PRESS CONFERENCE BY special rapporteur on persons with disabilities

Not a single country had yet taken all the measures necessary to provide equal opportunities for persons with disabilities, according to the first global survey examining Government actions to achieve that goal, Sabri Rbeihat, founder and President of the South-North Center for Dialogue and Development, said at a Headquarters press conference today.

There was a wide variation in what had been accomplished under the survey -- Government Action on Implementation of the Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities, said Mr. Rbeihat, whose South-North Center carried it out for Hissa al Thani, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Disability.

“This is the first time we have a global picture,” he said, noting also that, for the first time in the history of disability, there was an instrument that tried to measure the actions taken by all Governments on all standard rules.

The survey was sent to Government bodies and disabled persons’ organizations in 191 countries and responses were received from 114 countries.  The questionnaire asked about a wide range of issues, including policies and legislation, allocation of resources, housing, health, and medical care.

Mr. Rbeihat said the questionnaire served an important function as an awareness-raising tool.  “It’s an inventory list which details the actions Governments need to take in order to create conditions conducive to full participation.”

Asked why individual countries were not listed and why so many had not responded, he said that, since the questions pertained to services and actions taken by various Governmental bodies, no single agency or officer could answer them.  The questionnaires would be re-mailed to countries that had not responded.  “The aim is not really to list or blacklist countries or give marks to countries which responded.  We want really to paint a global picture of the situation of persons with disabilities in light of Government actions.”

In response to another question, he said the information was not outdated, noting, however, that there had been no assessment of the implementation in the 13 years since the standardized rules had been in existence.  “This is a long process.  Countries need to digest the standard rules, and they need to digest the measures that they need to take.”

Policies had no meaning without legislation and programmes, most importantly at the community level, he noted.  “People live in a community, and that’s where they realize their rights and their privileges and their quality of life.  This is a point in a space where culture meets individual, and if they don’t realize it’s there, it’s obsolete.”

Asked how many people were disabled worldwide, Ms. Al Thani cited World Health Organization estimates of more than 600 million, or roughly 10 per cent of the global population, 80 per cent of whom were in developing countries.  There was no accurate number because there was no accurate definition of “persons with disabilities”, she added.

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For information media • not an official record