the international community to combat poverty and social exclusion. President Fox observed that it would be impossible to make the world more just if certain groups are excluded from these processes. For that reason Mexico had proposed that the General Assembly establish a “Special Committee” to study the elaboration of an international convention on promoting and protecting the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities, which was endorsed by General Assembly resolution 56/168 of 19 December 2001.

The value proposition of the “comprehensive and integral” international convention proposal is promotion and protection of the rights and dignity of persons with disability is essential for realization of inclusive, participatory and sustainable development and eradication of extreme poverty and hunger for all.

The draft text of the convention[64] is still being discussed by the Ad Hoc Committee, most recently at its sixth session from 1-12 August 2005. In his oral report on the conclusion of the sixth session the Chairman, Ambassador Don MacKay (New Zealand), noted that discussions indicated thatmany draft articles deal with economic, social and cultural rights, which are to be realized subject to available resources – are subject to the “doctrine of progressive realization” while some draft articles also cover civil and political rights, which are of immediate effect and to which the doctrine of progressive realization does not apply. A recurring question in the discussions is whether the convention should “recognize” or “ensure” a right; and it is recognized that the Committee would need tomake the terms consistent throughout the convention.[65] The Ad Hoc Committee proposed that two sessions be held, subject to available resources, in 2006 to consider further the draft articles, relationships and overlapping among articles, and overall structure of the convention.

Since the Ad Hoc Committee is still discussing draft articles, the preamble to the convention is not yet finalized. This introduces an important consideration: the preamble should refer to promotion and protection of the rights of persons with disabilities and their empowerment as a mainstream development issue. A “comprehensive and integral” international convention should address persons with disability as agents and beneficiaries of all aspects of development – economic, social and cultural, and civil and political.

A second consideration in the elaboration of the international convention is the role of international cooperation and building national capacities for full participation and equality in its promotion implementation, and systematic monitoring and evaluation.

While Rule 22 of the Standard Rules provides guidance on role of international cooperation, similar considerations have not been incorporated in human rights treaties to date. The assumption is that States parties will take “appropriate measures” to implement the provisions of an international convention.

Experience would suggest that implementing the comprehensive and integral international convention on rights of persons with disability – when approved by the General Assembly and adopted by States parties - will require new and strengthened capacities in disability-sensitive policy design and evaluation, in drafting and implementing legislation and administrative guidance, and in monitoring and evaluating performance and outcomes in terms of empowerment and advancement of persons with disability in the context of development. This will require sustained and predictable commitments of resources from all sources to strengthen national capacities and to support communications and reporting processes that facilitate implementation of the convention in an effective, transparent and participatory manner.

Mexico has proposed that an additional article be included in the convention on international cooperation with the aim of providing a mechanism to promote exchanges of knowledge and experience and encourage international and regional intergovernmental organizations to integrate the disability perspective in their programmes and activities - but which does not suggest the need for specific resource commitments. The proposal is under consideration by the Ad Hoc Committee.

5. Concluding remarks: the way ahead in promoting full participation andequality in international development agenda

The development goals of the Millennium Declaration have been characterized in the report of the UN Millennium Project, Investing in Development, as “the most… comprehensive, and specific poverty reduction targets the world has ever established, so their importance is manifold. For the international political system, they are the fulcrum on which development policy is based.”[66]However, it is only with the 2005 World Summit outcome that persons with disabilities are considered in the international development on eradication of extreme poverty and hunger.

The premise of this paperis that strategic actions proposed to date for implementing the goals and commitments of the Millennium Declaration have not been disability inclusive. If actions proposed in the 2005 World Summit outcome to further implement these goals and commitments are to contribute to sustainable and equitable development and eradication of extreme poverty and hunger, they must be disability inclusive and contribute to progressive removal of barriers to full and effective participation by all citizens. This is not to suggest that significant changes in implementation arrangements are required, nor are significant increases in resource commitments envisaged. Recommended changes to reinforce the disability perspective in action to implement the goals and commitments of the Millennium Declaration pertain to three key accessibility considerations:

1. promote environmental accessibility with reasonable adaptation, in the general systems of society, in the physical environment and in the fields of information and communication technologies;
2. provide appropriate – and accessible - social services and safety nets that ensure a “civil minimum” of well-being for all; and
3. encourage and develop participatory, democratic and accountable institutions that promote individual freedom and enterprise for all.

