DILI, 05 august 2022 (TATOLI)- Director of Ra’es Hadomi Timor Oan (RHTO), Joãozito dos Santos, urges the Government of Timor – Leste, to accelerate the registration of a resolution on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (PwD) and Accession to the Optional Protocol on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at the United Nations (UN).
The resolution of the convention on the rights of Persons with Disabilities was approved by the DPR RI on June 12, 2022, with 41 votes in favor, zero against, and abstention, and the resolution on the Accession to the Optional Protocol on the rights of persons with disabilities were approved with 41 votes of in favor, zero against and abstention.
“The Government and National Parliament have committed to ratify the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Timor-Leste, based on law no. 16/5/4A and law no. 17/5/4B, therefore the Government should accelerate registration at the UN level which aims to record in the UN database for evaluation every four years,” Director of RHTO, Joãozito dos Santos, told TATOLI in Taibesi, Dili, this Friday.
According to Santos, the approval of the UN convention on the rights of persons with disabilities needs to be registered at the UN level, saying all action plans for persons with disabilities in Timor – Leste will be reported by the Government of Timor – Leste, at the UN Conference every four years.
“The United Nations Commission on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at the United Nations will be aware of the Government’s plans and implementation programs for persons with disabilities in Timor-Leste,”
He added that, with the ratification of the UN Convention on the resolution, the Government of Timor-Leste will encourage all Ministries to prioritize the rights of persons with disabilities by allocating a budget to pay attention to the fate of persons with disabilities inclusively in Timor – Leste.
At the same time, Santon expressed his appreciation to the Government of Timor-Leste and the National Parliament for the approval of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Timor-Leste.
“RHTO on behalf of all persons with disabilities including all organizations of persons with disabilities in Timor – Leste would like to thank the Government and the National Parliament for committing to ratify the international convention on the right of PWD, to focus attention on the fate of persons with disabilities nationally and we hope that this ratification will be registered in the UN Convention for considered,” he said.
So far the Convention follows decades of work by the United Nations to change attitudes and approaches towards persons with disabilities.
A new movement is needed from viewing persons with disabilities as “objects” of charity, medical care, and social protection to viewing persons with disabilities as “subjects” with rights, capable of claiming these rights and making decisions in their favor to live by free and informed consent and be an active member of society.
The Convention is intended as a human rights instrument with an explicit social development dimension. It adopts a broad categorization of persons with disabilities and reaffirms that all persons with disabilities should enjoy all human rights and fundamental freedoms.
It describes and qualifies how all categories of rights apply to persons with disabilities and identifies areas where adaptations must be made for persons with disabilities to effectively exercise their rights and areas where their rights have been violated, and where protection of rights should be strengthened.
Journalist : Camilio de Sousa
Editor : Nelia Borges
