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TWGDC - Third session, 9-10 December 2001, Hanoi

UNITED NATIONS
REGIONAL COORDINATION MECHANISM
THEMATIC WORKING GROUP ON DISABILITY-RELATED CONCERNS
SDD/SPIDGS/TWGDC3
4 August 2001
ENGLISH ONLY
Third session
9-10 December 2001

Horison Hotel, 40 Cat Linh Street,
Hanoi, Viet Nam

PROVISIONAL AGENDA

9 December 2001     0900 - 1700 hours

  1. Meetings of Task Force groups on:
    1. Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
    2. Education of All Children and Youth with Disabilities (EFA)
    3. Entrepreneurial Training, Small Business and Income Generation Activity and Development (Entrepreneurship).

10 December 2001      1000 - 1600 hours

  1. Welcome
  2. Adoption of the Agenda
  3. Confirmation of Minutes of the second session of the Thematic Working Group on Disability-related Concerns, held 10 -11 May 2001
  4. Matters arising from the Minutes
  5. Framework for the evaluation of the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons
  6. Report on planning of the International Forum on Disabilities to Mark the End Year of the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons, Japan, 2002, and the High Level Meeting, Otsu, Japan, 2002
  7. Framework for action beyond 2002
  8. Task Force action reports
  9. Other matters



SDD/SPIDGS/TWG/MINUTES
15 February 2002
United Nations
Regional Coordination Meeting
Thematic Working Group on Disability-related Concerns (TWGDC)

Minutes of the Third session of the
Thematic Working Group on Disability-related Concerns
(TWGDC)

Date:     Monday 10 December 2001, 10.00 - 16.00 hrs

Place:    Horizon Hotel, Hanoi, Viet Nam

Opening of the Meeting

The third session of the Thematic Working Group on Disability-related Concerns (TWGDC) was chaired by Mr Yutaka Takamine (ESCAP), and co-chaired by Mr Ryosuke Matsui (RI/AP). The session was attended by representatives from three United Nations bodies and specialized agencies, 24 NGOs, 12 governmental bodies, one international organization and 17 observers.

The session was addressed by Mr Dam Huu Dak, Vice Minister, Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs and Head of the Organizing Committee of Campaign 2001 for the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons. Mr Dak reported on the final stages of preparation for the Campaign 2001 and welcomed members of the TWGDC to Hanoi and the Campaign.

The statement of Ms Lim Kim-Lan, Chief, Social Development Division, was delivered by Mr Yutaka Takamine. In her statement Ms Lim extended a special welcome to the two representatives from East Timor, and to others who were participating in the discussions of the working group for the first time. Ms Lim noted that this session marked the mid-point of the life of the TWGDC, and commended the TWGDC and the Task Forces for active pursuit of achievement of the specific outcomes and targets, set by themselves. The Task Forces established at the second session had undertaken a number of significant activities.

Ms Lim informed TWGDC that as a first step towards evaluation of the achievements of the Decade, ESCAP had conducted a survey, by means of questionnaires, on progress made in the implementation of the Agenda for Action for the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons. Planning for the High-level Intergovernmental Meeting to Conclude the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons, to be held in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture, Japan, 25 to 28 October 2002, was well underway.

Adoption of the provisional agenda, and minutes of the second session of TWGDC.

The agenda for the session was adopted and the Minutes of the meeting of the second session of the TWGDC, held 10 to 11 May 2001, confirmed.

Framework for the evaluation of the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons.

It was reported that in September 2001 ESCAP had sent questionnaires to 57 governments in the region. The questionnaire consisted of two parts. Part 1 requested the identification of three major achievements from the 12 major policy areas of the Agenda for Action and Part 2 requested the identification of three priority activities to fulfill the strengthened targets in the 12 policy categories, from the present to the conclusion of the Decade in December 2002. Responses had been received from 11 member and associate member states. On the basis of results of the questionnaires a review paper would be prepared for presentation at the High-level Intergovernmental Meeting to be held in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture, Japan, 25-28 October 2002. Some government representatives reported that the questionnaires had taken up to a period of four months to complete, allowing for consultation with NGOs, United Nations agencies and internal planning bodies. They endorsed the format of the questionnaire and stated that it was more effective than attempting a detailed review of all 107 targets. They recommended that follow-up letters be sent to governments, offering an extended time-frame. They requested that the list of recipients of the questionnaires be made available to TWGDC members, to allow them to follow-up evaluation procedures in their own countries and territories.

