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BIWAKO PLUS FIVE:FURTHER EFFORTS TOWARDS AN INCLUSIVE, BARRIER-FREE AND RIGHTS-BASED SOCIETY FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES IN A
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DMR A2007-000365 TP141107
APDDP2_2E
UNITED NATIONS
ECONOMIC
AND
SOCIAL COUNCIL
GENERAL
E/ESCAP/APDDP(2)/2
*
13 November 2007
ORIGINAL: ENGLISH
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMISSION FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
High-level Intergovernmental Meeting on the Midpoint Review of the
Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons, 2003-2012
19-21 September 2007
Bangkok
BIWAKO PLUS FIVE:
FURTHER EFFORTS TOWARDS AN INCLUSIVE, BARRIER-FREE AND
RIGHTS-BASED SOCIETY FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES
IN ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
As adopted by the High-level Intergovernmental Meeting on the Midpoint Review of the Asian and
Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons, 2003-2012, on 21 September 2007
_______________
*
Reissued for technical reasons
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- i -
CONTENTS
Page
I.
PREAMBLE..........................................................................................................................
1
II.
NATURE AND OVERARCHING PRINCIPLES OF BIWAKO PLUS FIVE....................
4
III.
PRIORITY AREAS FOR ACTION UNDER THE BIWAKO MILLENNIUM
FRAMEWORK FOR ACTION.............................................................................................
5
A. Self-help organizations of persons with disabilities and related family and
parent associations........................................................................................................
5
B.
Women with disabilities ...............................................................................................
6
C.
Early detection, early intervention and education.........................................................
6
D. Training and employment, including self-employment................................................
7
E. Access to built environments and public transport.......................................................
8
F.
Access to information and communications, including information,
communications and assistive technologies..................................................................
8
G. Poverty alleviation through capacity-building, social security and sustainable
livelihood programmes .................................................................................................
9
IV.
KEY STRATEGIES ..............................................................................................................
9
A. Reinforcing a rights-based approach to disability issues.............................................. 11
B.
Promoting an enabling environment and strengthening effective mechanisms
for policy formulation and implementation.................................................................. 12
C.
Improving the availability and quality of data and other information on disabilities
for policy formulation and implementation.................................................................. 13
D. Promoting disability-inclusive development ................................................................ 14
E. Strengthening comprehensive community-based approaches to disability issues
for the prevention of the causes of disability and for the rehabilitation and
empowerment of persons with disabilities.................................................................... 14
V.
ENHANCING COOPERATION AND SUPPORT IN PURSUANCE OF THE
BIWAKO MILLENNIUM FRAMEWORK FOR ACTION................................................. 15
VI.
ENHANCING EFFECTIVE MONITORING AND REVIEW............................................. 15
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I. PREAMBLE
1.
The Asian and Pacific region is the home to two thirds of the 650 million persons with
disabilities in the world. In order to ensure greater recognition of their rights, Governments and other
stakeholders in the Asian and Pacific region have taken a number of measures. By its resolution 58/4 of
22 May 2002 on promoting an inclusive, barrier-free and rights-based society for people with
disabilities in the Asian and Pacific region in the twenty-first century, the Commission extended the
Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons, 1993-2002,
1
for another decade, that is, from 2003 to
2012. Since then, a number of initiatives have been launched in line with the extended Decade. Among
them was the Biwako Millennium Framework for Action towards an Inclusive, Barrier-free and Rights-
based Society in Asia and the Pacific,
2
which was adopted by the High-level Intergovernmental Meeting
to Conclude the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons, 1993-2002, held in Otsu, Shiga, Japan,
in October 2002, as the defining policy guideline for the new Decade. The extension of the Decade
carried forward the goal of the previous Decade, 1993-2002, and the commitment made by
Governments signing the Proclamation on the Full Participation and Equality of People with Disabilities
in the Asian and Pacific Region:
3
the full participation and equality of persons with disabilities.
2.