ANNEX

SELECT REVIEW OF NORMATIVE BASES FOR ADVANCEMENT OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITY AND DEVELOPMENT

I. Selected international instruments

The Charter of the United Nations is the point of departure for any discussion of international norms and standards. The “Preamble” to the Charter reaffirms “the faith [of the member States] in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, [and] in the equal rights of men and women.; … to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom;… and for these ends… to employ international machinery for the promotion of the economic and social advancement of all peoples.”[1]

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)[2] - a non-binding international instrument – sets forth the “equal and inalienable rights” and freedoms of all peoples that are discussed in the Charter of the United Nations and provides a common standard of achievement in promoting respect for these rights and freedoms and securing their universal and effective recognition and observance. UDHR affirms the right of all people, without distinction, to marriage; property ownership; equal access to public services; social security; and the realization of economic, social and cultural rights. The International Covenant on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights (CESCR)[3] and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (CCPR)[4] are binding international instruments for the promotion and protection of human rights and freedoms in accordance with the principles of the Charter of the United Nations and as elaborated in UDHR. States parties agree to “guarantee that the rights enunciated in the [respective] Covenant will be exercised without discrimination of any kind as to race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.”[5]

In General Comment 5, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (Eleventh session, 1994) recognized disability as a human rights issue and decided the provisions of the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights apply to persons with disability. The Committee noted that “in accordance with article 2 (2) of the Covenant, which provides that rights “enunciated ... will be exercised without discrimination of any kind… or other status’ would clearly apply to discrimination on the grounds of disability.”[6]

Binding international instruments related to employment and rights of workers with disability have been elaborated and adopted by a number of member States of the International Labour Organization and include (ILO) Convention No. 159, "Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (Disabled Persons), 1983"[7] and ILO Recommendation No. 168, "Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (Disabled Persons), 1983".[8]

While the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)[9] provides comprehensive treatment of the question of discrimination against women, it was only with the adoption of General Recommendation 18 by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (Tenth session, 1991) that the situation of women with disability obtained recognition as an important consideration in the implementation of CEDAW. The Committee requested States parties “to provide information on disabled women in their periodic reports, and on measures taken to deal with their particular situation, including special measures to ensure that they have equal access to education and employment, health services and social security, and to ensure that they can participate in all areas of social and cultural life.” [10]

The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)[11] includes, in article 23, specific provisions on the rights and dignity of children with disability:

“Article 23

“1. States Parties recognize that a mentally or physically disabled child should enjoy a full and decent life, in conditions which ensure dignity, promote self-reliance and facilitate the child's active participation in the community.

“2. States Parties recognize the right of the disabled child to special care and shall encourage and ensure the extension, subject to available resources, to the eligible child and those responsible for his or her care, of assistance for which application is made and which is appropriate to the child's condition and to the circumstances of the parents or others caring for the child.

“3. Recognizing the special needs of a disabled child, assistance extended in accordance with paragraph 2 of the present article shall be provided free of charge, whenever possible, taking into account the financial resources of the parents or others caring for the child, and shall be designed to ensure that the disabled child has effective access to and receives education, training, health care services rehabilitation services, preparation for employment and recreation opportunities in a manner conducive to the child's achieving the fullest possible social integration and individual development, including his or her cultural and spiritual development

“4. States Parties shall promote, in the spirit of international cooperation, the exchange of appropriate information in the field of preventive health care and of medical, psychological and functional treatment of disabled children, including dissemination of and access to information concerning methods of rehabilitation, education and vocational services, with the aim of enabling States Parties to improve their capabilities and skills and to widen their experience in these areas. In this regard, particular account shall be taken of the needs of developing countries.”

II. Disability-specific instruments

Prior to the adoption of the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons, in 1982, international instruments in the field of disability reflected medical and social welfare-oriented models of disability. Their main focus was on non-discrimination and provision of rehabilitation services and social protection in order to adapt to normal society rather than empowerment for participation in the mainstream development. These non-binding instruments include the “Declaration of the Rights of Mentally Retarded Persons,”[12] the “Declaration on the Rights of Disabled Persons”[13] and the “Principles for the Protection of Persons with Mental Illness and for the Improvement of Mental Health Care.”[14]

The World Programme of Action has two development-oriented goals – "full participation" of disabled persons in social life and development, and "equality" – and three objectives:

    1. Effective measures to address preventable causes of disability, which the World Programme describes as “measures aimed at preventing the onset of mental, physical and sensory impairments (primary prevention) or at preventing impairment, when it has occurred, from having negative physical, psychological and social consequences.”

    2. Rehabilitation, which the World Programme describes as “a goal-oriented and time-limited process aimed at enabling an impaired person to reach an optimum mental, physical and/or social functional level, thus providing her or him with the tools to change her or his own life. It can involve measures intended to compensate for a loss of function or a functional limitation (for example, by technical aids) and other measures intended to facilitate social adjustment or readjustment.”

