Seminars

Interregional Seminar and Symposium on
International Norms and Standards relating to Disability,
REPORT
Part: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

I. Introduction

A. Organization

            The Interregional Seminar on international norms and standards relating to disability[1] was held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, People's Republic of China, from 13 to 17 December 1999. The Seminar was organised by the Equal Opportunities Commission Hong Kong in cooperation with the Centre for Comparative and Public Law, Faculty of Law, University of Hong Kong. Nearly 50 experts from all regions participated in their individual capacity in the Seminar.

The Symposium on international norms and standards relating to disability was held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on Thursday evening, 16 December 1999.   The Symposium was organised jointly by the Equal Opportunities Commission Hong Kong, the Centre for Comparative and Public Law, Faculty of Law, University of Hong Kong, and the Joint Council for the Physically and Mentally Disabled (Rehabilitation Division, Hong Kong Council of Social Services).  More than 50 local experts as well as members of civil society and Seminar participants attended the Symposium.

B. Outcomes

  The Interregional Seminar and Symposium provided a forum for policy makers, practitioners, scholars and representatives of the non-governmental community to exchange knowledge and experiences on international norms and standards related to disability and to develop recommendations on action to further equalization of opportunities.   Participant exchanges and substantive presentations at the Seminar and Symposium contributed to the following outcomes:

• International norms and standards were intensively reviewed and discussed with emphasis on the promotion and protection of the rights of persons with disabilities, and participants adduced substantive issues related to elaboration of a comprehensive new international instrument on the rights of persons with disabilities.

• The role of international and national action in promoting the rights of persons with disabilities was examined and measures by which this could be strengthened identified.  Special attention was directed to the right of persons with disabilities to inclusive education and training and to participation in policy- and decision-making.

• An examination of equalization of opportunities in all life spheres resulted in the reconsideration of the concept of “Handicap” from that proposed in the International Classification of Impairments, Disabilities and Handicaps (ICIDH) of the World Health Organization.  It was noted that the ICIDH approach is based on the “ability” of an individual to perform certain designated tasks; six categories of “handicap” are identified.  A life situation approach shifts attention from individual tasks to the larger environment in which an individual lives and carries out tasks; a seventh category of “handicap” is identified, transition, which is associated with capacities for life situation change.  In the “ability of individual” construct, the focus is on physical existence without aids or assistance, while in the life situation construct the key issue is access by the individual to choice in decisions without aids or assistance.  The focus of analysis thus shifts from the individual who meets particular criteria of need to the larger issue of environment structures in which life situations occur.

• The interplay between international norms and standards and national action related to the rights and situation of persons with disabilities was discussed, and participants identified strategic options to build national capacities and institutions to promote and monitor action to further equalization of opportunities.  Participants tested and evaluated a pilot workshop on training of trainers for equalization of opportunities and identified factors that contribute to effective lobbying.

• Since definition of disability is a long-standing issue of policy, planning and academic concern, participants reviewed and discussed the ways in which the question is addressed in national and international laws, conventions and substantive measurement tools.  Participants noted that there is no one definition of disability; the definition employed depends on the purposes for which it is being used.  A definition of disability may address either the individual or society as unit of analysis.  The content of a definition may reflect: (1) a biological and medical basis, in which the focus is on certain physical, intellectual or sensory characteristics of the individual,  (2) a functional basis, in which the focus is on capacities of the individual to perform certain activities, (3) an environmental approach, in which the focus is on structural conditions that facilitate or impede an individual in the exercise of normal life functions, or (4) a human rights approach, which is premised on a “fundamental” set of rights to which all people are entitled and in which the definition is based on a breach of these rights rather than the delineation of the characteristics of individuals concerned. 

• The variety of definitions of disability used in countries contributes to the range of definitions used for collection of data.  Moreover if outcomes are to be defined in same way for persons with disabilities as for an entire population, the challenge is to define the population of persons with disabilities for statistical purposes.  Such definitions must be consistent over time so that progress and obstacles can be measured.  A complicating factor in determining appropriate measures for persons with disabilities is whether to use disability-oriented questions or to include measures derived from definitions of handicap and impairment.  A further consideration is determining appropriate measures for life situations, since these would relate not to individual abilities but the actual circumstances in which individual carry out normal life functions.

• Accessible information and communication technologies are important enabling factors in promoting equalization of opportunities, and participants had the opportunity to attend substantive presentations by representatives of the academic community of Hong Kong, the private sector and the United Nations on issues and trends in information and communications technologies and persons with a disability. 

• The Symposium organized in conjunction with the Seminar presented findings and results of its substantive deliberations to the local community and brought to the attention of Seminar participants issues and concerns of persons with disabilities and their organizations.  Symposium participants had brief introductions to the activities and findings of each substantive cluster of the Seminar and engaged in substantive dialogue.  Dr. Joseph Kwok, Hong Kong (SAR) National Secretary of Rehabilitation International, a non-governmental organization, made a brief presentation on the “Charter for the Third Millennium”, which had been recently adopted by the General Assembly of Rehabilitation International.  The “Charter” calls, inter alia, for recognition and protection of the rights of persons with disabilities and for member States of the United Nations “to support the promulgation of a … convention on the rights of persons with disabilities” (Annex X).

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[1] General references to persons with disabilities throughout the report of the Seminar and the Symposium are references to persons with mental and physical disabilities and sensory disabilities.