The Biwako Millennium Framework for Action builds on both the achievements and the lessons
learned from the implementation of the policy guideline adopted for the previous Decade: the Agenda
for Action for the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons, 1993-2002 (E/ESCAP/APDDP/2). It
emphasizes the paradigm shift from a charity-based approach to a rights-based approach for the
development of persons with disabilities. It also promotes a barrier-free, inclusive and rights-based
society, which embraces the diversity of human beings. Further, it enables and advances the socio-
economic contribution of its members and ensures the realization of those rights by persons with
disabilities. The Biwako Millennium Framework for Action identifies 7 priority areas and 4 major
strategic areas, with 21 targets and 17 strategies. Through Commission resolution 59/3 of 4 September
2003, Governments of countries in Asia and the Pacific, in collaboration with other stakeholders, such
as United Nations agencies, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and civil society
organizations, reaffirmed their commitment to the implementation of the Biwako Millennium
Framework for Action. In its resolution 61/8 of 18 May 2005 on the mid-point review of the
implementation of the Biwako Millennium Framework for Action towards an Inclusive, Barrier-free and
Rights-based Society for Persons with Disabilities in Asia and the Pacific, the Commission requested
the Executive Secretary to hold a high-level intergovernmental meeting on the midpoint review of the
Decade in 2007.
1
See Commission resolution 48/3 of 23 April 1992.
2
See Commission resolution 59/3 of 4 September 2003 (for the text of the Biwako Millennium Framework for Action,
see E/ESCAP/APDDP/4/Rev.1).
3
Adopted at the High-level Intergovernmental Meeting to Launch the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons,
held in Beijing, 1-5 December 1992. See also Commission resolution 49/6 of 29 April 1993 on the Proclamation and Agenda
for Action for the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons, 1993-2002.
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3.
One of the most significant developments during the first five years of the extended Decade was
the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Optional Protocol
4
to
the Convention. This marked the beginning of a new era in the global efforts to promote and safeguard
the civil, political, social, economic and cultural rights of persons with disabilities, and to promote
disability-inclusive development and international cooperation. In adopting the Convention, the
General Assembly called upon States to consider signing and ratifying the Convention and the Optional
Protocol as a matter of priority. The Convention represents the latest thinking of the States Members of
the United Nations about this issue. It recognizes that the promotion of the full enjoyment by persons
with disabilities of their human rights and fundamental freedoms and of full participation by persons
with disabilities will result in their enhanced sense of belonging and in significant advances in the
human, social and economic development of society and the eradication of poverty. Building on
regional experiences in the formulation and implementation of the Biwako Millennium Framework for
Action, members and associate members of the Commission contributed to the global drafting process
through a series of efforts that included the submission, in 2003, of proposals and a regional draft
entitled the “Bangkok Draft” to the Ad Hoc Committee on a Comprehensive and Integral International
Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities.
Both the Convention and the Biwako Millennium Framework for Action pursue the common goal of
achieving a barrier-free, inclusive and rights-based society. The effective implementation of the
Biwako Millennium Framework for Action will contribute significantly to the implementation of the
Convention, and the steps taken by the States that ratify the Convention will contribute to the
implementation of the Biwako Millennium Framework for Action by those States.
4.
The first five years of the extended Decade witnessed other significant developments as well.
For example, in 2004, the International Labour Organization (ILO), the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) published
a joint position paper
5
in which they expounded the rights-based approach to community-based
rehabilitation and services. The World Summit on the Information Society adopted the Tunis
Commitment and the Tunis Agenda for the Information Society
6
on 18 November 2005, which
addressed the importance of universal design and assistive technologies that promote access for all
persons, including those with disabilities. WHO addressed the need to research and implement the most
effective measures to prevent disabilities in collaboration with communities and other sectors.
7
The
World Conference on Disaster Reduction, in adopting the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015,
4
General Assembly resolution 61/106 of 13 December 2006, annexes I and II.
5
International Labour Office, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and World Health
Organization, CBR: A Strategy for Rehabilitation, Equalization of Opportunities, Poverty Reduction and Social Inclusion of
People with Disabilities (Geneva, World Health Organization, 2004).
6
See A/60/687.
7
World Health Assembly resolution WHA58.23 of 25 May 2005 on disability, including prevention, management and
rehabilitation.
