Reality of Disability in Palestine There is many reasons and factors for disability in Palestine like other countries include sicknesses, genetics as well as inbreeding. We also have 25,000 persons with a disability because of the Israeli army direct action and the physical torture in prisons in addition to the continuous use of tear gas against demonstrators causing large numbers of disabilities and even its effecting pregnant women which resulting abnormalities of fetuses and newborns. The issue of the rights of persons with disabilities centered on the partial application of the “law of the rights of persons with disabilities No. 4 of 1999” which depends on the understanding and response of each Ministry as we have a real absence of the institutional work in the application of the related laws according to timetables and allocation of budgets for this purpose. Inclusive education is still limited to certain disabilities without others. We have about 113 thousand persons with disability in the Palestinian territories at least 2.7% of the total population and the percentage of disability among males 2.9% vs. 2.5% between females. The highest rate of disability is in Jenin governorate 4.1% and the lowest in Jerusalem governorate1.4% while that according to the extended definition of disability “up to 300,000 persons representing 7.4%.Physical disability is the most prevalent among disabilities comprising 49% of the total number. The illiteracy rate among people with disabilities ranging from 48% to 53%, and 22.2% persons with disabilities have left their education due to environmental constraints as well as inability of teachers to deal with students with disabilities which requires a real and serious actions in order to change this fact. Environmental facilities has been a little upgraded but there are many government buildings newly constructed in addition to the old buildings, colleges and universities are still inaccessible. Some buildings which is very essential for the lives of persons with disabilities as Health Directorates, Directorates of Social Affairs and courts With regard to the accessibility of transportation 76.4% of persons with disabilities do not use public transport because of the lack of accessibility. Also between cities drivers avoids to transfer persons with physical disability in particular(Specially Wheelchair Users) Regarding Public Services 74% of persons with physical disability are suffering the most to attain these services In the matter of employment despite of the existence of an explicit provision in the law that assures the obligation to be 5% at least of the employees in the public and private sectors of persons with disabilities, the estimated rate of unemployment among persons with disabilities more than 60% while employment in the government sector is still below 3%, with regard to the private sector did not achieve any step in this direction until the moment In the field of Rehabilitation 80% of rehabilitation services are still provided directly by the institutions of civil society where government institutions provides 20% but about 17% are purchased from civil society,and only 3% provided directly. This is the real situation for the rest issues related to Civil Rights, Political Participation and Social Life;it still needs hard collective efforts. As the matter of rehabilitation methods and the mechanisms used to provide persons with disabilities, we remark a simple progress in this area and it still needs to be based on human rights. As for the distribution of rehabilitation services physical disability receive the largest share while intellectual disability suffer from lack of services, especially after the age of 16 years, also people with hearing disabilities lack to education beyond the ninth grade with a relative concentration to the rehabilitation services in the central region and in the main cities in particular. The movement of persons with disabilities and its DPOs has achieved a qualitative shift in the march of Persons with Disabilities and they are able to influence public policy and societal attitudes which leads to the emergence of more institutions for persons with disabilities. DPOs still do not have enough power to make radical changes in the lives of persons with disabilities, and to this day has not contained in the budgets of successive governments items of special application of the law the Rights of Persons with Disabilities No. 4/99. Institutions of persons with disabilities are still working individually. each institution has its own policy and work within its own agenda consistent with the sources of funding The awareness among persons with disabilities and their faith in joint work is still weak, where the majority of associate organizations of persons with disabilities is linked basically to obtain a particular service and this affiliation ends with a check or service ends Majority of DPOs lack access to funding sources and hard to be able to build long-term strategic plans able to intervene effectively and strategically in the formulation of local national policies. The issues of Networking and Coordination at local and national level is totally absent of policy coordination at the national level which reflects at ll levels where is lack of joint activities. In recent years emerged coordinating committees or Commissions and advocacy Committees are joining to work at the provincial level, but these entities are activated only in specific events and activities, so we cannot say it as a co-coordinating bodies or networks capable of advancement of persons with disabilities. In the current year and as a result of great work of activists in disability rights movement has established a network of a numerous DPOs disabilities under the name of (Raise Your Voice Forum of DPOs in Palestine) ,the mission of this forum is to enhance coordination between DPOs in order to contribute and to develop common policies and comprehensive methodology to deal with issues of persons with disabilities and to work on the priorities for effective actions, and also to lobby on government and non-government organizations for full and immediate implementation of related laws. This forum will work and struggle to seek joint projects with other organizations worldwide . In the matter of youth with disabilities, might be the Ministry of Youth and Sports have taken some initiatives to address this issue but there is still a large gap in youth sector, youth work and their integration in this area. In conclusion, we are in need to work together to develop a reality of PWDs and to create positive trends in the society towards persons with disabilities, as well as make it as an important part of general policies of the government and various institutions. For us “Disabled Without Borders Organization /Palestine” that we are proud of being the only DPO in Palestine, which advocates and defends the issue of prisoners with disabilities in Israeli jails, where we have 85 prisoners with different disabilities. we have participated in the 23rd Session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva last June for this regard. We believe that the way ahead is still long and hard and we must work seriously as a team to approach our rights. What we benefited and what we hope from our visit to the United States ? We have visited many relevant institutions in several states, which allowed us the opportunity to see the work flow in these institutions and we seek to build a network of relationships with them . What draw our attention during this visit ? 1. The important thing in US also is the strong attention and full respect of human rights of PWDs and their dignity . 2. Laws are strictly applied and it is above everyone and not just ink on paper. 3. Health insurance for people with disabilities in the United States includes assistance tools and this is what we are seeking here 4. The use of modern technology in the diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation and assistance tools 5. Accessibility for all disabilities in all places we have visited and this is not available in our country. We hope to develop our work relations with these organization and other institutions in order to exchange experiences and to take advantage of all positive practices. We hope financial support and partnership relations for our organizations with US relevant organizations in order to promote and protect rights of PWDs in Palestine but we are suffering from scarcity of funds which is a major obstacle in the progress of our work. Thank you Lawyer / Mohammed Barakat Chairman of Disabled Without Borders Organization / Palestinian
Posted on: Mon, 26 Aug 2013 13:06:28 +0000
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