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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) |
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Materials : Country
Submissions :Disability Action Councilby Ngy San Before answering to 8 points suggested by UNECAP I would like to share some main achievements though the Asian and Pacific Decades of Disabled Persons with as following.
1. The Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia, article 31 states that “every Khmer citizen shall be equal before the law, enjoying the same rights, freedom and fulfil the same obligations regardless of race, colour, sex, language, religious belief, political tendency, birth origin, social status, wealth and other status...”. Article 74 states that “The State shall assist the disabled and the families of combatants who sacrificed their lives for nation”. The government of Cambodia is a signatory to the UN Decade of Disable Persons (1883-1992); UN Standard Rule on Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities 1993; the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons (1993-2002); and the Biwako Millennium Framework for Action and Inclusive, Barrier-free and Right-based Society for Persons with Disabilities in Asia and the Pacific (2003-2012). Therefore, it is obligation for the government to develop the policies and legislation to seek legal, social, economic and cultural reforms that proper enforceability of public policies/programmes that respond to the creation of Equality between Disable and Non Disabled persons in Cambodian. In these regards, it requires multi sectoral collaboration to take positive (affirmative) action measures in order to diminish or eliminate conditions, which cause or help to persuade any form of discrimination. Cambodia does not have separate disability laws at the present, but disability issues are addressed in some existing Cambodian Laws and Regulations. The government think that it is important to have disability inclusion and disability specific laws, policies and plans. Hence, the development of specific legislation is crucial to promote the full participation and equality of persons with disabilities. Rights-Based Legislation emerges from the recognition that people with disabilities have the same rights as non-disabled persons. 2. Disability is a cross cutting issue and all government ministries/institutions have to include disability in their policies and programmes. The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport (MoEYS); Ministry of Health; and Ministry of Women’s Affairs design their programmes and projects for the general population. Unfortunately some projects and programmes do not include the needs of people with disabilities. The Cambodia Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA) is in charge of co-ordinating and regulating mine victim related issues. However, this responsibility has been delegated to the Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth rehabilitation (MoSVY) former name was The Ministry of Social Affairs, Labour, Vocational Training and Youth Rehabilitation (MoSALVY) and the Disability Action Council (DAC). MoSVY has been mandated by the Royal Government to lead and manage social affairs, veterans, and youth rehabilitation in Cambodia. One of the main tasks of MoSVY is to prepare guidelines and regulations for the protection and the welfare of Cambodian persons with disabilities and to promote mainstreaming disability. Disability is always low priority and other government agencies and institutions do not aware of the disability issues. Even in the National Poverty Reduction Strategy disability was mentioned as part of the vulnerable groups. It is a long-term issue, which will require a co-ordinated and global approach, strong political will, commitments, and also acknowledgement of the burden of exclusion. A major factor restricting the full participation and equality of people with disabilities are the perceptions and practices that prevent them from functioning as full members of society. Often the abilities of people with disabilities are not recognised. They face social and economic marginalization, discrimination, and have very limited access to resources. Therefore, they find their opportunities for full and equal participation limited. Public awareness, outreach and mass education campaigns, as well as efforts to mobilise the private sector and communities to support the prevention and reduction of discrimination are almost non-existent. However, the Department of Rehabilitation and MoSVY currently work under enormous constraints and is seriously under-resourced. MoSVY does not have enough funds for the effective development of services for people with disabilities. Staff salaries and conditions of work are poor, which affects their level of commitment. Staffs also need to improve their technical and administrative skills. It is noted that, so far, the provision of services for people with disabilities has mainly been concentrated in a single ministry, MoSVY, while others ministries have been involved to some degree in supporting and promoting services for people with disabilities. Links have also been established between MoSVY and other ministries. The majority of services provided for people with disabilities are implemented by the Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs). 