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The Words of RNN Campaigns for the Promotion of the Asian and Pacific Decade, 1993-2002

Joseph Kwok

A Founding Member of the Regional NGO Network (RNN)

Since its founding in 1993, RNN's most important contribution to the Decade is its annual campaigns: Okinawa, Japan (1993), Manila, Philippines (1994), Jakarta, Indonesia (1995), Auckland, New Zealand (1996), Seoul, Korea (1997), Hong Kong, China (1998), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (1999), Bangkok, Thailand (2000), Hanoi, Vietnam (2001), Osaka, Japan (2002).

Now the Decade is closing but we are very hopeful that it will be extended another ten years. Therefore, it will be timely and useful for us to re-visit the statements issued by RNN Campaigns. Our record has the following statements and their key contents are extracted below.

Campiagn '93 in Okinawa, Japan

Resolutions

  1. A regional NGO network for the promotion of the Asian and Pacific Decade should be established.
  2. To implement and promote the following programmes proposed at the Okinawa Conference:
    1. To establish a centre that would supply prosthetics/orthotics and technical aid; and request the support of governments.
    2. To support the idea of establishing an Asian Rehabilitation Training and Information Center to develop manpower and promote exchange of relevant experiences in the region.
    3. To establish a "manpower bank" to promote regional cooperation.
    4. To cooperate with the World Federation of the Deaf Regional Secretariate in the Asia and Pacific Region in implementing their training programmes.
    5. To cooperate with the World Blind Union East Asia Pacific Regional Committee.
    6. To cooperate in the organization of the Asia Arts Festival of the Disabled.
    7. To collaborate in other activities, related conferences and events to be organized in the region.
    8. To promote all of the above items, a private regional cooperation fund on disability should be established.
  3. To encourage all NGOs in each country / territory to actively promote public awareness of the Decade.

Recommendations

  1. Request ESCAP, UN agencies and each Government in the region to support and cooperate with the regional NGO Network for the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons 1993-2002.
  2. through 5. .....
  3. To support the ESCAP Secretariate of the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons, 1933-2002 through the contribution of financial and personnel resources.
  4. To request Governments to contribute to the Technical Cooperation Trust Fund for the Decade.
  5. ......

Appeal

  1. It is now time to shift the emphasis from "Awareness" to "Action" to achieve a "Society for All" by the 21st century. ...
  2. Succeeding the achievements having been made during "The International Year of Disabled Persons" as well as "The UN Decade of Disabled Persons'', "the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons" is intended to give new impetus, as the second UN Decade in the region, to fully realize the "World Programme of Action Concerning Disabled Persons".
  3. Two thirds of the world's population lives in Asia and the Pacific region, mostly in developing countries. While the government and people in each developing country should work hard, it is also imperative that regional cooperation should be promoted so as to actualize the "World Programme of Action Concerning Disabled Persons". RNN Campaigns for the Promotion 11
  4. Okinawa is one of the battlefields where the most fierce battles were fought during the Second World War, in which a great number of people were killed. War not only causes the increase in the number of persons with disabilities, but it also forces hardships on them, among others. Considering the fact that there are battles and warfare still raging in many parts of the world, we urge more than ever that peace should prevail in this world as soon as possible.

Campaign '94 in Manila, Philippines: Manifesto of Commitment

We, the delegates, of the Manila conference; Campaign '94 ? on the Asian Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons, commit ourselves to working together on a common platform of:

  1. Respect for the dignity and citizenship rights of all persons with disabilities, and
  2. Empowerment of persons with disabilities to participate fully and equally in all aspects of life.

We pledge to participate in the implementation of the Agenda for Action for the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons'...

