Workshop on UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and consultation of the SAHRC Disability Convention Toolkit for Awareness Raising and Training

People with disabilities remain amongst the most marginalised in South Africa. They are still viewed as “charity cases” and “objects” of welfare or medical treatment rather than “holders” of rights, despite parliament passing comprehensive legislation aimed at advancing the rights of persons with disabilities and, the country being a signatory to international human rights frameworks such as the new UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities aimed at eliminating discrimination against disabled people.

The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), and other stakeholders from national government departments, disabled person’s organisations, labour and business, will be engaged in a two-day workshop on the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, on Thursday 6^th – Friday 7^th December 2007, in Cape Town.

International expert on disability rights and one of the drafters of the UN Convention, Professor Michael Stein, will be introducing the UN Convention at the workshop.

The aims of the workshop are to Africanize the UN Convention, popularise the SAHRC Disability Convention Toolkit for Awareness Raising and Training and explore the opportunities that Equality Courts present in the elimination of discrimination against persons with disabilities.

 The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is the response of the international community to the long history of discrimination, exclusion and dehumanisation of persons with disabilities. The Convention covers many areas where persons with disabilities have been discriminated against including access to justice; participation in political and public life; education; employment; freedom from torture; exploitation and violence, as well as freedom of movement.

SAHRC has created the SAHRC Disability Convention Toolkit for Awareness Raising and Training in order to raise awareness of the Convention and the rights of persons with disabilities.  The SAHRC toolkit is a web-based resource that can be used for educational purposes. It comprises facilitator’s presentations to teachers, business and caregivers on the UN Convention, as well as resources on South African and international law, and it will gradually evolve to include other practical implications of the Convention for specific sectors.

It estimated that over 650 million people around the world live with disabilities. An estimated 20% of the world’s poorest people are those with disabilities; 90% of children with disabilities in developing countries do not attend school; an estimated 30% of the world’s street children live with disabilities; and the literacy rate for adults with disabilities is as low as 3 percent.

This workshop will take place at: UCT Business School of Graduates Breakwater Lodge, from 09:00 until 16:30 on Thursday and from 08:30 until 12:25 on Friday.

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Enquiries: Ms Judith Cohen, SAHRC Head Parliamentary Liaison and Legislation Monitoring on 083 284 1115