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Shanghai Recommendations on the Empowerment of Persons
with Intellectual Disabilities and their Families in Asia and the Pacific
13 October 2007
We, the representatives of Governments, organizations of and for
persons with intellectual disabilities, parents, family members, service
providers and supporters, met in Shanghai, China, from 11 to 13 October 2007
at the ESCAP/CDPF Regional Workshop on the Empowerment of Persons with
Intellectual Disabilities and their Families in Asia and the Pacific,
Acknowledge with thanks the hospitality of the People’s Republic
of China, the China Disabled Persons’ Federation (CDPF), City of Shanghai
and the Shanghai Disabled Persons’ Federation for their support and the
successful organization of the Workshop;
Appreciate the commitment made by the Government of China for its
leadership in the advancement of the Special Olympics movement, which has
improved the situation of and promoted positive attitudes towards persons
with intellectual disabilities;
Affirm our shared belief in the rights, dignity, capabilities and
self-worth of persons with intellectual disabilities;
Recognize the significance of all international and regional
documents on disability, in particular, the Convention on the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities, 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) and the Biwako Plus Five, the
supplement to the BMF;
Further recognize the efforts and progress made by Governments and
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the region to improve the status of
persons with intellectual disabilities;
We realize, however, that persons with intellectual disabilities
are more likely to face prejudice, discrimination, abuse and barriers in:
- Enjoying equal protection of the law;
- Accessing quality and affordable health care services;
- Accessing quality education at all levels;
- Receiving training that leads to gainful employment and income
generation;
- Living and participating in the community, including sport and
recreational, cultural, leisure and travel activities;
- Enjoying family life;
- Enjoying an adequate standard of living;
- Accessing information they can use;
Note with concern that families of persons with intellectual
disabilities lack:
- Quality early intervention services;
- Education and support, including financial assistance, to meet the
needs of their family member with disabilities.
And that there is a need for:
- Accessible information for persons with intellectual disabilities
and their families for full participation and equal opportunities in
society;
- Appropriate definitions, classifications and terminologies for
persons with intellectual disabilities;
- Appropriate collection and utilization of statistical data on
persons with intellectual disabilities;
To achieve the goal of moving from exclusion to inclusion of all persons
with intellectual disabilities in the community;
We recommend that:
a) ESCAP members sign and ratify the Convention on the Rights of Persons
with Disabilities and implement the provisions thereafter;
b) Governments at all levels take legislative and administrative measures
to remove discrimination against persons with intellectual disabilities and
their families and to improve the availability and quality of services for
them.
c) Governments promote and support community-based approaches, including
traditional practices of community support;
d) Governments support children with intellectual disabilities by
facilitating early intervention services towards their full development;
e) Governments support children and adults with intellectual disabilities
so that they can learn in inclusive settings with appropriate support
services and reasonable accommodation;
f) Governments provide support to persons with intellectual disabilities
and their families through fiscal measures, employment and labour market
provisions, premises and facilities and other concessionary means;
g) Governments promote partnership with NGOs and the private sector and
utilize social capital in the community, in order to develop and finance
services needed by persons with intellectual disabilities and their
families;
h) Governments and NGOs as well as the private sector and international
organizations:
- Support the formation and development of organizations of persons
with intellectual disabilities and their families including members of
the wider family;
- Encourage development of self-advocacy, including providing early
education on self-advocacy in schools, leadership training and peer
support at the grass-roots level;
- Encourage development of family advocacy and support groups,
including providing leadership training and peer support at the
grass-roots level;
- Ensure the participation of persons with intellectual disabilities
and their families in decision-making processes that affect them;
- Raise public awareness about the needs and aspirations of persons
with intellectual disabilities and promote positive images about persons
with intellectual disabilities, especially, through media;
- Sensitize professionals and service providers to respect the rights
and meet the needs of persons with intellectual disabilities and their
families;
- Develop capacities and skills of professionals and service providers
in serving persons with intellectual disabilities in cooperation with
persons with intellectual disabilities and their families;
- Explore various options of support, including financial assistance
and securing community-based living arrangement for persons with
intellectual disabilities, especially taking into consideration of
situations without adequate support;
- Promote the employment of persons with intellectual disabilities
through such means as job coaching, placement, a sufficient period of
paid work experiences and provision of reasonable accommodations in the
workplace;
- Explore innovative solutions to improve access of persons with
intellectual disabilities to various types of social protection schemes
such as medical and life insurance policies;
- Provide public services and information in accessible modes and
means, including the promotion of tourism that is accessible for persons
with intellectual disabilities;
- Make efforts to ensure that services and information are provided
fairly to persons with intellectual disabilities and their families in
both urban and rural areas.
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