Materials :
Country Papers :
Bangladesh Country Report on International
convention on the Rights of persons with disabilities
July 2006
A.H.M. Noman Khan
Executive Director, CDD
&
Secretary General, NFOWD
This is a national position paper focused on Bangladesh’s position and
expectation in relation to the proposed International Convention on the
Rights of Persons with Disabilities being constructed by the United Nations.
This position paper has been developed through a series of consultations
that started from February 2005.
Ministry of Social Welfare, of the Government of People’s Republic of
Bangladesh in collaboration with the National Forum of Organizations Working
with the Disabled (NFOWD), the apex federating body of NGOs working in the
field of disabilities have been carrying out the process of upholding the
national position and expectations in 8th session of the UN ad hoc committee
on the convention.
Background
The basic human rights as a citizen of Bangladesh has been protected by
its constitution regardless of gender, class, religion, race etc. It does
not discriminate persons with disabilities or persons without disabilities.
The National Policy for Persons with disabilities, 1995 have considered the
relevant constitutional provisions dealing with the rights of people with
disabilities. The Government of Bangladesh has enacted the Disability
Welfare Act-2001 to protect and promote the rights of the persons with
disabilities following the Disability Policy and the international
commitments on United Nations Standard Rules on the Equalization of
Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities.
Over the past years the government has taken a number of initiatives that
has contributed immensely in improving the condition of persons with
disabilities in the country. There are efforts to facilitate the inclusion
of persons with disabilities into mainstream development like accessibility,
education, transport, welfare services, quota for government jobs, access to
micro-credit facilities for self-employment, etc. In addition to the efforts
of the Government around 400 NGOs in the country are working with the
mission of equalization of rights of persons with disabilities. These
combined efforts of the GO-NGO sector have created a movement towards a
paradigm shift from charity to equity towards persons including persons with
disabilities.
Being a signatory of the bygone ESCAP Decade of Disabled Person, and an
active member country of formulating and lounging the Biwako Millennium
Framework, Bangladesh has initiated implementing activities towards
addressing the inclusive, barrier free and rights bases society for persons
with disability in the country. Although the activities concerning the
Biwako Millennium Framework is still far behind, but an adequate attention
and consideration by the government and NGOs have been established in spite
of multifarious socio-economic limitations.
Views on International Convention:
In the context of 21st century and the process of Globalization the
proposed International convention on Protection and Promotion of the Rights
and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities would be an effective and powerful
instrument to strengthen national policies and legislations concerned with
persons with disabilities. It will also promote and strengthen International
cooperation in protecting Human Rights of Persons of Disabilities.
Bangladesh is a developing country with limitation of resources and many
priority development issues requiring attention of the Government, NGOs and
the civil society. Over the past decade there has been a momentum in
Bangladesh for interventions on disability concerned issues. The level of
commitment and good will to address the needs of disabled people has been on
the increase from both GO ~ NGO sector. The proposed international
convention is required in the context of the country to improve the quality
of life of its people with disabilities, but at the same time one has assess
it from the perspective of the poverty situation and limited resources that
the country possess. The targets and issues of the convention need to be
such with which third world countries like Bangladesh can identify itself
with and feel comfortable that it will be in a position to uphold the
convention within the country context.
Interventions on UN Convention in Bangladesh:
The disability rights activists, the Government and NGOs had taken the
issue of proposed UN Convention since inception of its work at UN level. In
February 2005, Ministry of Social Welfare and NFOWD jointly with UNESCAP
organized a national seminar on the convention, the first of its kind in
Bangladesh, to inform the concerned ministries, NGOs and media. The
development process of the convention including the proposed draft was
shared.
The representation in the Ad-hoc committee was made through participation
of relevant member of the Bangladesh Permanent Delegate in UN Head Quarter
in all of the 7 Ad-hoc committee meetings.
The President of NFOWD attended the 6th session of Ad-hoc committee on
August 2005. The delegation members influenced the ad hoc committee to
include clauses on specific rights of children with disabilities.
Before the 7th session, a consultation workshop was organized with the
children with disabilities on December 2005. The consultation was held to
learn the views of disabled children, on proposed convention and identify
areas that are considered as priority. Two children participants from
Bangladesh along with four other children from UK and China shared these
discussion findings with the Ad Hoc committee in the seventh meeting.
Secretary General of NFOWD, with two INGO representatives along with two
children from Bangladesh had participated in the 7th Ad-hoc committee
meeting. The issues raised by the children were recorded and circulated.
On March 2006 a workshop was arranged with participation from most of the
relevant NGO/DPO representatives along with adult and children with
disabilities. The workshop reviewed the draft convention in small groups
constituted by reputed and established persons with disabilities, disability
professional, civil society groups and children with disabilities. A
thorough sharing was made on the latest draft and on the process of the
convention through which comments and recommendations were collected.
In April 2006, a national workshop was organized with participation from
concerned ministries along with representatives from NGOs, DPOs, adults and
children with disabilities and people working on disability concerned
issues. The workshop came up with suggestion and comments on the concerns of
Bangladesh and future course of action on the proposed convention [1].
Conclusion
Bangladesh is well aware of its responsibilities towards all of its
citizens including people with disabilities. In the past Bangladesh has
expressed its solidarity with all previous documents of the UN ESCAP
concerning people with disabilities. It has done within its limited
resources to realize the commitments and targets of these documents within
the country context. Bangladesh has already expressed positive views towards
the proposed UN Convention for People with disabilities and expects that the
upcoming initiatives of the UN will lead towards the development of an
effective convention that will be equally beneficial to all people with
disabilities within its member states. Bangladesh has its sincere and
positive intentions to ratify the proposed convention. The necessary and
essential procedures towards ratifying the convention by Bangladesh will be
strongly advocated and pursued.
[1] The comments and recommendations on the proposed
convention, collected from different in-country workshops will be sent to UN
ESCAP before the 8th Ad hoc committee meeting for reference.
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