PRESS RELEASE FROM PDF - FEBRUARY 2010

United Nations and Regional organizations welcome progress Pacific has made in addressing the human rights of persons with disabilities.

The Pacific Disability Forum, Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat and United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, Pacific Operations Centre, welcome the advances the Pacific has made over the last ten years in addressing the needs of persons with disabilities.

Eight Pacific island countries have either passed or are in the final stages of approving rights-based policies; some have established national disability advocacy and coordination mechanisms and four countries have signed the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Mr. Macanawai of the Pacific Disability Forum said, "Disabled Persons Organizations have played a leading role in advancing awareness of disability in Pacific communities and have actively engaged governments to develop policy."

Mr. Miller, Disability Coordination Officer of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, said, "governments have been willing to engage with people with disabilities, as well as with advocacy and service organizations and have embraced new policy to address the priorities of the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. We were very pleased that Pacific Island Ministers responsible for disability were so enthusiastic in their support for a Pacific regional strategy on disability and we hope that this will be a useful policy and implementation tool to assist countries address national priorities."

Mr. Wilkinson of United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, Pacific Operations Centre said "Pacific Island countries have supported disability initiatives on the regional political agenda since 2003 when the Biwako Millennium Framework for Action Towards and Inclusive, Barrier-free and Rights-based Society for Persons with Disabilities in Asia and the Pacific was adopted by Forum Leaders as a useful framework for addressing the needs of persons with disabilities. However, it is concerning to note that governments and donors alike still neglect to include disability when reporting on the achievement of the Goals and targets of the Millennium Development Declaration. The Biwako Millennium Framework was specifically developed as a tool to assist governments to include disability in MDG reporting."

"If we are serious about addressing poverty then persons with disability must be included on MDG reporting as persons with disability are more likely to be poor than any other group in society," said Mr. Macanawai.

Mr. Miller said that "we expect to support the development of new disability policy in Tuvalu early in 2010 and we will be supporting other Pacific Island countries meet their obligations with respect to the new Regional Strategy and therefore to the priorities of the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities."

"We have a very important partnership arrangement with the Australia Human Rights Commission to deliver rights awareness training for DPO and government representatives in a number of Pacific Island countries. We will be undertaking a number of training missions to other Pacific island countries over the course of 2010," Mr. Macanawai said.

The Pacific Disability Forum, Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat and UN ESCAP Pacific Operations Centre have been coordinating their support and technical advice to governments, DPOs and NGOs in the Pacific over the last few years and have undertaken a number of joint missions. Most recently Mr. Miller and Mr. Macanawai conducted a joint mission to Kiribati in August to support the drafting of a national policy on disability, Mr. Miller and Mr. Wilkinson supported a national workshop in the Solomon Islands to develop disability legislation later that month, and Mr. Macanawai and Mr. Wilkinson conducted a joint mission to the Federated States of Micronesia in late 2008 to support the final stage of the approval of their national disability policy.

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