The United Nations Organisation (UN) wants to make sure that the rights of disabled people are respected throughout the world. As one of the first signatories of the convention for the protection and promotion of the rights and dignity of the disabled, Mauritius will have to make sure all disabled people have the same rights as other citizens. After two years of hard work on this convention ? under study for a number of years ? the country must now make sure the convention is ratified and given proper follow-up to achieve its objectives.

For the minister of Social Security, Sheila Bappoo, it is a ?huge step ahead? to guarantee ?accessibility to all disabled persons?. The convention in which she took an active part as she attended two preliminary working sessions in New-York during the past year, corresponds to the government?s vision to ?build an inclusive society?.

This convention does not give any additional rights to the disabled but prevents any form of discrimination so that their rights are understood and guaranteed by the State ? the same rights as any other individual. Everyone has the right to vote on paper but how does the state make sure that everyone can go to the polling station and access the voting system. This is the whole idea of this convention: strengthen their rights in key sectors such as freedom of movement, health, education, employment and participation in political life.

Steering committee to work on convention

This is why a steering committee was set up last year under the leadership of minister Bappoo. The idea was to gather members of key ministries but also professionals of the sector and non-governmental organisations to work on every article of the convention. As former adviser and project manager for special education needs at the ministry of Education at that time, Gilberte Chung used to sit on this committee.

?We made some recommendations to the ministry of Social security on education matters ? some of which have already been implemented,? said Gilberte Cheung. Among them, comes the right for every child to access free education. ?While education was supposed to be free and compulsory until the age of 16, many children were placed in specialised organisations, which were fee-paying. Now, all non-governmental organisations registered with the ministry can benefit from grants. Some of them like APEIM have now become 100% free while others only make parents pay the remaining balance.?

The ministry of Education also recommended three modes of admission for the disabled in schools. The admission could be made on an individual basis in the mainstream, in integrated classrooms for the disabled in mainstream schools where they could however take part in the school activities; and in specialised centres for the most affected by their disability. It was also recommended that grants, which children now receive until the age of 15 ? when they become entitled for a pension ? be extended to 20 years old like any other pupil.

Special changes in school infrastructure, like ramps for instance, are also among the recommendations. This is not true only for the education sector. About 45,000 Mauritians will be happy that the state will now be forced to commit to make their lives easier. Although the Building Act was amended to force all buildings to have ramps and proper infrastructure for the disabled, many of them have not abided by the legislation.

The new international convention is expected to change the lives of these 45,000 Mauritians for the better. Now that the minister of Foreign Affairs, Madan Dulloo, signed the convention in New-York last Wednesday ? on behalf of the prime minister, Navin Ramgoolam ? ?we will go through the phase of implementation by introducing new regulations and bills in Parliament,? said a source from the ministry of Social security.

Financial implications

In fact, the next step is the ratification of the convention but the minister warns that ?it might take some time before the country can face all financial and other implications to ratify the convention?. However, to show the government?s goodwill, an action plan launched last December by the steering committee should be ready in December this year. ?This plan of action will be our tool and will act as a moral and political obligation to give the disabled the same rights as other citizens,? declared the minister.

It was initially planned that the ministry would come forward with a Disability Bill but it finally appears that the new regulations to guarantee the basic rights of the disabled may be part of the final draft of the Equal Opportunities Bill. The UN convention expects that the ?party states will not only have to demolish the negative stereotypes and prejudice against the disabled; we also expect them to make their citizens understand that the disabled people have their own capacities and can contribute to social life,? said Asha-Rose Migiro, the vice-secretary general of the UN, last April. Minister Bappoo considers it a ?human rights issue to create the right environment and the special conditions that will enable the disabled to feel fully integrated?.