Gov’t Not Reluctant To Ratify UN Disability Convention, Others

EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE

The government of Ghana has stated that it is not reluctant to ratify international human rights instruments that recognise the rights of Persons With Disability (PWDs).

It added that although Ghana has not ratified the UN convention on the rights of Persons with Disability, “plans are underway to ensure that the country ratifies and/or adopts this convention and its optional protocol.”

Giving this assurance on Monday at a workshop on mainstreaming disability issues in water, sanitation and hygiene services in Accra, the Minister for Employment and Social Welfare, Hon. Enoch Tei Mensah, said “As one of the only international instruments that emphasises on international development cooperation through the transfer of technical assistance, technological and experience sharing, as well as economic assistance, government will definitely be interested, since it will enhance the speedy implementation of the Disability Act.”

The workshop, which was the first of its kind to be held in the country, was organised by the National Council on Persons with Disability (NCPD), with the support of WaterAid Ghana, an international non-governmental organisation and attracted over 50 stakeholder participants.

The Minister said that there was the need to engender efforts to ensure that persons with disability are part of development, bemoaning that in spite of the diversity of their population, persons with disability are still underrepresented in development efforts, which is why the problems they face today must be a concern for all.

Reiterating government’s commitment to ensuring that persons living with disability do not encounter challenges of having to live at the margins of human existence, the Minister said the problems of persons with disability are human rights issues.

He explained that, that was the reason for the enactment of the Persons with Disability Act by Parliament in 2006, Act 715, to provide a legal framework to mainstream disability issues in Ghana.

“The Act is a legal response to the constitutional provision contained in article 29 of the constitution of Ghana,” he stressed.

Hon. E. T. Mensah added that it was to further demonstrate government’s commitment that President Mills inaugurated the National Council on Persons with Disability, to play a lead role towards implementing the provisions contained in the Persons With Disability Act, 2006 (Act 715).

He asserted that for government to achieve the objective of ensuring an all-inclusive society, there is the need for collaboration with stakeholders like non-governmental organisations and all other agencies whose services directly affect persons with disability, as government alone cannot provide the needed enthusiasm for disability mainstreaming in Ghana.

“Mainstreaming cannot take place until development organisations incorporate issues of disability in their policy frameworks or development planning to ensure that PWDs become active participants of development processes. In doing so, the services provided by development organisations should be accessible to persons with disabilities,” he stated.

Mr. E. T. Mensah stressed that even though the availability of WASH services answers Millennium goal seven of ensuring environmental sustainability “we cannot claim to be working towards achieving this goal if these services are not accessible to all persons.”

“It is important that when designing these services such as public toilets and mechanised boreholes, issues of disability are integrated into the designs, otherwise we will be marginalising PWDs and defeating the purpose of holistic development, which is the emphasis of development organisations like those in WASH services,” he emphasised.

He urged organisations not to see themselves as doing a favour to PWDs by integrating disability issues into their development planning, but instead see difficulties for PWDs accessing the services as a development lapse which needs to be addressed.