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Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters,
8
recommended, inter alia, the
strengthening of the implementation of social safety-net mechanisms to assist the poor, the elderly and
the disabled.
5.
Research for the midpoint review shows that the implementation of the Biwako Millennium
Framework for Action has resulted in many positive developments. Increasing numbers of
Governments in the region have shown their commitment to disability issues by signing the
Proclamation on the Full Participation and Equality of People with Disabilities.
9
Thus far, 46
Governments have become signatories. Many Governments have also taken steps to incorporate the
concept of the rights of persons with disabilities into their constitutions, legislation, national plans of
action, and policies and programmes. Persons with disabilities in Asia and the Pacific have proven their
capability in this regard. They have addressed their needs and engaged in policy discourse during the
drafting of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. They have also become
increasingly active in the decision-making process at the regional and national levels. An increasing
number of international aid and development cooperation agencies have started to explore and adopt
“disability-inclusive development”, which focuses on mainstreaming the rights of persons with
disabilities into general development policymaking and operations.
6.
Despite such progress, challenges and obstacles still remain. The lack of availability and the
quality of demographic data and socio-economic indicators concerning disability continue to be major
problems. Many Governments and other stakeholders report that the lack of financial and human
resources, technical knowledge and capacities hinder their implementation of the Biwako Millennium
Framework for Action. Although the Asian and Pacific region enjoys steady improvement in the
development of disability policy, the implementation of such policies has to be ensured and their impact
measured. While more persons with disabilities are becoming increasingly empowered, due attention
should be paid to marginalized groups, such as those with psychosocial disabilities, intellectual
disabilities or multiple disabilities and those living in rural and remote areas. ESCAP is also tasked with
promoting the Biwako Millennium Framework for Action in subregions such as North and Central Asia
and mainstreaming the disability perspective in subregional intergovernmental mechanisms. During the
last five years, the efforts being made towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals have been
reviewed vigorously. The Goals relating to the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger and
achieving universal primary education have been translated into targets for two of the seven priority
areas of the Biwako Millennium Framework for Action. Later, the rights of persons with disabilities
were specifically recognized in the 2005 World Summit Outcome,
10
as the attention they received in the
Millennium Development Goals had not been adequate from a disability perspective. Natural disasters
and other situations entailing heightened risk, including armed conflict, exacerbate the physical,
8
A/CONF.206/6 and Corr.1, chap.I, resolution 2.
9
E/ESCAP/902, annex I.
10
General Assembly resolution 60/1 of 16 September 2005.
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institutional, attitudinal and informational barriers facing all people, but in particular, persons with
disabilities. Such situations underline the need for better disability-inclusive disaster management with
regard to both natural and man-made disasters.
7.
In taking forward the Biwako Millennium Framework for Action, ministerial-level
representatives of countries in the region discussed and finalized the present document at the High-level
Intergovernmental Meeting on the Midpoint Review of the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled
Persons, 2003-2012, held in Bangkok from 19 to 21 September 2007. The Biwako Plus Five outcome
draws upon the findings of the five-year review, taking into consideration global developments, the
emerging needs of the region with regard to disability and the challenges and obstacles which need to be
overcome. It supplements the Biwako Millennium Framework for Action in the hope of making a
significant contribution to the enhanced implementation of the Framework over the remaining five years
of the Decade (2008-2012) by promoting the creation of an inclusive, barrier-free and rights-based
society for all.
II. NATURE AND OVERARCHING PRINCIPLES OF BIWAKO PLUS FIVE
8.
Biwako Plus Five supplements the Biwako Millennium Framework for Action. In terms of
content, Biwako Plus Five distinguishes itself from the Biwako Millennium Framework for Action by
(a) providing additional actions in the 7 priority areas, (b) reconfiguring the 4 strategy areas into 5 areas
with 25 additional strategies, and (c) adding 3 strategies under “cooperation and support and monitoring
and review”.
9.
