Greetings friends and colleagues:

 

It occurred to me you might be interested that the United Nations has underway a Treaty to support and uphold the human rights and dignity of persons with disabilities (please write re this freely), and in attendance at meetings I was pleased and honored to be among those interviewed, here part of a multi-topic Bulletin, see below.  With each day how each of us would describe and discuss pain varies as we learn more from others; feel free to add. :) LDMF.

 

PS: The interview is not verbatim, it is an interviewer's summary much appreciated).

 

PPS: Concentration on this subject in this context should be read to convey more general concerns regarding people with medical and other handicaps, and any other marginalizing  (they should not be!) conditions;  participation in these activities primarily involves strong interest in human rights for all, handicapped or otherwise, on the part of all those attending.

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Meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee, 29 July - 9 August 2002 : NGO Bulletins : Disability Negotiations Bulletin #7 August 7, 2002 Today's Weather Forecast Mostly sunny High: 81º F/ 29ºC  Low: 62º F/23ºC Exchange Rate 10 US Dollars Norwegian Kroner (NOK) = 77.09 Canadian Dollar (CAD) = 15.807 Chilean Peso (CLP) = 7,010.8 South African Rand (ZAR) = 104.35 Ad Hoc Committee Meeting Today's Schedule: To follow Mental Disability Rights International's release of Kosovo report as further described below. Disability Caucus Conference Room D 10am  - 1pm & 3pm - 6pm Ad Hoc Committee Meeting Conference Room 4 2:30 pm NGO Briefing Chairman Conference Room D Thanks to the following organizations for providing translations: French Disabled Peoples’ Int’l Japanese Japan Council on Disability Spanish Mexico Disability Office Inter-American Institute on Disability Maria Veronica Reina Emmanuelle Gutierrez INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Open Letter to the Delegates Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Report on Mental Disability Rights in Kosovo Indigenous Persons with Disabilities Rehabilitation International (RI) Spotlight: Chronic Pain Awareness Open Letter to the Delegates The constructive tone and spirit of discussions in the session on Tuesday, August 6, is a welcome continuation of a trend seen over the past few days here at the Ad Hoc Committee meetings. NGOs wish to acknowledge the efforts on the part of several delegations to set this tone and, moreover, their efforts to offer substantive contributions aimed at engaging the process more fruitfully here at this meeting, and in meetings yet to come. Particular reference is warranted to the discourse relating to future sessions of the Ad Hoc Committee. Delegations and NGOs alike have expressed the wish that future meetings will benefit from participation by relevant UN human rights bodies as well as intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations and national disability/human rights institutions. NGOs would encourage international human rights organizations, such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, among others to take their rightful place at the table. One week ago, we seemed to be on the edge of a catastrophic disintegration of discussions-from which we made a truly remarkable recovery! We find ourselves now at another pivotal moment when we are faced with the challenge of developing a set of recommendations to the General Assembly that will ensure the continuation of this process in a progressive and positive direction. NGOs urge delegations to commit themselves to listening carefully to the points raised by colleagues, carefully considering the options presented and making decisions in the best interests of the ultimate goal: a quality treaty on the human rights of people with disabilities. Return to top Spotlight on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: International Human Rights Law Recognizes that All People Have a Right to Rest, to Leisure Time, and to Engage in Recreation and Sports People with disabilities often face discrimination both in their receipt of leisure time and also in terms of their access to and participation in recreational activities. In some cases, this discrimination manifests itself in a complete denial of access to these activities, as in cases of people with physical, sensory or mental disabilities living in institutions which deny such rights. Disability Awareness in Action and Mental Disability Rights International have reported cases of people with mental disabilities being warehoused in barren institutions and never taken out of doors or otherwise provided with meaningful activities and stimulation to nurture their person and development. In many cases, access to the out doors is very restricted or completely denied, with people being held indoors often tethered or otherwise restrained in their bed or a chair. Children with disabilities face widespread exclusion in terms of their participation in tourism, recreation and sporting activities. In countries throughout the world general social attitudes prevail in which disabled children are viewed with shame and suspicion and parents react by keeping them isolated at home. In many cases, there is a complete lack of understanding about how to include children with disabilities in sport and recreational activities. Saiid, 10 years old, Morocco: "I'd like to play football outside the house but the others don't let me play with them. They say that I'll hurt myself and my parents also don't let me. I even have been told that I am too ill to do the things that other kids do." Tourist authorities, travel agencies, hotels and resorts, national parks and recreational centers and others involved in the planning and provision of recreations opportunities in many cases practice overt forms of discrimination against people with disabilities. In one German court case, plaintiff succeeded in a breach of contract claim against a travel agency on the basis that her holiday was spoiled by the presence of disabled people in the hotel restaurant facility. Return to top Report Released this Morning by Mental Disability Rights International A new report by Mental Disability Rights International (MDRI), Not On the Agenda: Human Rights of People with Mental Disabilities in Kosovo, documents and treatment of residents at the main psychiatric care facilities in Kosovo. The report, based on more than 100 interviews with international and Kosovar staff and patients, chronicles