The Deputy Minister of the Department of Social Development, Hon. Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu MP, is attending the seventh session of the Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in New York, which starts today, 10th and ending on the 12th June 2014. This year’s conversion will focus its discussion on the theme “Youth with disabilities”.
The commitment of the international community to the advancement of the rights of persons with disabilities and their inclusion in society and development is deeply rooted in the goals of the United Nations, as enshrined in the preamble of the Charter of the United Nations, which refers to fundamental human rights, the dignity and worth of the human person and the promotion of better standards of life in larger freedom.
It was not, however, until the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol in 2006 that the specific barriers facing persons with disabilities in realising their human rights were directly addressed through an international legal instrument. With the adoption of the Convention and its rapid ratification by many Member States, the international community now has in place a strong international normative framework on disability. However, a considerable implementation gap remains.
No global data exists on the number of youth with disabilities. However, estimates suggest that they constitute a significant group, with between 180 and 220 million youth with disabilities worldwide, nearly 80 per cent of who live in developing countries, according to the fact sheet on youth with disabilities produced by the United Nations for the International Year of Youth.
Youth with disabilities are often overlooked in programme planning. Mainstream development programmes for youth rarely include young men and women with disabilities. Programmes for people with disabilities, where they exist, are seldom inclusive, concentrating either on children with disabilities in schools, or families, or on employment and social integration of adults with disabilities. Few address the unique social, psychological, educational and economic needs of youth.
The needs of youth with disabilities are strikingly similar to those of their peers without disabilities and relate to education, job training, employment and inclusion in the social, cultural, religious and economic lives of their families and communities. What distinguishes youth with disabilities are not their common needs, but the fact that these needs continue to go so largely unmet.
Date: 10 June to 12 June 2014
Venue: New York
Disability is both human rights and development issue.
Enquiries should be directed to:
Ms. Emilie Olifant
Cell: 082 903 9250
E-mail: emilie.olifant@dwcpd.gov.za