Biwako Plus Five should be implemented on the basis of the same principles and policy
directions delineated in the Biwako Millennium Framework for Action. However, the following three
aspects should be amplified:
(a)
First, Governments shall, within the limit of their economic capacity and development,
take appropriate measures to devise national strategies and action plans for the implementation of the
Biwako Millennium Framework for Action and Biwako Plus Five. Governments should recognize the
importance of international cooperation and partnership, in support of national efforts, including through
the transfer of resources and technologies, as appropriate;
(b)
Second, partnership among different stakeholders, namely, Governments,
representatives of disabled people’s organizations, international, regional and national non-
governmental organizations, development organizations and agencies, and the private sector, as
appropriate, should be promoted in all relevant activities, including research, data collection, needs
assessment, policy development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, capacity-building and
awareness-raising;
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(c)
Third, the diversity of persons with disabilities should be respected not only because
they are the targets of policies, programmes and projects but also because they are partners in the
decision-making process concerning disability as well as implementers and evaluators of projects and
policies.
III. PRIORITY AREAS FOR ACTION UNDER THE BIWAKO MILLENNIUM
FRAMEWORK FOR ACTION
10.
The Biwako Millennium Framework for Action contained 21 targets categorized under
7 priority areas. Although the dates for achieving targets 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 16, 17 and 18 were set before
2007, the Governments and other stakeholders that have not yet attained those targets may need to
strengthen their efforts in order to achieve them as soon as possible.
11.
Further efforts need to be made in order to achieve those targets where progress has been found
to be inadequate and where action has been lagging. The following are additional actions that may help
countries to achieve the targets under each of the priority areas.
A. Self-help organizations of persons with disabilities and
related family and parent associations
Actions required
12.
Governments at all levels are encouraged to support:
(a)
The development of organizations for persons with disabilities and related family and
parent associations at the local and national levels, and the promotion of their networking at the
regional, subregional and interregional levels, paying particular attention to the self-help organizations
of persons with intellectual disabilities, psychosocial disabilities and multiple disabilities;
(b)
The participation of persons with disabilities in the political and civil processes as well
as in the development, implementation and monitoring of economic and social policies and programmes
at all levels;
(c)
The development of young men and women with disabilities as leaders;
(d)
The development of partnerships with self-help organizations, in particular cooperation
between urban-based self-help groups/organizations of persons with disabilities and their rural
counterparts.
13.
Self-help organizations and related family and parent organizations, with the support of
Governments at all levels, should mainstream themselves into the self-help organizations of other
vulnerable groups and communities.
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B. Women with disabilities
Actions required
14.
Governments should promote:
(a)
The inclusion of gender perspectives in disability-relevant policies, programmes, plans
and legislation;
(b)
The inclusion of the perspectives of women with disabilities in the development of
gender-relevant policies, programmes, plans and legislation;
(c)
The participation of women with disabilities and organizations of women with
disabilities in the processes of developing both gender-relevant and disability-related policies,
programmes, plans and legislation.
15.
Governments recognize that women and girls with disabilities are subject to multiple
discrimination and, in this regard, together with self-help organizations, should support the economic,
social, cultural and political empowerment of women with disabilities, in particular through leadership
and management training on a sustained basis. Governments should take appropriate measures to
address discrimination against women with disabilities in all matters, including those relating to
marriage, family, parenthood and relationships, to ensure their full development, advancement and
empowerment.
16.
Self-help organizations should review their existing structure, policies, plans and operations,
taking into account the needs of women with disabilities, and actively support their empowerment, with
a view to helping them to participate fully in decision-making processes.
17.
Self-help organizations and networks of women with disabilities, in collaboration with
community-based development organizations and Governments at all levels, should sensitize
communities in remote areas to the potential negative impacts of culture on women and girls with
disabilities and address their issues through community-based development processes.
C. Early detection, early intervention and education
Actions required
18.
