Seychelles and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities |10 March 2018
‘Much progress made, but still a lot more to achieve’
It has been nine years since Seychelles ratified the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), but we are still far away from achieving the conditions set out by the Convention.
This was the impression given yesterday during a press conference with the Seychelles delegation that appeared before the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Geneva, Switzerland on February 26-27.
The delegation consisted of the Minister for Family Affairs Jeanne Simeon, senior legal officer at the same ministry Michelle Marguerite and the chairperson of the National Council of Disabled Marcus Simeon. Naddy Zialor and Fiona Paulin, both members of the National Council of the Disabled, also formed part of the delegation.
The purpose of their journey to Switzerland was to defend Seychelles’ initial report on the implementation of CRPD and the progress made over the years in advancing the right of persons with disabilities.
During the press conference, Minister Simeon summarised most of the areas discussed in the course of the two-day session with the UN Committee.
“Some of the issues raised included the measures the country is undertaking in regards to people with disabilities and the revisions in legislations to ensure they are being represented, for example in the ‘Town and Country Planning Act’ ,” Minister Simeon stated.
The ease of access to buildings, adequate facilities such as toilets for the disabled, access to transportation, and the ways in which persons with disabilities can obtain information and media access were some of the subjects discussed.
Minister Simeon conveyed that Seychelles is doing particularly well in taking care of its people with disabilities through its effective free health care and social protection systems, free education as well as a specialised school for children with disabilities.
“Seychelles provides people with the necessary tools they need to be able to function as much as they possibly can through the availability of items such as wheelchairs and crutches. Those who are blind are taught Braille and those who cannot hear or speak are taught Seychellois sign language,” the minister explained.
The minister asserted that much progress has been made to many aspects of the law and life, and yet at the same time there are various challenges still facing those who are disabled.
The Ministry of Education, for instance, is still in the process of developing a National Policy on Inclusive Education which Minister Simeon qualified as in the stage of infancy. The development of such a policy was launched in 2015.
Meanwhile the National Policy on Disability, a work which began in 2013, is currently in the phase of revision.
“The document has been in the works for quite a while but we conducted a session in 2017 to review the policy. This is because it dates back to 2013 and we felt that it was necessary for it to be updated and reflect what is happening right now,” Mrs Marguerite said.
Mrs Marguerite affirmed that the National Policy on Disability will be finalised in the first quarter of this year. Also attached with the policy is a national multi-sectoral action plan which is being designed with the hopes to streamline the rights of people of disabilities into various policies and regulations.
One of the greatest barriers for social change however -- especially in regards to Article 19 on independence and inclusivity of people with disabilities—is the elimination of negative mindsets within the population.
This includes the mindsets of those considered normal who continue to view persons with disabilities as needing protection and the mindsets of those with disabilities who continue to remain in the margins.
“We want people with disabilities to fight for their own rights, to make their own voices heard. Not to let others speak for them,” the chairman of the National Council for the Disabled, Mr Simeon, said.
Various programmes and initiatives are in the pipeline to create a more inclusive environment for them such as sensibilisation campaigns, training for carers, health officers, teachers and other relevant stakeholders as well as consultations with the Seychelles Public Transport Corporation (SPTC) and the Attorney General’s office.
“I feel that there has been significant progress made in the short period since Seychelles has ratified the Convention but we are not there yet,” stated Mr Zialor, who is a person with disability.