In particular, we resolve:

  1. To actively support national and regional networking for effective exchange of: information, expertise and resources;
  2. To mobilize diverse sectoral agencies and organizations to integrate people with disabilities into their programs and allocate specific resources to support the integration process especially at the grassroots-level;
  3. To promote the organization and strengthening of self-help organizations of people with disabilities including the participation in national coordination mechanism on disability matters;
  4. To assist in the development of effective mechanisms for the implementation and monitoring of legal and policy provisions pertaining to equalization of opportunities to persons with disabilities;
  5. To encourage the further development of community based rehabilitation and other alternative approaches in order to increase disabled people's access to rehabilitation services, and to enable families to provide appropriate, care and support;
  6. To promote the implementation of programs on the prevention of causes, early detection and intervention of disabilities;
  7. To strengthen the skills of persons with disabilities for mobilizing the media to support the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons;
  8. To develop cooperation with media personnel regarding honest and realistic communication of disability issues; and
  9. To formulate and implement with media agencies strategies that will improve attitudes and behavior towards people with disabilities.

Campaign '96 in Auckland, New Zealand: Resolutions

  1. Resolve that organizations of and for people with disabilities lobby their governments for the achievement of the targets set and adopted by the UNESCAP in each area of the Agenda for Action within the stipulated time frame.
  2. Adopt a review process wherein NGO reports, in addition to Governments, are included in the major Review reports undertaken every two years by the UNESCAP.
  3. To implement the Targets under the Agenda for Action approved by the UNESCAP General Assembly.
  4. To urge Governments in the region to actively support the annual RNN Campaigns of the A/P Decade....
  5. To urge Governments to support self-help organizations of people with disabilities to get more involved in the Campaigns.

Campaign '98 in Hong Kong, China: Hong Kong Statement

We affirm that all enabling processes should be people-centered, holistic and interdisciplinary. This affirmation should be in all initiatives and practices, and consistently so at the global and local levels.

We acknowledge our need to learn from each other, regardless whether we are disabled or not, regardless our professions, whether we work in institutions or in communities, whether we live in rural or urban environment, whether our country is developing or fully industrialized.

We recognize the sterling progress our region has made in recent years in areas of legislation, public awareness, disability prevention, human resource development, rehabilitation services, equalization of opportunities, accessibility, social integration, and communitybased initiatives. At the moment, however, these advances and benefits have only reached a small population in this region.

We pledge to actively participate in Rehabilitation International and its World Commissions to achieve the goals of the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons.

We urge that all initiatives and services have direct input from people with disabilities.

We urge that appropriate community oriented programs and self-help programs be made a priority.

We urge all Rehabilitation International's World Commissions at both global and regional levels to work in closer partnerships with all relevant international professional organizations.

We urge that even in times of economic difficulties, we do not allow our progress to slip. People with disabilities and their families should not bear the consequences of these crises disproportionately in any community.

We urge national governments of the Asian Pacific countries to request the United Nations to engage Rehabilitation International and its World Commissions to be its facilitating arm in all rehabilitation services.

We regard it timely for Rehabilitation International to elect an Asian President in the near future to lead the world's disability community to deal with the immense challenges ahead, in particular the challenges to achieve a successful consummation of the Asian Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons.

Bangkok Campaign 2000: Bangkok Millennium Declaration

We, the participants of Campaign 2000 for the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons, held at Bangkok from 11 to 15 December 2000:

