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Thursday March 28, 2024

Govt officials trained in reporting on rights of special persons

By Bureau report
August 03, 2019

PESHAWAR: The speakers at a workshop on Friday urged Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government departments to implement the quota for the inclusion of persons with disabilities at the departmental level and provide the working environment.

They were speaking at the capacity building workshop of the government officials to implement, monitor and report on the rights of Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) titled “Moving from Charity to Rights-Based Model and Empowering Women with Disabilities”.

It was organised by Ministry of Human Rights in collaboration with Federation Handicap International and UN-Women Pakistan.

Shahzad Ahmad Khan, Director, Ministry of Human Rights, briefed the participants about “Incheon Strategy,” which was the outcome of the inter-governmental meeting held at Korea from October 29 to November 2, 2012, for a final review of the implementation of the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons.

The official said the meeting was aimed at following the principles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) and providing the world with regionally agreed disability -inclusive development goals.

He said Pakistan had to submit its first report in the UNCRPD at 2023 and the Human Rights Ministry was carrying out the capacity-building workshops of government departments across the country to develop and implement principles of UNCRPD in the departments.

Shahzad Ahmad explained that the “Incheon Strategy” has many goals including provision and implementation of PWDs job quota, benefit schemes, health coverage, expand early intervention and education of children with disabilities, ensure gender equality and women empowerment, reliable and comparable disability data, social protection and sustainable budgetary support for building the capacity of PWDs.

Maryam Khan, Project Manager, Handicap International, said that the federation with the financial assistance of UN-Women Pakistan is working on a pilot project, “Empowering women with disabilities” in Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces and Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT).

She said with the assistance of the Ministry of Human Rights, the FHI is enhancing the capacity of stakeholders at the provincial level to report, implement and monitor on UNCRPD and Incheon Strategy indicators.

The government officials from various departments, including Education, Health, Law, Social Welfare, Labour, Skill Education Department, Economic Empowerment, Home and Tribal Affairs and University of Peshawar Research Department attended the workshop.

The main objectives of the training were to enhance the capacity of relevant government stakeholders in KP for collection and analysis of data in line with reporting requirement under UNCRPD and Incheon Strategy and to develop an implementation plan for KP disability inclusion at their department level.

The participants of the workshop emphasized that the outdated legislation on persons living with disabilities in Pakistan employed the charity and medical model in its definition, which was reflective in the attitudes, mindsets and behaviour of society. They called for comprehensive legislation aligned with UNCRPD and SDGs.