nothing is valuable than freedom: October 2007

The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) is the regional development arm of the United Nations for the Asia-Pacific region. With a membership of 62 Governments, 58 of which are in the region, and a geographical scope that stretches from Turkey in the west to the Pacific island nation of Kiribati in the east, and from the Russian Federation in the north to New Zealand in the south, ESCAP is the most comprehensive of the United Nations five regional commissions. It is also the largest United Nations body serving the Asia-Pacific region with over 600 staff.

Agenda for Action for the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons, 1993-2002,
INTRODUCTION
The United Nations Decade of Disabled Persons, 1983-1992, coincided with a period of economic dynamism throughout much of the Asian and Pacific region. The concluding years of the United Nations Decade also witnessed major breakthroughs in peace-building in the region marked by significant improvements in conflict resolution and rapprochement between diverse states.

It was in this hospitable context that the Social Development Strategy for the ESCAP Region Towards the Year 2000 and Beyond was adopted by the Fourth Asian and Pacific Ministerial Conference on Social Welfare and Social Development, held at Manila in October 1991. The Strategy has the ultimate aim of improving the quality of life of all the people of the ESCAP region. With that aim in mind, the basic objectives of the Strategy are the eradication of absolute poverty, the realization of distributive justice and the enhancement of popular participation. Within the framework of those aims and objectives, the Strategy assigns priority to the region's disadvantaged and vulnerable social groups, including persons with disabilities.

Further to the priority given to the concerns of persons with disabilities in the regional Social Development Strategy, thirty-three countries attending the forty-eighth ESCAP session in April 1992 joined in sponsorship of resolution 48/3 on an Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons, 1993-2002. In adopting the resolution, the Governments of the region expressed their collective commitment to the full participation and equality of people with disabilities.

The Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons provides an opportunity for the 56 countries and areas of the ESCAP region to consolidate the efforts initiated during the preceding United Nations Decade through a new emphasis on regional cooperation in support of progress at the national level. In particular, it provides a context for the strengthening of technical cooperation among developing countries, as well as between the region's developing and developed countries, in the resolution of key issues that affect the lives of people with disabilities.

To achieve the objectives of the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons, an agenda for action is needed that translates the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons into an agenda for the Asian and Pacific region, in response to the review and appraisal of the achievements of the United Nations Decade of Disabled Persons, 1983-1992, in the Asian and Pacific region as contained in document SD/DDP/1, 1992.

The present document provides a framework for the formulation of that agenda for action. The framework consists of the major policy categories under which efforts will be required for the implementation of ESCAP resolution 48/3. These basic policy categories include:
• National coordination;
• Legislation;
• Information;
• Public awareness;
• Accessibility and communication;
• Education;
• Training and employment;
• Prevention of causes of disabilities;
• Rehabilitation services;
• Assistive devices;
• Self-help organizations;
• Regional cooperation;

Each of the policy categories constituting the framework contains a list of areas of concern of direct relevance to the development of policies in support of the full participation and equality of people with disabilities in Asia and the Pacific.

The formulation of an agenda for action for the Decade should be neither an exercise in regional target setting nor an attempt to prescribe a uniform implementation strategy for all countries. Given the vastness and diversity of the region, ESCAP members and associate members will necessarily differ on the details of their respective national action programmes. There will be differences in the relative priority to be assigned to particular activities. Specific short- and long-term objectives, as well as approaches to and the pace of implementation will also vary from country to country. In the final analysis, however, the agenda for action will provide the basis for a regional initiative aimed at realizing the full participation and equality of persons with disabilities, which comprise the objectives of the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons, 1993-2002.

Furthermore, the agenda for action is to be viewed in the context of the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons and other relevant United Nations international instruments, mandates and recommendations.

