Training in Advocacy and Human Rights Starts Successfully

Today, a training for Paralympic leaders in advocacy and human rights has started in Seoul, Korea. 20 Nov 2007 By IPC

Organized by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) in collaboration with Landmine Survivors Network and Rehabilitation International, a total of 28 participants from 16 countries, including Paralympic athletes, are currently defining and approaching advocacy as well as discussing human rights and the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

One of the main aims of the two-day workshop is to educate representatives of the Paralympic Movement about advocacy and the Convention to be able to create awareness campaigns to get their countries to sign, ratify and implement the Convention.

In December 2006, the UN General Assembly unanimously adopted the landmark Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the first human rights treaty of the twenty-first century. Filling a gap in international human rights law, the 50-article Convention elaborates in detail the rights of persons with a disability. It covers, among others, participation in cultural life, recreation, leisure and sport (Article 30), as well as civil and political rights, accessibility, participation and inclusion, the right to education, health, work and employment and social protection.

The Convention will enter into force once it has been ratified by 20 countries. To date, seven countries have ratified, 118 countries have signed the Convention and therefore show their commitment to support the Convention.

Said Jennifer Kamande, training participant from Kenya: “This training helped me to understand more about human rights and how to help others, particularly women with a disability, to understand their rights. I have learned what my human rights are and definitely want to share my knowledge with the rest of the Paralympic Community in Kenya.”

The IPC wants to promote the global recognition of the Convention, ie Article 30, and encourages governments to take action to support the Convention.

The Convention text is available at http://www.un.org/disabilities/documents/COP/9/cosp9_report_e.pdf.