Programme :
Opening Statement
by Ms. Thelma Kay Director,
Emerging Social Issues Division United Nations Economic and Social
Commission for Asia and the Pacific
Excellencies,
Distinguished participants,
Ladies and gentlemen,
On behalf of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia
and the Pacific (UNESCAP), I am pleased to welcome all of you to the "UNESCAP/China
Disabled Persons' Federation (CDPF) Regional Workshop on Promotion of
Barrier-free Tourism."
At the onset, I would like to say that UNESCAP is very pleased to join
hands again with CDPF to co-organize this Workshop. In fact, the partnership
with CDPF started more than a decade ago, and we deeply appreciate your
long-term commitment to achieve a barrier-free, inclusive and rights-based
society in the region. I wish to also express our profound gratitude to the
Government of China for its continuing support for our programme. Our
sincere gratitude is also extended to the local government of Sanya city,
Hainan, and the CDPF local chapter for hosting this Workshop in this
stunningly beautiful city.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The population of persons with disabilities has been increasing in Asia
and the Pacific, due to such factors as aging of society, natural disasters,
poor infrastructure and traffic accidents. It is now said that 400 million,
or about two-thirds of the persons with disabilities in the world live in
our region. The increase in the population of persons with disabilities cuts
across various economic and social status of society.
It is an alarming fact that inaccessibility to built environments and
information prevents a growing number of persons with diverse disabilities
from actively participating in social and economic activities. 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)",
the regional policy guideline for the Second Decade of Disabled Persons for
Asia and the Pacific, addresses this issue in its two priority areas,
namely, (a) access to built environments and public transport, and (b)
access to information and communications, including information,
communication and assistive technologies. As we foresee further growth of
the number of persons with disabilities in the future, this problem needs
urgent attention.
Ladies and gentlemen,
We believe that barrier-free tourism can offer not only a solution to the
problem but also a win-win situation for the region's socioeconomic
development. Barrier-free tourism provides a society with the opportunity to
make the environment and information accessible, enhancing mobility of
persons with different disabilities or older persons. At the same time,
barrier-free tourism provides tourism industry with a golden opportunity to
reach out to one of its untapped markets, travelers with disabilities and
older persons. Barrier-free tourism can contribute to an increase in
employment opportunities in communities. Many favorite destinations of
tourists in the world are already in the Asia and the Pacific region, and
there are more places which have the potential to be as well. Promotion of
barrier-free tourism might be able to attract more travelers with
disabilities from the region and beyond, hence contributing to the economic
development of the region as a whole.
At this Workshop, we will focus on barrier-free tourism and explore its
benefits and effective implementation in full details. We are quite
fortunate to have many experts from our region, who can share their
expertise and knowledge on disability policy development, tourism and
cultural development, disabled people's concerns and technical aspect of
creating accessible environment and information. I am certain that synergies
to be gained from this Workshop can heighten awareness on barrier-free
tourism and concrete actions to be taken at the national and provincial
levels.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Pursuant to UNESCAP resolution 61/8 of 18 May 2005, a high-level
intergovernmental meeting will be convened in September 2007 to undertake
the mid-point review of the BMF implementation. Based on the assessment, we
will formulate an effective operational plans entitled "Biwako Plus Five,"
which would further enhance the BMF implementation for the second half of
the Decade, from 2008 to 2012. For that purpose, we need to identify
progress made thus far and challenges ahead of us. Your inputs at this
Workshop will be a great contribution to the process as well.
Furthermore, I would like to point out that we all live in a very
exciting point of history concerning the global disability mandate. Less
than two months ago, a final agreement on the "Draft Convention on the
Rights of Persons with Disabilities" was reached in New York. And the final
text will be considered for approval at the current session of the General
Assembly of the United Nations. In this context, I would like to acknowledge
the important role played by the Government of China during the drafting and
negotiation process.
The Convention would mark a major shift in the way the region's nearly
400 million persons with disabilities are treated. And one of the expected
changes, I would like to emphasize here, is the establishment of
accessibility rights, as included in the article 9. The article mandates the
States Parties to take appropriate measures to ensure persons with
disabilities the access, on an equal basis with others, to physical
environments, to transportation, to information and communication. Once the
Convention takes effect, the article will have significant ramifications on
the promotion of barrier-free society, which encompasses an element of
barrier-free tourism.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Our task ahead will not be an easy one. However, our firm commitment will
bring about changes supported by the two important instruments: the Biwako
Millennium Framework and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities.
I would like to conclude my statement by reiterating our shared
aspirations towards an inclusive, barrier-free and rights-based society - a
society in which all people with different abilities and unique diversities
can fully enjoy their rights.
I wish you every success in your deliberations.
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