Governments should:
(a)
Explore the possibility of establishing efficient coordination and communication
mechanisms among government bodies responsible for health and education matters in the provision of
services to infants and young children with disabilities in terms of early identification, assessment,
referral to, or enrolment in, early intervention and health-care services, preschools and schools;
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(b)
Pay increased attention to ensuring that the number of trained personnel in early
intervention services is sufficient to provide services for all children with disabilities and their families
in urban, rural and remote areas;
(c)
Promote the access of persons with disabilities to an inclusive education system,
including the acquisition of literacy skills, and to adult education and life-long learning;
(d)
Promote the education of all children, including those with visual and hearing
impairments, deafblind and those who have learning and intellectual disabilities, so that it is delivered in
the most appropriate languages and modes and means of communication;
(e)
Take appropriate measures to train professionals and staff who work at all levels of
education and to employ teachers, including teachers with disabilities, who are adept in sign language,
Braille, augmentative or alternative communication;
(f)
Take appropriate measures, in collaboration with other stakeholders, to involve persons
with disabilities in sports, both as spectators and as active participants.
D. Training and employment, including self-employment
Actions required
19.
Governments should:
(a)
Recognize the right of persons with disabilities to work, on an equal basis with others,
and promote the realization of the right to work for persons with disabilities, including those who
become disabled during the course of employment;
(b)
Develop comprehensive strategies to address the barriers to employment of persons
with disabilities, especially those in remote, rural, agricultural and economically depressed areas, while
paying particular attention to new developments in community-based approaches, in order to ensure
improved access to resources and services, such as cooperatives, social enterprises, self-employment
initiatives, microfinance schemes and on-the-job and peer training;
(c)
Develop national and multinational partnerships, with support from non-governmental
organizations, self-help organizations and other stakeholders, aimed at increasing employment
opportunities for persons with disabilities by providing incentives to facilitate hiring, retention and
advancement, promoting positive awareness of their skills and employment, and operating joint training
and employment programmes;
(d)
Include persons with disabilities in mainstream public employment services and
provide with support services persons with disabilities and their employers so that they could assist with
the recruitment, placement and retention in jobs of persons with disabilities and maintain rosters of job-
ready persons with disabilities for referral to potential employers;
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(e)
Adopt policies and practices related to job-readiness training and/or skills
redevelopment or retraining for adults with disabilities who lack employment experience or whose skills
are obsolete or who can no longer return to their former jobs owing to their disability.
E. Access to built environments and public transport
Actions required
20.
Governments should:
(a)
Take appropriate measures to enforce accessibility standards effectively and to promote
accessibility in both existing and newly built environments and public transport;
(b)
Promote the concept of universal design among public and private entities, with a view
to benefiting persons with different disabilities;
(c)
Ensure, in collaboration with other stakeholders, that all services which are open to or
provided for the public take into account all aspects of accessibility for persons with disabilities;
(d)
Encourage and promote the research into and the development of good quality mobility
aids and devices at affordable prices in order to enable access by persons with disabilities to built
environments, public transport, information and communications, and other services;
(e)
Take appropriate measures to promote accessible tourism.
F. Access to information and communications, including information,
communications and assistive technologies
Actions required
21.
Governments should:
(a)
Actively promote accessibility in respect of information and communications, including
information and communication technology, for persons with disabilities in order to ensure the full
enjoyment of their rights and, in so doing, comply with the Tunis Commitment and the Tunis Agenda of
the World Summit on the Information Society;
(b)
Promote the production and dissemination of public information in accessible languages
and the modes and means of communication, including plain language, via accessible technologies;
(c)
Take appropriate measures to recognize and promote the use of sign languages, Braille,
augmentative and alternative means of communication and all other accessible means, modes and
formats of communication chosen by persons with disabilities in facilities and services open or made
available to the public, and in all other forms of official interaction;
(d)
Take appropriate measures, in collaboration with the private sector, to promote the
availability of various forms of live assistance and intermediaries, including guides, readers and
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professional sign-language interpreters, to facilitate the accessibility of persons with disabilities to built
environments, services of a public nature, including banking and postal services and those which are
provided electronically;
(e)
Promote, together with other stakeholders, research and development, as well as the
procurement of information and assistive technologies that abide by universal design concepts and
internationally recognized accessibility standards;
(f)
Take appropriate measures to support, in collaboration with national organizations of
the deaf, the development of sign language and the training of sign language interpreters, and recognize
the use of sign language in educational, employment-related and legal processes.
