China-UN joint publication on disabled persons released

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, December 03, 2003

China-UN joint publication on disabled persons released

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A China-UN joint publication introducing international law and practice on protecting disabled persons' rights was released Wednesday in Beijing to mark the 12th International Day of Disabled Persons that falls on Dec. 3.

The book, titled "Protecting the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: International and Comparative Law and Practice", was jointly released by the China Disabled Persons' Federation (CDPF),the UN Development Program (UNDP), Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNOHCHR) and the China International Center for Economic & Technical Exchanges (CICETE).

As the first of its kind produced in China, the book aims to provide a practical tool for legal workers, researchers and other social workers in order to enhance their knowledge of international experiences and contribute to the future practice of promoting the rights of persons with the disabilities.

Most importantly, the book encouraged full participation and equality of the disabled persons in social life and development.

The publication is one of the products of a project under the UNDP Governance Umbrella program. In partnership with the Irish government, UNOHCHR, CDPF and CICETE, the project supported the enhancement of capacity for national rights protection for persons with disabilities in China.

Deng Pufang, president of the China Disabled Persons' Federation CDPF), said the Chinese government and disabled persons organizations have taken an active participation in the formulation of the International Convention on Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

"The publication has enabled us to enhance our knowledge and understanding of efforts made by the international community in promoting the rights of persons with disabilities," said Deng.

Khalid Malik, UN Resident Coordinator and Resident Representative of the UNDP in China, said that there is an ongoing struggle to create societies with equal opportunities for persons with disabilities. A key paradigm success is the shift to a rights-based approach to address disabilities and to promote development.

Malik said this approach recognizes persons with disabilities as "rights holders" who should equally enjoy the full range of civil, political, social, economic and cultural rights.

"We all, institutions and individuals, have a key role to play in identifying and removing barriers which exclude or hinder the persons with disabilities to mainstream into the society," said Malik.

This year's International Day of Disabled Persons will be celebrated with the theme "A voice of our own". To mark the date, Malik also read a message from UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.

Annan said that the day gives societies everywhere an opportunity to help disabled people speak in a voice of their own."Through all efforts, let us listen to disabled persons -- not just on this day, but every day," he said.

Statistics show that there are more than 600 million disabled persons throughout the world, accounting for 10 percent of the total world population, in which 80 percent are in the developing countries. In China, the number of disabled persons has reached 60 million.

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