incidents of violence, sexual abuse and neglect at each facility. According to Human Rights Watch Executive Director, Kenneth Roth: "Respect for international standards must begin with the guardian of those standards: the United Nations. But as MDRI shows, UN operations in Kosovo have fallen short of the mark. They have consigned people unnecessarily to lifetime institutionalization, and countenanced conditions of confinement that are abusive and inhumane. We must protect and advance the human rights of this vulnerable population." For copies of the report, Not On the Agenda: Human Rights of People with Mental Disabilities in Kosovo, please contact Mental Disability Rights International, 1156 15th St. NW, Suite 1001, Washington DC 20005. www.MDRL.org Return to top Indigenous Persons with Disabilities The Canadian Publication "First Nations Persons with Disabilities: Dismantling the Roadblocks" (Dec 1997), tells the story of "Margaret", a First Nations woman with a disability which causes her to slur her speech and to walk with an unsteady gait. On a business trip, Margaret was refused a hotel room. Specifically, the desk clerk told her the "hotel did not have to provide services to drunken Indians." When Margaret tried to explain her disability, the clerk became angry and shouted at her to leave. Margaret, shaken and humiliated, and concerned that she would receive the same treatment at the next hotel, decided to return home. Already faced with the discrimination issues that non-indigenous persons with disabilities encounter, the situation of indigenous persons with disabilities can be significantly worse. Reasons cited included: The higher rate of disability among indigenous persons, The often enormous jurisdictional barriers, which must be overcome in order to obtain even the most basic services, and; The geographic isolation of many aboriginal communities. Some indigenous communities have only inadequate, unsafe housing; a lack of potable water, no sewage system; low education, and few employment opportunities. Clearly these conditions do little to promote healthy bodies and minds. They serve, instead, to increase the incidence of debilitating conditions and disability. Yet, when indigenous persons are forced to leave their communities and families to seek crucial services unavailable to them at home they must leave behind critical cultural and spiritual activities. In so doing, those who are forced to leave in search of essential, disability-related supports often find themselves left feeling along and frustrated. Indigenous persons frequently face discrimination because of race and ancestry. Histories of colonialism and paternalism have combined in a legacy of tremendous social and economic hardship, loss and land and loss of control of living conditions. Indigenous persons have witnessed the erosion of their culture, suppression of their beliefs and spirituality. When one adds disability to such a mixture, a very grim picture emerges. Return to top A Profile of Rehabilitation International Founded in 1922, Rehabilitation International (RI) celebrates its 80th anniversary in 2002. RI is a federation of national and international organizations and agencies. It develops and promotes initiatives to protect the rights of people with disabilities, to improve rehabilitation and other services for disabled people and their families, and to increase international collaboration towards these objectives. RI also advocates for policies and legislation recognizing the rights of people with disabilities and their families. RI is currently composed of more than 200 member organizations in 80 nations, in all of the world's regions. RI maintains official relations with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), certain UN specialized agencies, the Organization of American States, the European Union, the Council of Europe and others. For more information see the RI website at www.rehab-international.org Return to top SPOTLIGHT ON CHRONIC PAIN AWARENESS Linda Misek-Falkoff, Speaker of the National Disability party and Chronic Pain Caucus Chair, shares the importance of increasing awareness about the "invisible disability" of chronic pain. According to Dr. Misek-Falkoff, "chronic pain is a disability indeed both deeply and broadly serious in itself, suffered worldwide and by individuals across all populations, and contributing to multiple disabilities of many sorts and making them worse." People with chronic pain often suffer from marginalization, stigmatization and humiliation. Dr. Misek-Falkoff feels it is vitally important to raise awareness of this issue because the biggest barrier for people with chronic pain is getting the public to accept their disability even if it remains invisible to others. Return to top This Bulletin is supported by the following group of non-governmental organizations, who are committed to the development of a strong and effective international convention on the human rights of people with disabilities and a process for its development that is transparent, inclusive and participatory. If your organization would like to add its name to this group, please contact Elaine Belmear at ebelmear@.... If you have suggestions for the Bulletin, please contact a member of the Publication Staff. American Association of People with Disabilities American Council of the Blind Center for International Rehabilitation China Disabled Persons' Federation Council of Canadians with Disabilities Disability Awareness in Action Disabled Peoples' International European Disability Forum Inclusion International Inter-American Institute on Disability Israeli Association Against Psychiatric Assault Japanese Federation of the Deaf Landmine Survivors Network Mental Disability Rights International Not Dead Yet North Saskatchewan Independent Living Centre Inc. Rehabilitation International People Who Support Coalition International United States International Council on Disabilities World Blind Union World Federation of the Deaf World Federation of the Deafblind World Federation of Mental Health World Institute on Disability World Network of Users and Survivors of Psychiatry Publication staff: Joelle Balfe, Campaign Development Group, USA Elaine Belmear, Landmine Survivors Network, USA Rosangela Berman-Bieler, Inter-American Institute on Disability, Brazil Steven Estey, Disabled Peoples' International, Canada Richard Light, Disability Awareness in Action, UK, (DPI Representative) Janet E. Lord, Landmine Survivors Network, USA Kicki Nordstrom, World Blind Union, Sweden Return to top