Zimbabwe in 2013 ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). In a nutshell the UNCRPD is an international treaty that seeks to promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities, and to promote respect for their inherent dignity.
While the UNCRPD has done wonders in terms of promoting disability rights on a global scale it has some shortcomings that are based on it’s contextuality. To address this shortcoming the African Protocol on Disability was adopted in January 2018. Below are some key elements of the A.D.P:
It’s Purpose: Is to promote, protect and ensure the full enjoyment of all human and people’s rights by all people with disabilities, and to ensure respect for their inherent dignity.
Harmful Practices: The A.D.P explicitly prohibits harmful practices against people with disabilities. One such practice it bans is witchcraft which is practiced against people with disabilities.
Accessibility: This clause takes into cognizance accessibility from an urban as well as a rural setting. It implores state parties to ensure that universal accessibility must be applicable in both rural and urban settings.
Right to Adequate Standard of Living: The protocol mandates state parties to ensure that people with disabilities are afforded a decent standard of living. This includes; adequate food supplies, access to safe drinking water, housing, sanitation and clothing. It also goes on to lobby for continuous improvement of these standards of living.
Youth with Disabilities: This protocol also recognizes the rights of youth with disabilities. It implores state parties to ensure that youth with disabilities are afforded the same human and people rights as youth without disabilities.
To date only 11 out of 55 African countries have signed this protocol. Sadly Zimbabwe is yet to sign it. Thankfully a petition to gently remind government to sign this protocol was recently launched by NASCOH and Deaf Zimbabwe Trust with support from Sightsavers. Please may you add your voice to this worthy cause by signing this petition through the link below:
https://campaigning.sightsavers.org/adp-zimbabwe/
Follow the link below to read the full African Disability Protocol:
#Disabilityrightszw
#africandisabilityprotocol
#sightsaverszw
#domore