Report on planning of the International Forum on Disabilities to Mark the End Year of the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons, Japan 2002, and the High Level Intergovernmental Meeting to Conclude the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons, Otsu, Japan, 2002.

The first circular for the "Osaka Forum", the International Forum on Disabilities to Mark the End Year of the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons, "Partnerships for Disability Rights", to be held from 21 to 23 October 2002, in Osaka, Japan, was presented to the TWGDC. The "Osaka Forum" includes four core conferences.

  • The 12th Rehabilitation International Asia and the Pacific Regional Conference.
  • The Campaign 2002 to Promote the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons.
  • National Rehabilitation Conference
  • International Research Meeting on Vocational Rehabilitation.
Notice was given of other meetings to be held in conjunction with the Osaka Forum. These included:
  • The 6th World Assembly of Disabled Peoples' International, 15-18 October 2002, Sapporo, Japan.
  • RI Executive Committee Meeting, 17-18 October 2002, Sapporo, Japan.
  • RI General Assembly Meeting, 19-20 October 2002, Osaka, Japan.
  • RNN General Meeting, 20 October 2002, Osaka, Japan.
The series of meetings would conclude with:
  • The High-level Intergovernmental Meeting to Conclude the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons, 25-28 October 2002, Otsu, Shiga Prefecture, Japan, organized by ESCAP and hosted by the Government of Japan and the Shiga Prefectural Government.

  • A draft regional report on the evaluation of the achievements of the Agenda for Action for the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons would be prepared by ESCAP, and presented at the fourth session of the TWGDC in Bangkok in June 2002. The meeting of the TWGDC would be followed by an Expert Group Meeting whose task it would be to review and strengthen the report, in preparation for its final presentation at the High-level Intergovernmental Meeting, in October 2002, in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture, Japan. Representatives of NGO agencies from the TWGDC would be invited to attend the High-level meeting. The TWGDC urged its NGO members to encourage governments to complete the evaluation of the Decade achievements and to attend the High-level review meeting in Japan.


Framework for action beyond 2002

The TWGDC considered that the ESCAP Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons had been very effective. This initiative had led the world in disability development and was now serving as a model for other regional disability initiatives. The African Decade of Disabled Persons, (1999 - 2009) was declared in 1999, and an Arab Decade of Disabled Persons was recently proposed.

The TWGDC strongly recommended that governments of the ESCAP region should extend the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons (1993-2002) for another 10-year period, from 2003 - 2012, as a regional mechanism to facilitate the elaboration and implementation of the international convention of rights of persons with disabilities. This recommendation was unanimously supported by the TWGDC.

It was recommended that the post-Decade framework should:

  • Have a strong sub-regional focus, with Campaigns held on a biennial basis, once in each of the five sub-regions during the period of the Decade,
  • Identify specific critical strategic areas for targeted attention, including education, training and employment, access to built environments and information and communication technology (ICT), social security and income maintenance, with special focus on the gender dimension,
  • Have as its key goal the achievement of an International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and fully support the draft resolution XXII for a comprehensive and integral international convention to promote and protect the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities adopted as of 28 November 2001, (subsequently as GA resolution 56/168 of 19 December 2001).
  • Include the goal of ensuring that all the member countries and territories of ESCAP would become active participants in the second Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons.
  • Contain a mechanism whereby the TWGDC would develop a Regional Disability Alliance to strengthen subregional cooperation and collaboration among regional member states, and promote inter-regional coordination, cooperation and collaboration.


Task Force reports.