G. Poverty alleviation through capacity-building, social security and
sustainable livelihood programmes
Actions required
22.
Governments should:
(a)
Mainstream disability perspectives in national development frameworks, such as
poverty reduction strategy papers;
(b)
Review existing social security policies and practices and modify them, as necessary, to
promote personal mobility, health, rehabilitation and rehabilitation services, education and an adequate
standard of living and social protection for persons with disabilities. Where they do not exist, policies
aimed at providing basic services should be developed and implemented. The provision of basic
assistive devices that meet the needs of persons with disabilities as well as any personal assistance
needed should be promoted.
IV. KEY STRATEGIES
23.
The Biwako Millennium Framework for Action has 10 strategies categorized under the
following 4 areas of “strategies to achieve the targets of the Biwako Millennium Framework for Action:
(a)
National plan of action (five years) on disability;
(b)
Promotion of a rights-based approach to disability issues;
(c)
Disability statistics/common definition of disabilities for planning;
(d)
Strengthened community-based approaches to the prevention of causes of disability,
rehabilitation and empowerment of persons with disabilities.
24.
The following strategies build on and expand the strategies set out in the Biwako Millennium
Framework for Action. They reflect the lessons learned from the efforts already undertaken to
implement the Framework, and the need to address new issues and concerns which have emerged since
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the adoption of the Framework. Accordingly, the four strategic areas in the Framework were
reexamined and restructured as follows:
(a)
Reinforce a rights-based approach to disability issues;
(b)
Promote an enabling environment and strengthen effective mechanisms for policy
formulation and implementation;
(c)
Improve the availability and quality of data and other information on disabilities for
policy formulation and implementation;
(d)
Promote disability-inclusive development;
(e)
Strengthen comprehensive community-based approaches to disability issues for the
prevention of the causes of disability and for the rehabilitation and empowerment of persons with
disabilities.
25.
The restructured strategic area, “reinforce a rights-based approach to disability issues”, expands
on the existing strategy: “promotion of a rights-based approach to disability issues,” in the Biwako
Millennium Framework for Action, taking into consideration the greater importance of the rights-based
approach embodied in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Another restructured
strategic area, “promote an enabling environment and strengthen effective mechanisms for policy
formulation and implementation”, was added because it is necessary to reemphasize the institutional and
other factors that would enable undertaking what is promoted in both the Biwako Millennium
Framework for Action and Biwako Plus Five. The existing strategy in the Biwako Millennium
Framework for Action, “national plan of action (five years) on disability”, was integrated into this
revised strategy. The restructured strategic area, “improve the availability and the quality of data and
other information on disabilities for the purposes of policy formulation and implementation”, expands
on the existing strategy: “disability statistics/common definition of disabilities for planning” in the
Biwako Millennium Framework for Action, taking into account the need to intensify efforts to obtain
and utilize effective data and information on disabilities. The restructured strategic area, “promote
disability-inclusive development”, was added because the mainstreaming of disability perspectives into
development assistance activities has been increasingly deemed effective in attaining the goals of the
Biwako Millennium Framework for Action. The restructured strategic area, “strengthen comprehensive
community-based approaches to (a) prevent the causes of disability, (b) the rehabilitation and (c) the
empowerment of persons with disabilities”, expands an existing strategy: “strengthened community-
based approaches to the prevention of causes of disability, rehabilitation and empowerment of persons
with disabilities”, which reflects the evolving concept of community-based rehabilitation. Furthermore,
although the target dates for strategies 1, 8 and 9 in the Biwako Millennium Framework for Action were
set before 2007, Governments and other stakeholders that have not achieved the targets will need to
continue their efforts to achieve them as soon as possible. Strategies 6 and 7 of the Framework, which
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have been nullified with the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, were
reformulated as strategies 4 and 5 in the present document.
A. Reinforcing a rights-based approach to disability issues
Strategy 1
26.
Governments take note of a newly emerging trend in understanding disability as an evolving
concept and are encouraged to recognize disability as a result of the interaction between persons with
impairments and attitudinal and environmental barriers that hinder their full and effective participation
in society on an equal basis with others. Governments are encouraged to incorporate this understanding
of disability into their existing and new policies. Particular attention should be paid to the removal of
any barriers that prevent persons with disabilities from fully participating in society and exercising their
rights.
