Participants in an exchange of views held in the Barisal city on Friday urged all to be active in support of the implementation of UN charter for people with disabilities.
The programme was jointly organised by the Association for Research, Development and Rights Implementation of Disabled and the Mobilisation for Alternative Programme, voluntary organisations of the region.
The discussants, presenting overview of the human rights, norms and standards relating to people with disabilities at the national level, described their fundamental human rights.
They said the rights of individuals with disabilities are grounded in a human rights framework based on the United Nations charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, international covenants on human rights and related human rights instruments.
They agreed that people with disabilities are entitled to exercise their civil, political, social, economic and cultural rights on an equal basis with others under all the international treaties and Bangladesh should follow and implement that.
Full participation of the people with disabilities benefits society as their individual contributions enrich all spheres of life and this is an integral part of individual’s and society’s well-being and progress for a society for all – with or without disabilities, they acknowledged.
The rights of individuals with disabilities should be addressed more generally throughout the development of the national human rights law.
The principle of the right to equality, addressed throughout the normative standards set out by the international human rights instruments, is the foundation of the rights of individuals with disabilities and so should be implemented in national level.
They called upon the community to combat poverty and social exclusion and stated that societies should involve all citizens as stakeholders to promote and protect the rights and dignity of people with disabilities, based on the work done in the field of human rights and social development.
Rights activist Syed Habibur Rahman presided over the programme held at Caritas Auditorium.
-With New Age input
