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Disability
Disability
Challenges and Opportunities
One of ESCAP’s central areas of work is disability. Asia and the Pacific is home to around 650 million persons with disabilities, by far a much larger number than any other region of the world. Many of them live in poverty and suffer discrimination, exclusion, inequality and prejudice. The realization of the rights of persons with disabilities is a far cry from where we stand now. For example, the percentage of children with disabilities having access to primary education is as low as 4 per cent in some countries. Average unemployment rates of persons with disabilities are at least double those of general populations. Furthermore, the lack of reliable statistics on disability in the region represents a serious challenge, making an evidence-based assessment of the situation equally difficult. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and its Optional Protocol were adopted on 13 December 2006. The CRPD entered into force on 3 May 2008. The CRPD promotes the implementation of a paradigm shift from a charity-based to a rights-based approach to disability and disability-inclusive development. The region has indeed been witnessing concerted efforts by governments and civil society towards the ratification and implementation of the CRPD. Disability associated with population ageing creates an even greater need for barrier-free and enabling environments in Asia and the Pacific. Catering to the needs of persons with disabilities can contribute to the creation of more inclusive, productive and sustainable societies in the region. Moreover, new economic opportunities can be generated through the expansion of markets that are responsive to the specific needs of persons with disabilities.
Our Response
ESCAP supports governments in their efforts to tackle the vicious cycle of poverty and disability, to address legal and institutional exclusion, and to reduce the barriers that persons with disabilities face in everyday life, including inaccessible built environments, information, transportation and services. As well as the building of partnerships among key stakeholders, including disabled people’s organizations (DPOs), ESCAP promotes the use of data for evidence-informed policymaking regarding disability and provides analysis of policy options and other technical support to governments.
Our Work
ESCAP has played a leading role in many regional and global initiatives aimed at improving the lives of persons with disabilities. Building upon the concerted efforts of governments and civil society, ESCAP helped make a significant and distinctive Asia-Pacific contribution to the drafting and adoption of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), the first legally binding disability-specific human rights convention.
ESCAP and partners also ensured that, in 1993, Asia and the Pacific became the first region to implement two consecutive decades devoted to promoting the rights of persons with disabilities. The two decades, 1993-2002 and 2003-2012, focused on the inclusion of persons with disabilities in society and in all mainstream development programmes, successfully contributing to a shift from a charity-based to a rights-based approach in related policy development and implementation.
Now, Asia-Pacific is building upon this momentum and launched the new Asian and Pacific Decade of Persons with Disabilities for the period 2013-2022. The aim of this new Decade is to fully mainstream disability into development and to address the continuing issues faced in realizing the rights enshrined in the CRPD. As part of this process, ESCAP convened the “High-level Intergovernmental Meeting on the Final Review of the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons, 2003-2012” from 29 October to 2 November 2012 in Incheon, Republic of Korea. The Meeting adopted as its outcome document, the Incheon Strategy to “Make the Right Real” for Persons with Disabilities in Asia and the Pacific.
The Incheon Strategy is the world's first set of regionally-agreed disability-inclusive development goals. The Strategy contains 10 inter-related time-bound Goals, 27 targets and 62 indicators. The Goals range from reducing poverty and increasing employment for persons with disabilities to enhancing their political participation, ensuring disability-inclusive disaster risk reduction, promoting gender equality for women and girls with disabilities, improving disability data, and accelerating the ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
The Incheon Strategy aims to accelerate actions to promote disability-inclusive development and CRPD ratification in the ESCAP region. The Strategy is a pioneering regional framework that will guide national and regional action in the new Decade. It will also serve as Asia-Pacific’s regional input for the upcoming General Assembly High-level Meeting on Disability and Development.
ESCAP and partners also ensured that, in 1993, Asia and the Pacific became the first region to implement two consecutive decades devoted to promoting the rights of persons with disabilities. The two decades, 1993-2002 and 2003-2012, focused on the inclusion of persons with disabilities in society and in all mainstream development programmes, successfully contributing to a shift from a charity-based to a rights-based approach in related policy development and implementation.
Now, Asia-Pacific is building upon this momentum and launched the new Asian and Pacific Decade of Persons with Disabilities for the period 2013-2022. The aim of this new Decade is to fully mainstream disability into development and to address the continuing issues faced in realizing the rights enshrined in the CRPD. As part of this process, ESCAP convened the “High-level Intergovernmental Meeting on the Final Review of the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons, 2003-2012” from 29 October to 2 November 2012 in Incheon, Republic of Korea. The Meeting adopted as its outcome document, the Incheon Strategy to “Make the Right Real” for Persons with Disabilities in Asia and the Pacific.
The Incheon Strategy is the world's first set of regionally-agreed disability-inclusive development goals. The Strategy contains 10 inter-related time-bound Goals, 27 targets and 62 indicators. The Goals range from reducing poverty and increasing employment for persons with disabilities to enhancing their political participation, ensuring disability-inclusive disaster risk reduction, promoting gender equality for women and girls with disabilities, improving disability data, and accelerating the ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
The Incheon Strategy aims to accelerate actions to promote disability-inclusive development and CRPD ratification in the ESCAP region. The Strategy is a pioneering regional framework that will guide national and regional action in the new Decade. It will also serve as Asia-Pacific’s regional input for the upcoming General Assembly High-level Meeting on Disability and Development.