AREAS OF CONCERN
National coordination
a. Establishment of a national coordination committee on disability matters or strengthening of an existing one:
b. As a permanent body with adequate infrastructural support;
c. With representation from concerned government agencies, and non-governmental organizations, including adequate representation from organizations of people with disabilities;
 To serve as the national focal point on disability matters and facilitate the continuous evolution of a comprehensive national approach to the implementation of the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons and this agenda for action by undertaking the following:
 Review and coordinate the activities of all agencies and non-governmental organizations working for and on behalf of people with disabilities;
 Develop a national policy to address issues faced by people with disabilities;
 Advise the Head of State/Government, policy makers and programme planners on the development of policies, legislation, programmes and projects with respect to their impact on people with disabilities;
 Render guidance services to ministries in the enforcement of legislation to protect the rights of people with disabilities, and in the elimination of interpretations that are unfavourable to people with disabilities;
 Mobilize support for the development of a national data base on disability-related issues;
 Translate the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons and this agenda for action into the national (and local) languages and in appropriate formats for widespread dissemination at all levels;
 Operate a scheme to upgrade the competence of staff of the national coordination committee, particularly on management skills, policy and programme development, and to include persons with disabilities in staff recruitment and training;
 Promote resource mobilization for dealing with disability issues, including through the creation of adequate funds with donations from industry, philanthropists and other donors;
 Promote the integration of people with disabilities, including children and women with disabilities, in national plans and in programmes and projects supported by i nternational agencies, including the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF);
 Review with donor agencies their funding policies from the perspective of their impact on persons with disabilities;
 Monitor and evaluate the impact of policies and programmes on the full participation and equality of persons with disabilities, and disseminate the results to concerned parties;
 Facilitate national participation in regional cooperation activities related to the implementation of Commission resolution 48/3;
 Establish schemes to accord public recognition of outstanding contributions to progress in pursuance of the goals of the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons;
 Encourage the use of the relevant United Nations guidelines for the establishment and development of national coordinating committees on disability or similar bodies.

Legislation
a. Concerning existing legislation:
 Conduct of a survey to identify legal provisions that are restrictive to people with disabilities;
 Amendment or repeal of those restrictive legal provisions and elimination of interpretations that are unfavourable to people with disabilities;
b. Enactment of a basic law on protection of the rights of all persons with disabilities and prohibition of abuse and neglect of these persons and discrimination against them;
c. Enactment of legislation aimed at equal opportunity for people with disabilities, covering, for example:
 Affirmative action measures and incentives in favour of opportunities for people with disabilities to participate in education, training, job placement, employment and entrepreneurship;
 Tax relief and subsidies, as appropriate, for parents and guardians of children with disabilities, as well as for people with disabilities;
 Customs clearance and exemption from customs duty of imported vehicles, assistive devices, equipment and materials, including medical supplies, required to facilitate the daily life of people with disabilities;

d. Enactment of legislation aimed at the elimination of architectural and logistical barriers to freedom of movement of citizens with disabilities, including incentives to encourage:
 Private and public sector involvement in improving accessibility of the built environment;
 Facilitation of use, by persons with disabilities, of land, air and water transport systems;
e. Enactment of legislation aimed at the elimination of communication barriers to reduce the social and physical isolation commonly faced by people with disabilities, covering, for example:
 Production and dissemination of information, especially public information, in appropriate formats (e.g., large print, Braille, indigenous sign language, audio/video cassette and floppy diskette);
 Facilitation of, and concessions and subsidies for, the use of postal and telecommunications equipment and services by people with disabilities;
f. Inclusion of the concerns of persons with disabilities in social security legislation;
g. Enactment of legislation for the promotion of health and safety in the work-place, in public places, and in the home, e.g.:
• Prohibition on smoking as a public health hazard;
• Restrictions on the sale of firearms and fireworks;
• Restrictions on alcohol consumption and driving;
• Control over the roadworthiness of vehicles;
• Standards for the safety of equipment, items for industrial, domestic and personal use, as well as toys and other items that children may have access to;
h. Development of means of ensuring the effective implementation and enforcement of legislation, including:
• Regulations on and guidelines for implementation;
• Mechanisms to promote enforcement (e.g., community-level committees, ombudspersons, enforcement tribunals);
• Mechanisms to monitor and evaluate the enforcement of legislation;
i. Enactment of legislation regarding persons with extensive disabilities, of all ages, that assigns priority to the provision of community-based personal assistance services for daily living, to enable them to live in the community with self-determination and dignity, rather than in residential institutions;
j. Dissemination of information on legislation, particularly to people with disabilities and their advocates
• Enacted specifically to promote equal opportunities for people with disabilities;
• Enacted for the benefit of broader population groups (e.g., legislation on an issue [poverty alleviation] or for a specific group [women]) among whom many people with disabilities are included;
k. Encouragement of the use of relevant United Nations guidelines on national disability legislation;
l. Encouragement of exchange of expertise and experiences among ESCAP members and associate members concerning the enactment and implementation of equalization legislation.

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