3. Cambodia has an extremely high proportion of people with disabilities but it acknowledges that there is no reliable data and statistic on the number of people with disabilities in Cambodia. Unfortunately, the government sources indicated that out of approximately 10,200,000 people, there are 100,000 whose mobility is impaired. Of this number, roughly 40,000 are amputees and 60,000 have been disabled as a result of polio. There are also an additional 100,000 blind Cambodians and an estimated 120,000 who are deaf. This makes a total of 320,000 Cambodian who have a serious physical disability and represents 2.4% percent of the population.[1] The total number dropped to 170,000 in 1999 without clear explanation. Other outside sources indicated that the percentage is higher than above figure of 2.4%. Using the international average to make a rough estimate that in Cambodia there are a minimum of 1,003,400 or 9.8 percent [2] population( of the total population 13.77, NIS 2003) who have significant physical or mental disability which affects their ability to function independently on a daily basis. It was estimated that between 204,000 to 257,000 children with intellectual disabilities, 20,400 to 40,800 people suffering from severe mental illness, 153,000 to 408,000 people with epilepsy, and 306,000 to 530,000 people who have significant personality disorders. The most recent data from the government sources in 2005 (it is not yet officially released) shown that it is 4 to 5% of the total population have disability. Based on the most recent finding, a survey in Cambodia made by United Nations and Disabled Persons estimated that people with disabilities comprise about 1.4 million or 15 percent of the total population of Cambodia.[3] Most organisations providing services to persons with disabilities collect their own data. This data collection mainly serves the needs of specific projects covering particular types of disabilities, services and geographical areas. Therefore, the different databases do not provide information that can be easily compared. In addition, information on certain types of disabilities is missing altogether, such as information on persons with intellectual disabilities. Questioners and methodology have been developed and tested by the Disability Action Council (DAC) Database Working Group. Efforts have been taken to include the disability data in any national survey will be conducted by the National Institute of Statistics, Ministry of Planning. The first ever official definition and categories of disability are defined in the joint Proclamation of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Social Affairs No 14 MoSALVY/SN dated 24 July 2003. 4. Until 1995, various NGOs and Government Ministries were working with minimal co-ordination. The focus was to get funds to implement projects rather than responding to what was most needed for people with disabilities and long term development in Cambodia. Services were centred in urban areaswhile the majority of people with disabilities were living in rural areas without any information about the services available. Security at that time also restricted the development of services outside the main cities. In September 1995, the government and key NGOs initiated a joint ministry/NGO process to develop a common strategy for the continuation, development and co-ordination of appropriate programmes/services and policies for and with disabled people. The process incorporated the following steps:
This process took nine months. The ministry enthusiastically approved the recommendations of the Task Force to set up a national, permanent semi-autonomous co-ordination body that is the Disability Action Council (DAC) in 1997. The establishment of the body is reflected to implement the Task Force's recommendations and comply with the Agenda for Action of the United Nation Economic and Social Commission in Asia and Pacific (UNESCAP) Decade for the Disabled Persons 1993-2003, which the Government of Cambodia adhered to in 1994. The DAC has become fully operationalised in September 1998 with 3 year funding from the United State Agency for International Development (USAID)/Leahy War Victim Fund (LWVF). In October 1999 the government formally recognised the status of the DAC as the permanent, semi-autonomous, national co-ordinating and advisory body on disability and rehabilitation (Former MoSALVY Prakas No 185 dated 25 October 1999). This unique status was seen as a way of harnessing the skills, energy and resources of the NGO sector to a new government that had low capacity and extremely limited human and financial resources. DAC has created an ideal structure which allows for relevant government ministries and institutions, national and international organisations and individuals to be involved in all aspects of discussion and decision making. The DAC is made up of representatives from the Government of Cambodia along with those representing non-government aid organisations, disabled people organisations, individuals, and people with disabilities committed to working for the well being of Cambodia's people with disabilities. The DAC acts in a professional advisory capacity in relation to government and policy-makers on all issues affecting the well being of people with disabilities. It also serves as a national focal point on disability matters to facilitate the continuous evolution of a comprehensive national approach to rehabilitation, equalisation of opportunities and prevention of disabilities. The DAC has a range of Committees and Working Groups covering different aspects of the disability and rehabilitation sector. The Committees and Working Groups consist of representatives from NGOs, IOs, and relevant government ministries. 5. The main functions of the DAC include:
6 & 7. The Royal Government of Cambodia has done its part to create an appropriate structure in order to respond to the challenges. There are a range of committees and working groups under the structure of the DAC. It is a semi autonomous national coordinating body on disability and rehabilitation, which has commitment and responsibility to develop a national plan of action. As you may aware that investment in the disability and rehabilitation sector is relied on financial and technical support from outside. So, there is a need for increasing co-ordination, especially between government, local and international non-government organisations, UN organisations, and bilateral and multilateral donors to take part in the process of the development of the action plan. To move along with this process we are able to develop a so-called Strategic Direction on Disability and Rehabilitation (SDDR). What is SDDR? It is a document that provides an overview of the sector- It is clear guidelines and information of where current services are; what are the gaps; and what future of services should be. The SDDR provides:
Each component of SDDR consists of the following parts:
Please refer to DAC website: www.dac.org.kh for a detailed description of the SDDR. Through this mechanism enable the government through DAC to co-ordinate, monitor and evaluate all rehabilitation programmes and services for all categories of persons with disabilities and mine victims to ensure their action complies with Government policies and regulations. 8. A major factor restricting the full participation and equality of opportunities of people with disabilities is the prevalence of perceptions and practices, which prevent them from functioning as full members of the society. Often the abilities of people with disabilities are not recognized. They face social and economic marginalization, discrimination, and have very limited access to resources. Therefore, they find their opportunities for full and equal participation limited. Therefore, efforts are being made in term of promotion public information on disability. The government has tried its best with its limited resources to promote awareness and ability of people with disabilities through various mean including sporting activities. The government supports and involves in organization of the Handi Sports Day and International Day for Person with Disabilities on yearly basis. I would like to conclude that few or no programs provided to people with disabilities were leading to technical, managerial and financial sustainability. The enormous needs of these people would grow even further and the gaps in actual services would become even wider in the coming years. There was lack of technical knowledge and co-ordination among groups working in the field of rehabilitation relating to the planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation. Only a collaborative partnership, encompassing the Government, NGOs, IOs, business, religious, local communities and people with disabilities themselves, could guarantee sustainable services in the future. As it was stated in the Disability Research Abridged version 2004 conducted by the World Vision, Cambodia. There are two general themes, one an internal disability sector theme and the other an external, interface theme between disability and the broader Cambodian agencies, organisations and culture. Firstly, the disability sector within Cambodia, whilst having made great inroads into addressing the needs and desires of people with disabilities, is still experiencing a number of significant gaps that need to be addressed. The second theme is that the issue of disability needs to be integrated into mainstream community development activities and into the consciousness of the broader society which is emerging as important for the future of service delivery in Cambodia and as a priority for people living with disabilities in the community. The DAC has the mandate, the neutrality and the representation of all key participants in the field of disability and rehabilitation that is required to effectively and efficiently undertake this vitally important co-ordinating role. Development in Cambodia is firmly located within the sphere of the NGO sector with the minimal financial commitment and lack of capacity of the government. This is a challenge to systematic national approach to managing issues and concerns. The dichotomy of creating a sustainable and appropriate approach to addressing the challenges and issues facing people with disabilities without firm government commitment is not only difficult but is one of the major challenges facing the sector in the future years. Multi-sectoral collaboration and co-operation efforts are needed to ensure the full integration of people with disabilities. A national co-ordinating body should be further promoted and supported by governments and donors. This will require addressing the lack of access to education, skills training, land rights, and credit issues. Mainstreaming people with disabilities into the existing programmes and services means that their natural place as an integral part of society is recognised. [1] Socio economic Survey of Cambodia, MoP/NIS, 1996 [2] Asian Development Bank (FIT 2002) [3] United Nations and Disabled Persons, Bangkok, 1999 |