  1. Commit ourselves to promoting, and participating in, collaborative action towards the fulfillment of the 107 targets.
  2. Further commit ourselves to contributing information on target fulfillment to the regional review of the achievements of the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons.
  3. Support the establishment, by 2002, of the Asian and Pacific Centre on Disability, in Thailand, as a living legacy of the spirit of the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons, 1993-2002, to promote the empowerment of persons with disabilities in the Asian and Pacific region, under the joint auspices of the Government of Japan and the Royal Thai Government.
  4. Call on ESCAP to provide guidance and technical support to the proposed Asian and Pacific Centre on Disability, and in collaboration with it, to countries in the ESCAP region, towards fulfillment of the Decade targets.
  5. Affirm that the targets for the implementation of the Agenda for Action for the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons, as reviewed, revised, and further strengthened at the conclusion of the Decade in 2002, will form the Framework for Action of the Asian and Pacific Centre on Disability.
  6. Urge all members of the United Nations system, intergovernmental bodies, governments, non-governmental organizations, private sector bodies, and the mass media, in the Asian and Pacific region to:
    1. Recognize the importance of the Asian and Pacific Centre on Disability as a viable means of ensuring long-term follow-up to the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons, and to support Centre operations and activities with financial, technical and other in-kind contributions;
    2. Support actively the process for the development of an international convention on the rights of all people with disabilities, to be further considered at the second World NGO Summit on Disability to be held in 2003;
    3. Adopt policy and awareness-raising measures for the inclusion of disabled persons and disability issues in all development activities, including support for strengthening the further empowerment and technical skills enhancement of the self-help movement of disabled persons in the Asian and Pacific region;
    4. Support the training of disabled persons as trainers and resource persons for awareness-raising, advocacy, and policy formulation and monitoring on the promotion of disabled persons' access to information and communication technology, development programmes, the built environment and public transportation infrastructure;
    5. Support special efforts and programmes for the participation of women and girls with disabilities in the development process; RNN Campaigns for the Promotion 15
    6. Develop strong inter-linked mechanisms at local, national, subregional and regional levels for more effective sharing and dissemination of best practices, expertise and information on means of developing disabled persons' capabilities, and on improving the situation of disabled persons, their families and their communities;
    7. Strengthen policy, funding, training and incentive schemes to ensure that disabled persons have access to information and communications technology for education, training, employment, recreation, communication among diverse disability groups and non-disabled persons, partnership development, and participation in civil society, as well as to overcome mobility, gender and rural-urban barriers, and for other participation and development purposes;
    8. Advocate, with policy makers responsible for national action plans in follow up to the Dakar Framework For Action on Education for All, the inclusion of children and youth with disabilities in the national action plans;
    9. Promote, in national and area assessments of Education for All, the inclusion of indicators of the status of children and youth with disabilities in formal and non-formal education programmes;
    10. Work strategically towards explicit and stronger recognition of disabilityrelated concerns and needs, in the context of human rights, at all United Nations meetings in 2001.
  7. Request ESCAP to make further effort, and to promote, dissemination and fulfillment of the 107 Targets for Decade action to:
    1. Undertake a regional review of target fulfillment concerning national coordination and legislation;
    2. Advocate for the targeting of families of persons with disabilities for special assistance and support and in policy development and resource allocation towards fulfilling the targets for the implementation of the Agenda for Action for the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons.
  8. Decide to work collectively to advocate with all members of the United Nations system, intergovernmental bodies, governments, non-governmental organizations, private sector bodies, and the mass media, in the Asian and Pacific region to promote multisectoral collaboration for the inclusion of disabled persons in the development process and in the implementation of this Declaration.

Campaign 2001 in Hanoi, Vietnam

Declaration on the facilitation of community integration of people with disabilities:

  1. Urge all people and governments in the ESCAP region to support the development and elaboration of the international convention to promote and protect the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities and call upon the governments, in cooperation with ESCAP, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and other relevant organizations to convene a regional meeting or seminar to contribute to the work of the Ad Hoc Committee by making recommendations regarding the content and practical measures that should be considered in the international convention;
  2. Further urge governments of the ESCAP region to extend the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons (1993-2002) for another 10 years as a regional mechanism to facilitate the elaboration and implementation of the international convention of rights of persons with disabilities with an approach focusing on;
    1. Key strategic areas, including education, training and employment, access to built environments and information and communication technology (ICT), social security and income maintenance;
    2. Strengthening subregional cooperation and collaboration; as well as with extension of interregional support for the African Decade of Disabled Persons (2000- 2009) and a proposed Arab Decade of Disabled Persons (2003-2012);
  3. Call upon the United Nations, international funding organizations, donor governments and organizations to explicitly include persons with disabilities as a major target group of their support for the national rebuilding of Afghanistan and East Timor;
  4. Request governments and non-governmental organizations to support the formation of self-help organizations of persons with diverse disabilities, particularly women with disabilities, with a view to empowering their members and becoming contributing members of 21st century barrier-free society;
  5. Resolve to work collectively to advocate with all members of the United Nations system, intergovernmental bodies, governments, non-governmental organizations, private sector bodies, and the mass media, in the Asian and Pacific region to promote the inclusion of disabled persons in the mainstream development process and in the implementation of this Declaration and attached recommendations that have been formulated by group discussion sessions of Campaign 2001.