    3. Equalization of opportunities, which the World Programme defines as “the process through which the general system of society, such as the physical and cultural environment, housing and transportation, social and health services, educational and work opportunities, cultural and social life, including sports and recreational facilities, are made accessible to all.”[15]

The Standard Rules on the Equalizations of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities[16] reflect the concern of the international community with both normative and substantive guidance on achieving the key development objective of the World Programme, namely “equalization of opportunities.” The Rules focus on quality of life, full participation and equality issues and direct special attention to measures that will enable persons with disability to “exercise the same rights and responsibilities as others.”

The Rules are in three main sections:

1. Preconditions for equal participation

Rule 1. Awareness-raising

Rule 2. Medical care

Rule 3. Rehabilitation

Rule 4. Support services

2. Target areas for equal participation

Rule 5. Accessibility: access to the physical environment, and to information and communication

Rule 6. Education

Rule 7. Employment

Rule 8. Income maintenance and social security

Rule 9. Family life and personal integrity

Rule 10. Culture

Rule 11. Recreation and sports

Rule 12. Religion

3. Implementation measures

Rule 13. Information and research

Rule 14. Policy-making and planning

Rule 15. Legislation

Rule 16. Economic policies

Rule 17. Coordination of work – national committees

Rule 18. Organizations of persons with disabilities

Rule 19. Personnel training

Rule 20. National monitoring and evaluation of disability programmes in the implementation of the Rules

Rule 21. Technical and economic cooperation

Rule 22. International cooperation

The Rules include a “Monitoring mechanism” to further implementation through technical exchanges and reviews of knowledge and experience on progress and obstacles in achieving full participation and equality.

The General Assembly has directed special attention to four target areas for equal participation in the light of their demonstrated contributions to advancement of persons with disabilities in the context of development:[17]

Rule 5.Accessibility: (a) Access to the physical environment, and (b) access to information and communication

Rule 6.Education

Rule 7.Employment

Rule 8.Income maintenance and social security.

In connection with the observance of the end of the first Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons (1993-2002), the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP) convened a high level intergovernmental meeting to consider progress in achieving the goals of an inclusive, barrier-free and rights-based society for persons with disabilities in Asia and Pacific during the period 1993-2002 and to recommend measures to further achieve these goals and commitments in the new decade, 2003-2012.[18] The outcome of the meeting, the Biwako Millennium Framework for Action to promote an inclusive, barrier-free and rights-based society for persons with disabilities in Asia and the Pacific (BMF), identifies seven policy priority areas and five strategic areas for action in the new decade:

BMF: seven priority policy areas:

A. Self-help organizations of persons with disabilities and related family and parent associations

B. Women with disabilities

C. Early detection, early intervention and education

D. Training and employment, including self-employment

E. Access to built environments and public transport

F. Access to information and communications, including information, communication and assistive technologies

G. Poverty alleviation through capacity-building, social security and sustainable livelihood programmes

BMF: five strategic areas for action:

A. National plan of action [five years] on disability

B. Promotion of rights-based approach to disability issues

C. Disability statistics [and] common definition of disabilities for planning

D. Strengthened community-based approaches to the prevention of causes of disability, rehabilitation and empowerment of persons with disabilities

E. Cooperation and support for action: sub-regional, regional and interregional

At its fifty-ninth session, the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, took “note” of the Biwako Millennium Framework and requested “all members and associate members to support [its] implementation at the national level through public awareness activities, appropriate policies, other measures and the allocation of resources in keeping with national capacities, and through international cooperation and partnership, including the transfer of resources and technologies, as appropriate.”[19]

III. Summary of “In larger freedom: towards development, security and human rights for all”

To prepare for the first five-year review of progress and obstacles in implementing the Millennium Declaration, the Secretary-General issued his analytical report, “In larger freedom” [20] that examines three key themes of international cooperation in the twenty-first century – development, security and human freedom - and submits recommendations for further action to achieve its goals and commitments as well as recommendations on new structures for the United Nations Organization so it can better support action related to these themes. As was the case in previous Millennium Declaration-related policy reviews, persons with disability are absent from this analyses of issues and trends.

   I. Freedom from want. Recommended actions focus on international cooperation to reduce extreme poverty and hunger and promote global prosperity. Special attention is directed to actions to address gender bias and promote gender equality, to debt management, to expand resources to respond to HIV/AIDS, to mitigate climate change and improve early warning and disaster management. However, there is no reference to environmental accessibility to promote inclusive development opportunities for all or to action to address bias against persons with disability.

   II. Freedom from fear. Recommended actions focus on promoting international peace and security as well as measures to address terrorism. However, there is no reference to the special situation of persons with disability as a consequence of war, conflict, terrorism or sanctions.