  1. Task Force on ICT


The ICT Task Force reported a continuing commitment to promoting free and accessible sharing of knowledge, information, and best practices. Information was presented on a proposal to hold a Conference on ICT Accessibility for People with Disabilities. The conference would be held in Phuket, Thailand, 18-22 June 2002, immediately preceding the fourth session of the TWGDC.

  1. Task Force on Entrepreneurship


The Task Force identified several activity areas for discussion, and focused on sharing examples on fostering the inclusion of people with disabilities in poverty alleviation, credit and related entrepreneurship programmes. The Task Force reported plans to document case studies and examples of good practice, and to develop procedures for dissemination which would ensure the maximum exposure and utility as models and sources of inspiration.

  1. Task Force on Education for All Children and Youth with Disabilities


Strong intervention had been made by the Task Force to the Director of the UNESCO Office in Bangkok, Principal Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, advocating for the specific inclusion of children with disabilities in the Education for All (EFA) initiatives of UNESCO in the Asia-Pacific region and world-wide, as a basic human right which lies at the heart of development. Many members of the task force attended the UNESCO Regional Seminar on Building Capacity of NGOs in Implementing the Dakar Framework of Action on Education for All in Asia, held in Bangkok, 9 to 11 July 2001, and the Annual Meeting Collective Consultation of NGOs on Education for All, held in Bangkok, 12-14 July 2001. Further intervention advocating for the inclusion of children with disabilities was made, with requests for amendment to draft reports to reflect this issue.

A draft letter on behalf of the Task Force on EFA has been prepared by UNESCO, addressed to the national coordinators of EFA in the region, emphasizing the need to promote education for children with disabilities within the framework of inclusive education as part of the EFA movement. This letter was endorsed by the Task Force on EFA at its meeting in Hanoi on 9 December 2001. The TWGDC endorsed this initiative.

  1. East Timor


The Task Force on East Timor had explored possible strategies to ensure the inclusion of disability concerns in the national development plan that might be prepared by a newly established Government of East Timor, with a view to avoiding a piece-meal approach and promoting a comprehensive and coordinated approach to disability development issues in East Timor.

A project proposal, currently under consideration, had been developed, with the objectives of developing a national Coordinating Committee on Disability (NCCD) for East Timor, an East Timor Technical Support Group (ETTSG), a National Plan of Action (NPA) and a funding and technical support framework for the NCCD and the development of disability related services in East Timor. A budget of USD $20.000 would be made available with fifty per cent from the 16th Rehabilitation International (RI) World Congress Fund, via the RI Regional Committee for Asia and the Pacific, and the other fifty per cent from Asia Trust through Mr M. B Lee, SBS, MBE, JP.

ESCAP had invited Mr Sarmento, Social Worker for the Disabled and Elderly, Department of Labour and Solidarity and Ms Ciara Knudsen, Adviser to the Division of Social Services, Department of Labour and Solidarity, both of East Timor, to attend the third session of the TWGDC in Hanoi, Viet Nam, and to participate in the task force meeting on East Timor. They provided a detailed briefing on the current situation concerning people with disabilities in East Timor. Further discussion identified areas where assistance could be provided by members of the task force and it was agreed that the task force network could act as a clearing-house for information concerning disability in East Timor.

The task force approved in principle the project proposal submitted, and supported initiatives to facilitate the development of a national action plan on disability in East Timor.

The Minutes of the four Task Force meetings, held at the Horizon Hotel, Hanoi, on 9 December 2001, are attached.


Other matters:

Information was provided on the revised disability classification system, the International Classification of Functioning (ICF), adopted by the World Health Organization (WHO) in May 2001.

TWGDC members were thanked for their contribution of case studies of good practice to the forthcoming ESCAP publication, "Pathfinders: Towards Full Participation and Equality of Persons with Disabilities in the ESCAP Region".

Members were informed that the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Children, postponed from September 2001, had been rescheduled to 8 to 10 May 2002.

The fourth session of the TWGDC would be held in Bangkok in June 2002, on dates to be specified.