This year will most certainly go down in history as a turning point, with people in countries all over the world taking to the streets in the hope of making their voices heard. From the streets of Cairo to New York’s Wall Street, people of all nationalities and religions were inspired by each other to struggle for change and to seek greater justice. The popular demonstrations in North Africa and the Middle East which came to be known as the Arab Spring brought out millions of citizens, young and old, to protest against the inequality in their society and to clamour for greater democracy, political freedom and more representative governments.
With persons with disabilities making up roughly one-tenth of the world’s population, it is important more than ever before to ensure their equality with the rest of their communities, by helping them to integrate fully into society and thus provide them with a better quality of life. Barriers caused by disabilities are one of the most important causes of social isolation facing people in this situation every day.
Article 19 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability is a clear beacon of hope for promoting equality for persons with disabilities, as it lists three fundamental rights in this regard: We choose where and whom to live with, in the same way as the majority of people without disability do; We should not be forced to live in places such as institutions; We are to be granted access to a variety of services in residential homes, or other support services within the community.
In the Mediterranean region a few organisations are working to ensure the upholding of these three fundamental rights. These organisations are also working to provide people with disabilities equal opportunities and ensure the right circumstances exist to facilitate their daily tasks.
The Italian NGO Handy Cup, the Maltese foundation Inspire and the international NGO No Peace Without Justice held an important conference in Malta last month that brought together all countries from the southern shores of the Mediterranean in order to focus on persons with disabilities, especially youth. Arab ambassadors in Malta were happy to join the Italian Embassy in promoting the conference and help make it a success.
As happened in the case of the young people who contributed so much to the Arab Spring, this conference saw a great unity of purpose between disabled youth from Mediterranean countries who came together to share their experiences as well as seek assistance in combating the hardships they have had to cope with.
The conference, for which the organisers will be receiving a well-deserved prize by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean, highlighted the fact that democracy was not only a catchphrase used to lean upon during political elections but rather that it lies in being “different but equal” allowing for inclusion and equal participation for disabled and able-bodied alike.
The youth of the Arab Spring were realising that they were no longer masters of their own lives, as their fate was being predetermined by corrupt governments. This feeling is often reflected in the disabled community, since they feel that their free will and right of decision is infringed upon because of their condition, over which they have no control.
Malta, as well as many other Mediterranean countries, are moving down the right path towards granting the necessary freedoms and rights to people with disabilities; however, more must be done for our societies to be one of genuine diversity. In these hard economic times, budget cuts may prevent governments from spending sufficiently to ensure that the three basic rights for the disabled mentioned earlier are fully implemented. So it is essential that governments do their best to allocate a sufficient portion of their budgets for this purpose.
Moreover as countries swept up in the Arab Spring are heading towards a democratic government based on the values of justice and liberty founded upon new constitutions and the rule of law, they may take their cue from the way Malta facilitates disabled people’s voting rights and also reform the way they are treated by society.
As these countries turn a new page in their history with free and fair elections, they must ensure the inclusion of this integral minority by seeing to it that polling booths are suitably equipped and adapted to facilitate voting by persons with disabilities. While this may seem to be little to ask for, it is an initial step to ensure that the voice of this minority is fully heard.
After the revolution of January 25, Egypt started to work on providing a legal remedy for the violation of the rights of disabled persons and their right to participate in the policy-making process regarding education, employment, independent living and housing environment, income security, proper medical care and access to information, in other words, the rights of the disabled to play a role in state affairs and social life, and the importance of hearing their voice when laws, regulations and policies concerning them are made.
“Different but equal” may be a succinct statement but it is powerful in delivering the essence of what democracy should really mean. Disabled people are part of us and we are part of them and our governments can make their legacy if they did their best to integrate them in the society.
Mr Elhabashy is Ambassador of Egypt and Mr Marras is the Ambassador of Italy.