More than 1 billion people—approximately 15 per cent of the world’s population—live with a significant physical or mental disability. An increasing number of persons with disabilities are facing various physical, economic and social barriers to finding decent work, and are more likely to live in poverty than their non-disabled counterparts.
On 17 July, the Sixth session of the Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was convened at the United Nations in New York. Parties to the treaty gathered to discuss developments in the area of disabilities in preparation for the UN General Assembly’s High-level meeting on disability and development, which will take place 23 September 2013.
ILO Photo / K. Cassidy
Dr. Mustafizur Rahman, Deputy Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations, chaired the afternoon roundtable on empowering persons with disabilities through inclusive social protection and poverty reduction strategies, a key issue in September.
“Economic empowerment is a key factor for enhancing the status of persons with disabilities, for their self-esteem and for their full participation in society,” said Rahman. “It is widely agreed that income security and social protection are important forms of implementing the Convention.”
Participants from State Parties to the Convention (Argentina and Kenya), civil society and the ILO presented new research on persons with disabilities, as well progress on implementation of the treaty’s principles, including social programmes and legislation enacted to help reduce poverty and fight discrimination.
Barbara Murray, Senior Disability Specialist at the ILO, talked about the variety of policy measures, regulations, programmes, and services designed to assist persons with disabilities to avoid or escape from poverty. Through a combination of social security schemes and skills training, Murray said that governments can promote equality of opportunity and treatment of persons with disabilities.
“In poverty reduction programs, it is not enough to just dole out basic income grants to people,” said Murray. “There have to be attempts to raise the literacy and numeracy of people who face education gaps. There has to be some kind of access to skills development linked to labour market opportunities.” Murray also presented the ILO’s Code of Practice on Managing Disability in the Workplace, a guide for employers on disability-related issues in the workplace.
Josephta Mukobe, from the Ministry of Devolution and Planning in Kenya, made similar calls for an increased focus on skills development and training and stated that education was by far the most powerful tool for economic empowerment.
“Education is power as we all know, and people who lack it have very few choices in life,” said Mukobe. “Through education and skills development, persons with disabilities can gain skills and perform the functions necessary to carry out economic activities.”
Combatting social exclusion and discrimination were also themes that resurfaced throughout the roundtable. H.E. Ms. Silvia Bersanelli, from Argentina’s main governmental body on the integration of persons with disabilities, said her country had made considerable strides in reversing budget cuts to fund programmes that promote inclusion and reduce poverty among those living with disabilities.
“The road towards equality and equal opportunity and the fight for justice continues to be our rightful path,” said Bersanelli. “Nobody should be excluded.”
