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A new campaign and petition calling on the Zimbabwe Government to make lasting commitments to people with disabilities were launched last month ahead of the second Global Disability Summit.
The Summit will be held in February 2022 in Norway, to address the global needs of people with disabilities and ensure they are integrated into policies and laws. It is the world’s biggest gathering of people with disabilities, governments, international agencies, charities, and business leaders, and is a vital opportunity for governments and organisations everywhere to implement the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) and the African Charter on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Protocol.
The ‘Equal World’ campaign, run by NGO Sightsavers, along with the National Association of Societies for the Care of the Handicapped (NASCOH), is counting down to the pivotal event and appealing for the government to take advantage of the opportunity by attending and making strong commitments.
Sightsavers’ Senior Programme Manager, Peter Bare has said, “The Global Disability Summit is a huge opportunity for governments like Zimbabwe to address inequality and promote disability rights. Many people with disabilities around the world face the daily denial of their human rights. The COVID -19 pandemic has increased this inequality, particularly for women and girls with disabilities.”
Peter Bare added, “We are calling on the government to attend the summit with high-level representation and to make ambitious, properly financed commitments that will result in real change. To achieve this, ministers must engage with people with disabilities and their representative organisations ahead of and during the summit.”
The first Global Disability Summit in 2018 was a pivotal moment for disability rights globally, and a demonstration of political leadership, bringing attention to disability on the global stage.
Despite this progress, many of its commitments still need to be met and financed to ensure that the rights of people with disabilities, especially from marginalised groups, are protected and enforced worldwide.
Henry Masaya, the Acting Executive Director of NASCOH, says, “Next year’s summit is an opportunity for the government to make their actions speak louder than their words and commit to securing disability rights. That is what our Equal World campaign is calling for. We look forward to working with the Government to ensure that the voices of people with disabilities are heard through consultations and workshops over the coming weeks and months ahead of the Summit.”
The Global Disability Summit will be held on February 15-17, 2022, and is hosted by the governments of Norway and Ghana, and the International Disability Alliance.
To join the Equal World campaign, sign their global petition and call for action on disability rights, please visit: www.sightsavers.org/actionsspeaklouder