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UN ESCAP Workshop on Regional Follow-up to the Fifth Session
and Preparation for the Sixth Session of the Ad Hoc Committee on an
International Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights and
Dignity of Persons with Disabilities |
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Materials :
Country Papers :Philippine Country PaperNELIA R. DE JESUS I. INTRODUCTIONOn the outset, the Philippines started its participation in the International Convention on a high gear. The Philippine Mission then acted as the Co-Chair of the Ad Hoc Committee (AHC) Meetings but sent solid delegation in all the meetings representing key players from the government, including sectoral representatives. As the lead body on all disability efforts nationwide, the National Council for the Welfare of Disabled Persons (NCWDP) created in 2001, an interagency body dubbed “Task Force on the International Convention on the Rights of PWDs”. With the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) at the apex, it held a series of consultations with key players and prepared country inputs and proposals for the Convention. 1. Participation of DPOs and NGOs in the process towards the Convention and AHC Sessions (e.g. representation of persons with disabilities and DPOs in a national delegation team, national negotiations and dialogue prior to each AHC Sessions, etc.) National Consultation At the heel of the 1st AHC directing member states to hold consultations with concerned agencies, the Council passed Board Resolution No. 18 S. 2002. Task Force members include:
In synch with the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC), NCWDP briefed the sector on the Peace Rally in Zamboanga City, Northern Mindanao. Over 200 persons with disabilities from all over the country discussed their rights based on the Bangkok Recommendations, Biwako Millennium Framework and other human rights instruments. Regular updates on the Convention from the Philippine Mission in New York are reported in the Board Meetings, RCWDPs, during National celebrations, radio and TV interviews. This is to keep the public aware of this national instrument, which stands to level the field for PWDs globally. For this year’s 6th AHC, the task Force tapped the UNDP to mount a Round Table Discussion (RTD) to review the last 11 articles of the Convention’s draft text. Of the 60 participants, more sectoral representatives got involved in the review and gave concrete inputs. To ensure quality outputs, the leaders of the workshop groups were pre-selected and briefed twice on the target outputs prior to the RTD. For wider consultation, NCWDP gathered comments of the Regional Committees for the Welfare of Disabled Persons (RCWDPs) on the text nationwide were also gathered. Ten RTD group outputs were collated and submitted to the Style and Review Committee (SRC) composed of all the group leaders. The SRC was tasked to review and capture all the outputs into one country document for submission to the AHC. At the DFA-UNIO’s invitation, aqencies interested to join the delegation requested endorsement from NCWDP for submission to them. With the government’s present tight economic state, NGOs/DPOs tap sponsors and assistance locally and overseas. 2. Establishment of an effective monitoring mechanism at the national level (e.g. revitalization of national human rights commission, establishment of equal opportunity commission, the role of national coordination mechanism) Promptly after UN-ESCAP proclaimed the AP Decade of PWDs, the Philippines through NCWDP started developing the National Plan of Action for the Decade (NPAD). This serves as a national framework for policy development and program implementation. The NPAD uses indicators for monitoring the 7BMF’s areas of concern. At the regional level, the Council, thru the 16 RCWDPs nationwide, will monitor the NPAD’s implementation progress. At the national level, monitoring is thru the Council Board, composed of 19 line agencies, civic and cause-oriented groups and organizations of persons with disabilities. As a rule, consultation with all partners and associates and PWDs as partners and consumers of programs and services has been institutionalized both at the local and national levels. The Council runs several network mechanisms to ensure effective monitoring of policies and programs, These are SubCommittees on health, education, training and employment, accessibility, public information and transport, technical cooperation, ICT, Women with disabilities, and the Task Force on the Convention on the Rights of PWDs. As a result of the RTD last July 21, 2005, NCWDP would invite the CHR as a member of the Board to enlist its partnership in monitoring violation of human rights of PWDs in the country. 3. Towards development of an anti-discrimination law in countries of the ESCAP region (some good practices in the ESCAP region) 4. Disability inclusive international and regional cooperation (Twin track approach, disability integrated technical cooperation, disability impact assessment, etc.; |