Strategy 2
27.
Governments should consider steps to amend or repeal any laws that are not consistent with the
international instruments on human rights and disability to which they are parties, and to adopt laws that
would promote the rights of persons with disabilities.
Strategy 3
28.
Governments are encouraged to take appropriate measures, including development and
implementation of antidiscrimination legislation, to effectively promote and protect the rights of persons
with disabilities.
Strategy 4
29.
Governments are encouraged to consider the establishment of an effective, independent,
advisory and representative mechanism, or the designation of an existing mechanism, to assist in
monitoring and evaluating the implementation of the legal, administrative and institutional systems
aimed at promoting and protecting the rights of persons with disabilities.
Strategy 5
30.
Governments are encouraged to consider signing and ratifying or acceding to the Convention on
the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Optional Protocol to the Convention as a matter of
priority, and to promote and protect the right of persons with disabilities so that they may enjoy all
human rights and fundamental freedoms.
Strategy 6
31.
Governments, in collaboration with all stakeholders, should take positive measures in
facilitating the provision of reasonable accommodation to equalize the opportunities that exist for
persons with disabilities in all areas of life. Reasonable accommodation refers to necessary and
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appropriate modifications and adjustments that do not impose a disproportionate or undue burden,
where needed in a particular case, in order to ensure that persons with disabilities can enjoy or exercise,
on an equal basis with others, all human rights and fundamental freedoms.
Strategy 7
32.
Governments should promote access to justice for persons with disabilities on an equal basis
with others.
B. Promoting an enabling environment and strengthening effective mechanisms
for policy formulation and implementation
Strategy 8
33.
Governments at all levels are encouraged to develop or update an action plan on disability with
time-bound targets and to allocate sufficient resources for the implementation of the plan and the
monitoring of implementation. Where appropriate, lessons learned from the previous action plan should
be taken into account.
Strategy 9
34.
Governments should, if they have not already done so, establish or designate an institutional
mechanism to coordinate and monitor policies and programmes concerning disability; this should ensure
both the effective and regular participation of representatives of all ministries and the participation of
persons with disabilities. Local government should be an integral part of this mechanism.
Strategy 10
35.
Governments should, within the limits of their economic capacity and level of development,
adequately and on a sustainable basis finance the implementation of relevant policies and programmes,
data collection and capacity-building for government officials, experts and persons with disabilities as
well as the operation of a mechanism for coordinating disability-related matters.
Strategy 11
36.
All stakeholders should raise awareness of the rights-based approach and disability-inclusive
development through effective networking and collaboration with the media, research institutions, legal
professionals, donor and development agencies and the private sector.
Strategy 12
37.
Governments, together with other stakeholders, should ensure that the Biwako Millennium
Framework for Action and the present document are disseminated in an appropriate manner.
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C. Improving the availability and quality of data and other information on disabilities
for policy formulation and implementation
Strategy 13
38.
The importance of collecting data on disabilities should be stressed and advocated not only
within the United Nations system but also among decision makers at the national level, including
national statistical offices, as well as academic institutions, self-help organizations and other civil
society organizations.
Strategy 14
39.
Governments are encouraged to develop policies or laws to mandate the collection of data on
disabilities, as well as the allocation of the requisite resources. Such policies and laws should, among
other things, respect the privacy of persons with disabilities.
Strategy 15
40.
As far as possible, data should be classified by the socio-economic status of persons with
disabilities, including the type of impairment, sex, age, education, employment and income.
Strategy 16
41.
Governments should build national capacity so that data on disability can be regularly collected
through population censuses and surveys and disseminated.
Strategy 17
42.
Governments are encouraged to develop innovative methods of data collection in order to
capture the needs of persons with disabilities, in particular those who are illiterate or who live in remote
areas.
Strategy 18
43.
Governments are encouraged to undertake regular assessments of the impact of policies and
programmes which are intended to improve the situation of persons with disabilities and to ensure that
they fully enjoy their human rights and fundamental freedoms.
