Bring them into mainstream society
October 1st was Elders Day. Today is International Day for Disaster Reduction; tomorrow is World Standards Day and the day after is the Day of the Visually Handicapped. All these commemorate one issue; the empowering of people with physical disabilities, fostering resilience, ensuring their inclusiveness in society and generally recognising the diversity in human ability.
According to a message from the UN Secretary General, there are one billion people worldwide who live with a disability. He probably refers to those with permanent disability. He points out that it is they who suffer most from disproportionately high levels of disaster related mortality and injury.
In Sri Lanka, the Government has given an unrealistic figure of 10% of the population being 'disabled'; the real figure could be more than double that when one takes those who are temporarily mobility impaired due to sicknesses, injuries, pregnancies etc. Even the Mahinda Chintanaya puts those above the age of 65 as 13.2%, so a guesstimate could put the figure at easily quarter of the population having some physical difficulty in mobility.
A string of public interest cases have gone before the Supreme Court from 2011 onwards. It has now reached a stage where the country's apex court has recognised the rights of people with restricted ability and mobility, and ordered that they be given every opportunity to integrate with society. But the court's orders do not seem to get implemented.
There is a lacuna under the Accessibility Regulations of 2006 of the Protection for the Rights of People with Disability Act No. 28 of 1996. Some 70 per cent of 'public buildings' like hotels, malls, supermarkets, banks, and cinemas come under the private sector where the Supreme Court's writ does not reach, bringing its decisions to naught. The Attorney General is scratching his head wondering how to implement the court's rulings and get the private sector's cooperation to provide proper facilities for those with disabilities.
There is a huge onus on the OPA (Organisation of Professional Associations) and the Chambers of Commerce, the Travel Trade and the Bank unions and others to carry the ball from this point: with CHOGM negotiating the bend, Sri Lanka's international "standards" for the 'disabled' will come under scrutiny.
These are human rights issues that know no race, religion or language; nor are they restricted to any geographical province. They embrace all of humanity across the board and merit our urgent attention, not just lip service on international days dedicated to them. No. 08, Hunupitiya Cross Road, Colombo 02. P.O. Box 1136, Colombo
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