| James Kon |
COUNCIL for the Welfare of Persons with Different Abilities (MKOKU) Vice President Malai Haji Abdullah bin Malai Haji Othman yesterday shared vital information on the ASEAN Disability Forum (ADF) Masterplan and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) with MKOKU members at the Youth Centre in the capital.
This comes following his attendance at the 7th Meeting of the Task Force on the Mainstreaming of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in the ASEAN Community held in Jakarta on July 6,
The shared information is important to MKOKU members as they prepare to attend the ASEAN Disability Forum conference in Singapore at the end of the year.
Each special needs association under the MKOKU will send two representatives to the conference.
Also attending the presentation was MKOKU President Dato Paduka Haji Mohd Alimin bin Haji Abdul Wahab.
Malai Haji Abdullah highlighted that the ASEAN Disability Forum proposed to establish a joint working group on persons with disabilities (JWPD) consisting of representatives from all ASEAN member states, with the main task of supporting the implementation of the Masterplan 2025 on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in ASEAN.
The working group should provide support and coordination at the regional level, and also focus on the implementation of the Masterplan at the national level.
He said, “JWPD is mandated to provide recommendations and advisory assistance to relevant ASEAN sectoral bodies and ASEAN member states regarding the implementation of the Masterplan therein referring to United Nations Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) and other reports from the United Nations. It is also to provide support and assistance with regard to the implementation of the Masterplan in ASEAN on the national level.”
The JWPD will be a mechanism for the participation of organisation of Person with Disabled and the Implementer of Enabling Masterplan. Members should be independent and impartial from government and business sectors. They will also need to have extensive expertise on human rights CRPD and disability issues.
He pointed out that under the Sustainable Development Goals; six of the 17 goals also involved Persons with Disabilities.
The vice president also shared a total of 39 articles under the CRPD.
To further understand the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR), the MKOKU is looking to host a youth debate in September this year.
Meanwhile, Dato Paduka Haji Mohd Alimin noted that “the idea is to raise members’ knowledge by having them attend overseas conference and meetings. This is part of the learning process. I hope that each member is committed to engaging themselves to learn more about the ADF Masterplan and the CRPD.”