AFRICA: HOPES THAT CONVENTION FOR DISABLED WILL BE SIGNED

CISA REPORT: NAIROBI, November 1, 2011 (CISA) –Eastern Africa countries have been urged to sign and ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).

Addressing the official opening of a five-day regional workshop on capacity development for physically challenged persons, Dr Samuel Kabue, Chair of Eastern African Federation of the Disabled (EAFOD) said the move would facilitate the domestication of the convention.

Most of the issues pertaining to disabilities were hanging because legal framework is yet to be put in place, said Dr Kabue adding that strong legal frameworks were needed to effectively cater for the people living with disabilities.

Ugandan Member of Parliament (MP), Margaret Baba Diri who officially opened the workshop today November 1 appealed to the governments to domesticate the UN Convention on disabilities swiftly.

MP Diri, also physically challenged said, “This is one of the ways to deal effectively with matters pertaining to disabilities.”

MP Diri said that some governments were hardly “pushy” when it comes to matters pertaining to disabilities adding that an institution of legal framework was central in caring for those physically challenged.

Thirty-six delegates drawn from: Burundi, Kenya, Ethiopia, Mauritius, Madagascar, Malawi, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe are attending the workshop that ends November 4, 2011.

The workshop held in Nairobi, Kenya will discuss developing projects to generate income for women with disabilities and resource mobilization. This workshop is a follow up of a Needs Assessment workshop which was held in March 2011.

The workshop is organized by Disabled Women in Africa (DIWA) in collaboration with the Eastern African Federation of the Disabled (EAFOD), the umbrella organization for disabilities in the region.

The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was adopted in 2006 and entered into force in 2008.

http://www.cisanewsafrica.com/

Comments