   III. Freedom to live in dignity. Recommendations urge member States to reaffirm support for the rule of law, human rights and democracy, and “encourage any Government that has not done so to agree to ratify and implement all treaties relating to the protection of civilians.” However, there is no reference to work-in-progress on the comprehensive and integral international convention on the protection and promotion of the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities.

   IV. The imperative for collective action: strengthening the United Nations. Recommended actions pertain to the revitalization and reform of the main bodies of the United Nations – General Assembly, Security Council and Economic and Social Council – and establishment of a Human Rights Council as a subsidiary body of the General Assembly to replace the current Commission on Human Rights, a subsidiary body of the Economic and Social Council. None of the recommendations to revitalize the principal organs of the United Nations include measures to make the respective facilities, procedures and services accessible for all.

Recommendations addressed to the United Nations Secretariat focus on measures to improve its capacities, efficiency and effectiveness to deal with emerging issues and challenges of the twenty-first century and to introduce greater accountability and transparency in its procedures.

IV. Normative considerations in recommended priorities for action

A. Environmental accessibility with reasonable adaptation

Accessibility is increasingly recognized as an integral component of the broad human rights framework for development: if there is no accessibility with reasonable adaptation, development cannot be considered to be inclusive, just or sustainable. Accessibility is considered in a draft article – 19 – in the new international convention on the rights of persons with disability, but the Ad Hoc Committee has not yet finished its consideration of the text.

Normative guidance on environmental accessibility is provided by Rule 5 of the Standard Rules, which is presented below in the light of the critical role of accessibility in promoting equalization of opportunities:

“States should recognize the overall importance of accessibility in the process of the equalization of opportunities in all spheres of society. For persons with disabilities of any kind, States should (a) introduce programmes of action to make the physical environment accessible; and (b) undertake measures to provide access to information and communication.

“(a) Access to the physical environment

“1. States should initiate measures to remove the obstacles to participation in the physical environment. Such measures should be to develop standards and guidelines and to consider enacting legislation to ensure accessibility to various areas in society, such as housing, buildings, public transport services and other means of transportation, streets and other outdoor environments.

“2. States should ensure that architects, construction engineers and others who are professionally involved in the design and construction of the physical environment have access to adequate information on disability policy and measures to achieve accessibility.

“3. Accessibility requirements should be included in the design and construction of the physical environment from the beginning of the designing process.

“4. Organizations of persons with disabilities should be consulted when standards and norms for accessibility are being developed. They should also be involved locally from the initial planning stage when public construction projects are being designed, thus ensuring maximum accessibility.

“(b) Access to information and communication

“5. Persons with disabilities and, where appropriate, their families and advocates should have access to full information on diagnosis, rights and available services and programmes, at all stages. Such information should be presented in forms accessible to persons with disabilities.

“6. States should develop strategies to make information services and documentation accessible for different groups of persons with disabilities. Braille, tape services, large print and other appropriate technologies should be used to provide access to written information and documentation for persons with visual impairments. Similarly, appropriate technologies should be used to provide access to spoken information for persons with auditory impairments or comprehension difficulties.

“7. Consideration should be given to the use of sign language in the education of deaf children, in their families and communities. Sign language interpretation services should also be provided to facilitate the communication between deaf persons and others.

“8. Consideration should also be given to the needs of people with other communication disabilities.

“9. States should encourage the media, especially television, radio and newspapers, to make their services accessible.

“10. States should ensure that new computerized information and service systems offered to the general public are either made initially accessible or are adapted to be made accessible to persons with disabilities.

“11. Organizations of persons with disabilities should be consulted when measures to make information services accessible are being developed.”[21]

Technical guidelines on accessible information and communication technologies (ICT), Internet accessibility in particular, are presented in the “Manila Accessible Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Design Recommendations”[22] that are the outcome of the United Nations “Interregional Seminar and Regional Demonstration Workshop on Accessible ICT and Persons with Disabilities,” hosted by the Government of the Philippines at Manila from3 to 7 March 2003.[23]

An extract of the “Manila Design Recommendations” is presented below:

Manila Accessible Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) Design Recommendations

“Recognizing that information and communication technologies (ICT) accessibility barriers are systemic and reach all sectors of our global economy, and that ICT accessibility barriers prevent the global community of persons with disabilities from full and equal participation and enjoyment in daily life; and

“Noting that the global community is prevented from being enriched by our diverse abilities and contributions; and

“Acknowledging that Universal Design¹ concepts inform public policy by calling for the development of ICT flexible enough to accommodate the needs and preferences of the broadest range of users, regardless of age or disability or the limitations of our computer equipment; and

“Noting that accessible ICT:

• removes communications and information access barriers that restrict business and social interactions between persons with disabilities and non-disabled persons;
• removes age-related barriers to participation i