Fulfill Disability Rights

KOMPAS/FERGANATA INDRA RIATMOKO

People with disabilities take part in joint gymnastics in the field of Pandowoharjo Village, Sleman District, Sleman Regency, DI Yogyakarta, Friday (6/12/2019).

Every year on 3 Dec., the world celebrates the International Day of Persons with Disabilities to promote the rights, wellbeing and welfare of disabled people.

It is only proper that the World Health Organization (WHO) is appealing for a global celebration of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD). Around the world, people with disabilities account for estimated 15 percent of the global population. Nationally, although the government and the public have accorded increasingly greater attention to disabled people, several barriers still exist that prevent people with disabilities from enjoying their rights, wellbeing and welfare in the same way as other citizens.

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This is primarily due to the unavailability of accurate and comprehensive national data on the number of disabled people, their disabilities, age, gender and address. Until mid-January 2021, the Social Affairs Ministry had recorded 209,604 people with disabilities. However, the actual number is far larger. Apart from the absence of a special census on persons with disabilities, not all disabled people are willing to participate in the national census and not all census officers are sensitive to the conditions of persons with disabilities.

The majority of disabled people face limited access to health, education, training and decent employment. The International Labour Organization (ILO) notes that persons with disabilities in every country are vulnerable to poverty as calculated by per capita income as well as appropriate standards of living, which cover education, health and living conditions.

KOMPAS/NINO CITRA ANUGRAHANTO

Several prostheses or artificial devices to replace body functions, which were made at the Center for Social Rehabilitation of Persons with Physical Disabilities Prof. Dr. Soeharso, Surakarta City, Central Java, Thursday (30/9/2021).

Women with disabilities are more vulnerable than their male counterparts because they have more limited access to education and skills development. The Covid-19 pandemic has also brought its own impacts on vulnerable individuals, and women have been confronted by physical, psychological and economic violence.

Law No. 8/2016 on Persons with Disabilities guarantees their right to decent jobs, education, health services, political participation, religion, sports, culture and tourism, as well as freedom from discrimination. The rights of people with disabilities are also guaranteed by the Manpower Law, the Public Service Law, the Human Rights Law, the Domestic Violence Law and a number of international conventions that the government has ratified.

First and foremost, the right to education must be fulfilled for each category of disability. Education offers the opportunity to gain proper employment.

Nevertheless, many things remain to be done to fulfill the rights of persons with disabilities. First and foremost, the right to education must be fulfilled for each category of disability. Education offers the opportunity to gain proper employment.

Campaigns should be carried to encourage public acceptance of persons with disabilities, including at the workplace. The ILO notes that excluding disabled people from the workforce will cause an estimated 3-7 percent loss to gross domestic product. Therefore, central and regional governments must ensure that the Disabled Persons Law is implemented to serve the interests of disabled people and the public at large.

(This article was translated by Aris Prawira).