The Ghana Federation of Disability Organisations (GFD) has called for the amendment of local laws to give meaning to the implementation of provisions of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).
It noted that after 10 years of the ratification of the Convention, the nation was yet to amend its domestic legislations in line with it and said the time was now.
Mrs Mawunyo Yakor-Dagbah, National President of the GFD, said this at the opening ceremony of an induction workshop for the joint United Nations Disability Project on disability inclusion on Monday in Accra.
The United Nations Disability Inclusion Strategy defines disability inclusion as the meaningful participation of persons with disabilities in all their diversity, the promotion and mainstreaming of their rights into society, the development of disabilty-specific programmes and the consideration of disability-related perspectives in compliance of the CPRD.
The Convention was adopted on December 13, 2006, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, and opened for signatures on 30 March 2007.
Its purpose is to promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities, and to promote respect for their inherent dignity.
Persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual, or sensory impairments, which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others.
Mrs Yakor-Dagbah said though the Federation recognised that there was a process in place to amend the Disability Act 715, it was worried about ‘‘low political will and … the slow process.’’
She expressed concerns that Government had not put in conscious effort to ensure the implementation of the various provisions on accessibility and access to information, as well as public goods and service as provided for under Articles 9, 19, 20 and 21 of the Convention and called for attention to the provisions.
The National President said it was worrying that provisions in the National Accessibility Standards and the National Building code had not been effectively implemented despite its adoption.
‘‘This has made accessibility to basic facilities such as education, health and legal systems either difficult or impossible, the country also has yawning gaps in the implementation of an inclusive education system, inclusive health care and promoting the employment of persons with disabilities,’’ she added.
Mr Charles Abani, Resident Coordinator of the United Nations (UN), said disability inclusion was an essential condition for upholding human rights, sustainable development, peace and security.
He said it was also central to the promise of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to leave no one behind.
‘‘We at the UN are, therefore, tasked to systematically embed the rights of persons with disabilities into our work in the context of supporting Member States to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, leave no one behind and reach the furthest behind first in all areas of our work,’’ he said.
The Coordinator underscored the need for the nation to work to use a ‘‘whole of society approach and wholistic buy-in’’ to ensure that PWDs realised their rights and took their place in the economy and society.
The Project is funded by United Nations Partnership on the Rights of Persons with Diasbilities Multi-Partner Trust Fund (UNPRPD MPTF).
