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August 28, 2006
Information from Aqueel
Information from Aqueel
Downloaded from BBC NEWS By Geoff Adams-Spink
Age & disability correspondent, BBC News website, New York
UN to finalise disability treaty
An international treaty that aims to give greater rights and freedoms to disabled people around the world is expected to be agreed at the UN.
The draft United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is being considered in New York.
This is the first human rights treaty of the 21st Century, and the UN hopes it will mark a significant improvement in the treatment of disabled people.
The world's disabled population is estimated to be 650 million.
The UN says that discrimination against disabled people is widespread: for example, 90% of disabled children in developing countries do not go to school.
"The existing human rights system was meant to protect and promote the rights of persons with disabilities," said the UN human rights commissioner,
Louise Arbour.
"But the existing standards and mechanisms have in fact failed to provide adequate protection for persons with disabilities - it is clearly time for the UN to remedy this shortcoming."
Enact laws The draft convention has been discussed by an ad-hoc committee of the UN over the past four years.
"The convention endeavours to elaborate in detail the rights of people with disabilities and to set out a code of implementation," said committee chairman, ambassador Don MacKay of New Zealand.
The greatest significance will be a 'levelling up' of provision across the world UK campaigner Bert Massie After the final details have been worked out the treaty is expected to be adopted by the UN General Assembly during its next session, which starts in September.
Those countries that sign up to it will have to enact laws and other measures to improve disability rights and also agree to get rid of legislation, customs and practices that discriminate against disabled people.
The thinking behind the convention is that welfare and charity should be replaced by new rights and freedoms.
Currently only 45 countries have specific legislation that protects disabled people.
The convention recognises that a change of attitude is vital if disabled people are to achieve equal status: countries that ratify it will be obliged to combat negative stereotypes and prejudices and to promote an awareness of people's abilities and contribution to society.
Countries will also have to guarantee that disabled people will have a right to life on an equal basis with others.
Access to public spaces and buildings as well as transport, information and communications will also have to be improved.
'Welcome step'
The treaty has been welcomed by the UK's statutory body, the Disability Rights Commission (DRC).
"The greatest significance will be a 'levelling up' of provision across the world, and the creation of civil and human rights for disabled people," said
DRC chairman Bert Massie.
"Not every country has that now. Following the convention and when it's ratified by the UN, we will have approval for this enhancement of the rights of disabled people across the world."
Although current estimates are that about 10% of the world's population has a disability, the World Health Organization estimates that this is likely to increase as a result of medical advances and the ageing process.
In countries where life expectancy is more than 70, people spend, on average, about eight years living with a disability.
Given the economic, social and cultural differences across the world, it will be some years before the minimum standards set out in the convention will be universally applied.
But for campaigners who say that for too long the world's largest minority has been pushed to the margins of society, it will certainly be seen as a welcome first step.
Published: 2006/08/25 00:00:02 GMT
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/in_depth/5274354.stm
Read By Aqeel
Posted by jicafriends at 04:53 PM | Comments (0)
Report from Singxay, ex-participant of Vocational Rehabilitation Course 2006
These are the pictures of blind students.
Now they are attending the computer course at IT-workshop.
Posted by jicafriends at 04:48 PM | Comments (1)
August 25, 2006
Leadership Development of Persons with Disabiities 2006
The title of "JICA Group Training Course in Leaders of Persons with Disablities" was changed into "Leadership Development of Persons with Disabilities"from this year. Nine participants from seven countries were selected at the committee meeting on August 18, 2006.
Posted by jicafriends at 01:41 PM | Comments (0)
August 17, 2006
Dear Mr. Seevanh XAYKIA and Jicafriends
Dear Mr. Seevanh XAYKIA and Jicafriends,
I am very very happy to read the message from Mr. Seevanh XAYKIA.
This is because of my personal reason that he is sincerely taking up my dream.
About 2 weeks ago, I had a chance to visit his IT trainging center and discuss about how to proceed the IT traing for the blind people in Laos.
He is very kind and generous to understand the importance of production of the braille textbooks. The braille text books are, needless to say, absolutely necessary for the blind people to receive education.
I visited the school for the blind in NRC and looked at the braille books at the library. I was really surprised and schocked to see the old braillebooks. Some braille dots in many pages are torn off and useless any more.
I believe that production of braille books can be smoothly carried out bymaking the best use of conputer.
After coming back to Japan, I am really surprised to know that his IT team provide a scholarship for people with visual impaired to training for six month about basic computer and how to connect to
internet. This is, I feel, an epock-making revolution in the blind world in Laos.
I sincerely hope the IT workshop can be carried out successfully.
Kazuhiko Yamaguchi
Executive director
International Association for the Visually Impaired
Posted by jicafriends at 10:11 AM | Comments (1)
August 11, 2006
Dear All Jicafriends
Dear All Jicafriends,
Now we are IT team provide a scholarship for people with visual impaired to training for six month about basic computer and how to connect to internet, Our goal is when finish this training course they will be able to send and receive e-mail by themselves . And will be able to make them Braille text book to teach in the visual impaired school. Because of they are also a teacher of person with visual impaired people in the NRC of Laos.
And the training will start in August 21, 2006 to January 31, 2007.
We are IT – workshop of Lao disabled people hope that our first IT training course for people with visual impaired will be able to successful.
Best Regards,
Seevanh XAYKIA
We visited Lao Blind Unit
With Colleagues of IT-Workshop
Posted by jicafriends at 10:33 AM | Comments (4)
August 07, 2006
The 61st anniversary of the Aug. 6, 1945
Some of the former participants visited Hiroshima as their local visit during the training course..
We had the 61st anniversary ceremony yesterday morning.
Downloaded from Japan Times
The city of Hiroshima held a memorial ceremony Sunday to mark the 61st anniversary of the Aug. 6, 1945, U.S. atomic bombing, with Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba calling on all nations to "faithfully" engage in nuclear disarmament negotiations.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20060807a1.html
Posted by jicafriends at 05:32 PM | Comments (0)
Eighth Session of the Ad Hoc Committee
Eighth Session of the Ad Hoc Committee on a Comprehensive and Integral International Convention on Protection and Promotion of the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities wii be held from 14 to 25 August 2006.
more→http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/enable/rights/ahc8.htm
How it started:
General Assembly resolution 56/168 of 19 December 2001 established an Ad Hoc Committee "to consider proposals for a comprehensive and integral international convention to promote and protect the rights and dignity of
persons with disabilities, based on the holistic approach in the work done in the fields of social development, human rights and non-discrimination and taking into account the recommendations of the Commission on Human Rights and the Commission for Social Development."
more →http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/enable/rights/adhoccom.htm
Posted by jicafriends at 05:15 PM | Comments (0)