Handicap International a humanitarian organization working towards the empowerment, protection and welfare of the disabled in Sierra Leone has strictly warned against their exclusion from the decision making process after the recent ratification of the UN Convention on disability by the house Parliament.
Article 29 of the International Convention on the Rights of persons with disabilities (CRPD) recognizes the rights of political, local or national participation of people with disability as a fundamental political right inherent in the universal principles of human rights.
According to Cecelia Tucker of the Social Inclusion Project (SIR) at Handicap International the rationale behind governance with organizations of persons with disabilities (DPO’s) is to fight against social exclusion and marginalization of the disabled due to their physical and material incapacities.
She said, the disabled can contribute meaningfully towards development and it is necessary for them to participate in the decision making process which affects them in their respective communities.
Cecelia Tucker also said that the ratified UN-Convention on disability needs to be domesticated for proper understanding of disabled issues. She encouraged all disabled persons organizations to intensify advocacy and lobbying for the speedy enactment of the disability legislation.
Hon. Eric Jumu, Bernadette Lahai and Julius Koffie have expressed their willingness to support disabled groups like the Sierra Leone Union on Disabled Issues (SLUDI) Civil Society Organizations, and legitimate disabled peoples organizations to ensure the enactment of the disability legislation.
Handicap International she said, has been working closely with people in the Ministry of Social Welfare, Parliamentarians, Civil Society and people living with disability to ensure that the disabled are not excluded from the decision making process.
Cecelia Tucker also said that several stakeholders and service providers have been provided with adequate skills and knowledge on disability issues within the Western Area, while people living with disability were trained on project writing and sensitized on their rights and responsibilities to society.
Concluding she encouraged stakeholders to respect the rights of the disabled and also give them the opportunity to explore their talents in life, adding that disability is not inability.
By Saidu Bah
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