– to set the stage for bigger things for Persons With Disabilities

THE long-awaited Guyana Persons with Disability Act, which was passed in the National Assembly and assented to by the President Bharrat Jagdeo in late 2010, will be launched today – a step intended to raise awareness for Persons With Disabilities (PWDs).
The ceremony, at Regency Suites, is expected to include several government agencies and civil society representatives in an effort to allow for closer relationships with key officials involved in the implementation of the Act.
Enactment of this legislation serves to protect and fulfill the rights of persons with disabilities and remains a great achievement in Guyana.
Administrative Officer of the National Commission on Disability (NCD), Ms. Beverly Pile, said, “The Persons with Disability Act provides for the protection of the rights of PWDs and some of these rights involve employment, education, recreation and even transportation.”
According to her, differently-abled persons experience discrimination and are disadvantaged in these areas on a daily basis – something the Act’s implementation is expected to address by way of encouraging equal access and opportunities for all.
“NCD is proud to be part of that process,” Pile said.
Getting the Act to where it is has been a long journey for stakeholders, which began in 2005, and by 2006 consultations were finished. The final draft was completed in 2007 and the Bill was finally passed in June. The report of the Special Parliamentary Select Committee on the Bill was unanimously adopted, and the Bill was taken through its final reading.
The National Commission on Disability (NCD) is responsible for addressing implementation, monitoring and also sensitisation to the provisions made under the Act.

Major Step

In an invited comment, President of the Guyana Council of Organisations for Persons with Disabilities, Mr. Leon Walcott, said having the Act passed is a major step for the disability movement.
Walcott, like many others in and out of the movement, agree that differently-abled persons have much potential and deserve opportunities to realise that potential and live fulfilling lives.
He pointed out that in addition to being a major step for Guyana, the passage of the Act puts the country in line with the international community.
“Once the legislation is in place, then Guyana will be able to ratify the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities,” he said,
To date, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has 146 signatories and 89 ratifications.
The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is an agreement by countries around the world to make sure that people with disabilities and people without disabilities are treated equally. The Convention was adopted on December 13, 2006. By April 2008, 20 countries had ratified the Convention.
The Convention guides stakeholders in the exercising of their rights. It also defines the actions governments must take to help all people with disabilities realise their rights.
The rights in this Convention are not new rights. They are the same human rights recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and other international human rights treaties. The Convention guarantees that these rights are respected for people with disabilities.
The principles of this Convention are:
* Respect for everyone’s inherent dignity, freedom to make their own choices and independence;
* Non-discrimination (treating everyone fairly);
* Full participation and inclusion in society (being included in your community);
* Respect for differences and accepting people with disabilities as part of human diversity;
* Equal opportunity;
* Accessibility (having access to transportation, places and information, and not being refused access because of a disability);
* Equality between men and women (having the same opportunities whether you are a girl or a boy); and
* Respect for the evolving capacity of children with disabilities and their right to preserve their identities (being respected for your abilities and proud of who you are).
Walcott maintained that this is the start of bigger things for persons with disabilities in Guyana.
Following the launch, the Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO), a key partner, in collaboration with NCD, will be hosting a two-day workshop for several Disabled Peoples Organisations from different regions.  The objective of this workshop is for participants to fully understand the Act in a simplified way and their rights as outlined in the Act as a person living with a disability, and to further discuss how these organizations would sensitise their other members in their groups and persons living with disabilities in their communities.