Strategy 19
44.
Governments, in cooperation with ESCAP, should, as appropriate, take measures to ascertain
the concerns of disabled persons and to develop future action plans through questionnaires and surveys,
depending on the availability of resources.
Strategy 20
45.
ESCAP, other United Nations organizations, agencies and intergovernmental organizations,
should, upon request, assist Governments in setting statistical standards and in formulating policy
regarding persons with disabilities.
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D. Promoting disability-inclusive development
Strategy 21
46.
Governments at all levels, in collaboration with United Nations development organizations and
agencies, international, regional and national development organizations, the private sector and other
civil society organizations, should mainstream disability perspectives in the development and
implementation of all social and economic development plans, in particular those related to the
Millennium Development Goals. The development of disability indicators for the Millennium
Development Goals should be considered.
Strategy 22
47.
International, regional and national development organizations and agencies, including United
Nations development organizations and agencies, are encouraged to mainstream disability perspectives
into the development and the implementation of their general policies and programmes. Economic and
technical cooperation should also be an integral part of this endeavour.
Strategy 23
48.
Disability-inclusive disaster management should be promoted. Disability perspectives should be
duly included in the implementation of policies and initiatives in this area, including the Hyogo
Framework for Action 2005-2015, an international framework for promoting the commitment of
Governments to disaster management. Universal design concepts should be integrated into
infrastructure development in disaster-preparedness and post-disaster reconstruction activities.
E. Strengthening comprehensive community-based approaches to disability issues for the
prevention of the causes of disability and for the rehabilitation and empowerment
of persons with disabilities
Strategy 24
49.
Governments, in collaboration with United Nations development organizations and agencies,
international, regional and national development organizations and agencies, the private sector and other
civil society organizations, are encouraged to apply comprehensive community-based rehabilitation
(CBR) measures, taking into account the recommendations contained in the ILO/UNESCO/WHO joint
position paper referred to in paragraph 4 above.
Strategy 25
50.
Governments are encouraged to take appropriate and effective measures to reduce the
preventable causes of disabilities, such as traffic accidents and diseases.
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V. ENHANCING COOPERATION AND SUPPORT IN PURSUANCE OF THE BIWAKO
MILLENNIUM FRAMEWORK FOR ACTION
51.
The Biwako Millennium Framework for Action has seven strategies categorized under three
areas of “cooperation and support in pursuance of the Biwako Millennium Framework for Action”,
namely “subregional cooperation and collaboration”, “regional collaboration” and “interregional
collaboration”. The following are additional strategies to reinforce the implementation of the Biwako
Millennium Framework for Action targets.
Strategy 26
52.
Together with such partners as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations,
the International Labour Organization, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human
Rights, the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the World Health Organization and relevant
funds, agencies and other entities within the United Nations system, ESCAP should enhance inter-
agency coordination to implement the Biwako Millennium Framework for Action and Biwako Plus Five
effectively.
Strategy 27
53.
Governments and international organizations are encouraged to enhance subregional
cooperation and collaboration through their involvement in subregional governmental organizations and
through regional programmes and projects, such as the United Nations Special Programme for the
Economies of Central Asia. Collaboration with regional and subregional disability-related organizations,
projects and activities, such as the Asia-Pacific Development Centre on Disability, the Asia and Pacific
Disability Forum and the Pacific Islands Forum, should be encouraged.
Strategy 28
54.
In support of the effective implementation of the Biwako Millennium Framework for Action
and Biwako Plus Five, ESCAP is encouraged to develop knowledge networks and disseminate and
exchange information throughout the region concerning good practices in cooperation with
stakeholders, including civil society organizations and the private sector, and in partnership with
international and regional forums, such as the Asia-Pacific Development Centre on Disability, the
Pacific Islands Forum and the Asia and Pacific Disability Forum.
VI. ENHANCING EFFECTIVE MONITORING AND REVIEW
55.
A review of the implementation of the Biwako Millennium Framework for Action and Biwako
Plus Five should be conducted at the end of the Decade, in 2012, at the regional, subregional and
national levels.
. . . . .