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11 May, 2007
President Girma Wolde-Giorgis said that the Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia would make utmost efforts to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Speaking at the media event on the ratification of the convention, the President said that stakeholders, UN agencies and other partners need to work in coordination for realizing the ratification process and proper implementation of the convention (The Ethiopian Herald, 10 May 2007).
Persons with disabilities in Ethiopia encounter difficulties in all spheres of life. Cognizant of this fact, the Ethiopian government has taken important steps to overcome the problem. The formulation and implementation of the social development welfare policy, the preparation and implementation of National Plan of Action for rehabilitation of persons with disabilities and the proclamation on employment opportunities are few of the achievements made. Ethiopia has demonstrated its commitment to fight violations of the rights of persons with disabilities by becoming one of the first signatories of the convention. And the next step is to ratify the convention and implement its provisions. Ratifying the convention would be instrumental in establishing international standards regarding the rights of people with disabilities.
Though it is difficult to tell the exact number of people with disabilities, they represent a significant number of the society. The legacy of prolonged war, recurrent drought, poverty and other crises are the major causes for disabilities in the country. And the core principle of the convention is to promote, protect and guarantee that persons with disabilities will enjoy their rights fully.
The traditional mode of thinking in overcoming the challenges of persons with disabilities, so far, at least, has been limited, in most cases, to the social welfare approach. This has been on the ground from time immemorial. So, the old mentality is that people with disabilities have been denied their social, economic and political rights simply because they are disabled. Accordingly, they have very limited access to employment and social services. But people with disabilities have any inalienable rights. Obviously, nobody is immune to disabilities. Perhaps, we do not know what will happen on us all in our lifetime. God forbid that we may become disabled in no time. So, guaranteeing the rights of persons with disabilities are mandatory.
Hence, it is important there be a paradigm shift as far as the issues of persons with disabilities are concerned. Raising the awareness of the public is also important. Providing social services in equal manner with the rest of the public is very important. Ensuring that all the ongoing development endeavours benefit all segments of the society is indeed important. Perhaps, one could safely say that the development investments in the past like the construction of universities, hospitals, apartments and other facilities was not established taking into account the facilities persons with disabilities need. For instance, most buildings do not have the facility for the wheelchair. This is the case even in the newly established buildings.
So, the issue of persons with disabilities should be at the centre of the development activities being carried out. And this needs the concerted efforts of all. Admittedly, the progress in addressing the challenges of persons with disabilities is very little compared to the magnitude of the problem this segment of the society faces.
All said, the Ethiopian government is determined to address the problems of persons with disabilities within its capacity. It is expected that the government ratifies the convention sooner or later. And all government offices and other stakeholders should contribute their share to this end. The persons with disabilities possess skills and talents just like anybody else. The nation’s effort to alleviate poverty and achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) will bear fruit if this significant segment of the population enjoys their rights and plays productive role in the development efforts of the nation.
In this regard, a lot is expected from persons with disabilities themselves. They should play greater role for the implementation of government policies and strategies which are ultimately designed to alleviate poverty, unemployment and prosper the entire nation. It is through discharging our duties and responsibilities that we can make an impact at all levels in the society.
The Ethiopian Herald