People with Disabilities in Ireland
4th Floor Jervis House
Jervis Street
Dublin 1
Telephone: 01 87 21 74 4
Fax: 01 87 21 77 1
Email: info@pwdi.ie
Good morning ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of People with Disabilities in Ireland I would like to welcome you all here this morning. Why are we here? Well, to start I would like to acknowledge the recognition accorded PwDI by the UN as the Irish consultative NGO to respond to this Global Survey on the tenth anniversary of the Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for People with Disabilities. I believe this is the first time that people with disabilities, the end-users have been asked to respond to an international survey of this type.
The Global Survey is being carried out to assess the implementation by governments of the standard rules, specifically around the areas of policies, legislation, resources and involvement of organisations of people with disabilities. It is made up of 47 questions covering all the rules of the Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for People with Disabilities not just asking: has this been done? Yes or no? But it is looking at most of the areas to which the rules apply. P.w.D.I has been asked to coordinate a response to this survey and that is why you, N.G.Os and end-users have all been invited here today so we can give a true and accurate response.
The Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for People with Disabilities were unanimously adopted by the member states of the United Nations and whilst they are not, unfortunately, legally binding they are none the less a international agreement which the Irish government ratified. The Standard Rules are made up of 22 rules ranging from medical care, education to awareness raising and international cooperation; whilst being far reaching they are simply stated and achievable. Many countries have achieved more in some areas better than others. I believe a lot has happened in the last 10 years and I include Ireland in this group. It seems to me to be obvious that in Europe, while countries like Denmark are one of the leaders in “independent living” and Britain in the area of “physical access” no country has a complete package to give people with disabilities a true and equal role in society. This could be because of the lack of international cooperation, the notion by state parties that “we know best” or the lack of “political will” to have a totally equal society for people with disabilities.
This is where the results of surveys like this can be very useful if used correctly, if the international cooperation and political will is there then real improvements can be made that impact on the lives of people with disabilities not just in Ireland but around the world. This, ladies and gentlemen is why we have to be as honest and accurate as possible in our reply to this survey. I will finish by saying that, as many of you are aware the United Nations is holding negotiations to finalize a Human Rights Convention for people with disabilities, a lot has been done, but not wanting to sound like a politician, there is a long way to go. The convention will not replace the Standard Rules as some people think, the convention will only deal with human rights, so we must all keep promoting and using the Standard Rules and lobbying at national level to achieve the full implementation of the Standard Rules.
Thank you
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