By Lyson Mapanga
Players in the disability sector have asked the Malawi Government to expedite ratification of the African Disability Protocol (ADP), saying this will help promote and protect the rights of persons with disabilities.
Speaking during the symposium organised by Federation of Disability Organizations in Malawi (FEDOMA) in conjunction with University of Malawi (UNIMA) Disability Rights Clinic, President of the Disability Clinic, Joseph Chiona, expressed the need by the government to speed up ratification of the ADP.
“These international treaties are significant in fostering the rights of our people. It is therefore the government’s obligation to ensure it abides by the international covenants like this ADB,” Chiona lamented.
He then asked for the collaborative efforts towards achieving rights of persons with disabilities in the country.
Sharing the same sentiments, Jean Alih, one of the panelists at the symposium, said states should perceive disability as a human rights issue.
“Let’s abandon the medical and charity model which are very common in Africa and take on board the human rights approach in the African context”, she said.
Executive Director for FEDOMA, Simon Munde, said that there is need to have the protocol ratified as the protocol is one of the ways in which issues of Human Rights are owned and advanced by Africans themselves.
“This is a great opportunity for us as Africans with disabilities to enjoy disability rights to the fullest as the protocol has been developed based on unique disability needs and experiences to our continent,” Munde said.
Recently, John Kabaghe, Spokesperson in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that the country is not failing to ratify the ADP instead, it is subjecting the instrument to internal procedures in the run up to ratification, since such a process cannot be done haphazardly.
He said that the process requires thorough and complete consultations and clearance to ensure that all stakeholders are able to comply with the obligations, both legal and financial, of any such an international legal instrument.
The symposium was under the theme; ” Promoting Disability Rights in an African and Malawian Context” with financial support from Sight Savers International through an Equal Campaign.
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