Raising awareness on the rights of persons with disabilities and developing to mainstream disability in the State of Palestine

Summary

More than 110,000 Palestinians living in West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza (2.7 per cent of the total population in the occupied Palestinian territory) have a disability. Furthermore, 7.6 per cent of mental health disabilities, 4.6 per cent or physical disabilities and 5.2 per cent of learning disabilities in the West Bank and Gaza are a direct consequence of violence by Israeli settlers and/or Israeli Forces, according to the Palestinian Bureau of Statistics.

In response, the ILO has partnered with the several other UN Agencies (UNDP, UNICEF, UNESCO and the WHO) to raise awareness on the rights of persons with disabilities and develop capacities to mainstream disability in compliance with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Accordingly, the ILO and its partners will target persons with disabilities in education, health, employment, and social services throughout the oPt.

Objectives

• Review legislation, policies and practices in the oPt for compliance with the CRPD; and
• provide support to ensure disability is mainstreamed in social services such as including education, healthcare and labour markets.

Main Activities

• Identify CRPD compliance gaps in the legislation at key ministries and UN partners;
• draft recommendations to ensure compliance of policies and strategies with the CRPD and the Disability Law for approval by concerned authorities;
• assess 46 schools in Gaza and the West Bank on their accessibility for children and teachers with disabilities;
• screen all Grade one children in Gaza government schools for hearing impairments and provide appropriate treatment services;
• compile data on children with disabilities who are out-of-school in targeted school communities;
• initiate school placement programmes for children with disabilities who are out-of-school in the targeted school communities;
• train headmasters and teachers on inclusive education as well as child-friendly teaching-and-learning methodologies;
• assess the Deprived Families Economic Empowerment Programme on how it benefits women and men with disabilities;
• evaluate performance of job centres on compliance with the Disability and Labour Laws;
• evaluate employability skills among job seekers with disabilities;
• develop capacities of staff in job centres to better promote the hiring of persons with disabilities on the labour market; and
• develop a plan of action for the long term improvement of employability and entrepreneurial skills among youth and young adults with disabilities.

Outcomes

• Legislation, policies and practices of six key ministries are reviewed for compliance with CRPD and the Disability Law, along with partner UN agencies;
• equal opportunities are created for children with and without disabilities in selected pilot schools as an example of best practice; and
• access to job creation programmes and business development schemes for women and men with disabilities is improved.