By Bida Elly David
The leadership of the Union of Persons with Disabilities has called on the transitional legislative Assembly to table a motion on the fundamentals for the inclusion of the group into government decision making processes and private sectors.
This development came following concerns raised by the persons with disabilities at all levels citing on-going discrimination in the government, private sectors in South Sudan.
Recently, persons with disabilities raised number of issues regarding lack of inclusivity in stake holding positions within the government sector and other political dimensions.
They said that they have been encountering number of challenges in the aspects of employment opportunities and other trainings of all levels.
Speaking to No.1 Citizen Daily Newspaper yesterday, Robert Lado, the chairperson of the Union for persons with disabilities slammed the parliament for having kept quiet in voicing out motions concerning persons with disabilities across the Country.
He said that the parliament represents the voice of the Citizens driven from various constituencies across the Country but the silence to talk on issues regarding persons with disabilities was a great symbol of underestimating their rights as well as violation of the United Nations convention on the rights of persons with disabilities.
He further pointed out that involving persons with disabilities in decision making processes within the government sector was a constitutional mandate driven from democratic aspect of service delivery.
He added that persons with disabilities are people with intellectual capability with high competency to think, decide and deliver just like any other people within the system.
At the same note, Robert said that in 2015, they tabled the United Nations Laws concerning inclusivity of the persons with disabilities before the parliament for deliberation but they trashed and muted the document.
He said that South Sudan has not signed the document on the United Nations convention on the laws guiding the rights of persons with disabilities thus they made a move to push the parliament to consider it a motion.
“In 2015, we tabled our document before the TNLA for deliberation but they remained quiet. The document was driven from the United Nations convention on the rights of persons with disabilities,”
“I am going to deliver the copies of the UN convention on the rights of persons with disabilities to the parliamentarians especially to the specialized committee of legislation and justice. The UN convention is one of the international treaties that protect the rights and the dignity of the persons with disabilities. South Sudan has not signed and ratified this document,” he said.
He stated that on the 17th –October-2022, they held a meeting with the parliamentarians over the matter and they were directed to write a requisition paper for the document to be deliberated upon.
“We conducted two days workshops that brought in some parliamentarians. The outcome of that workshop resolved the office of the persons with disabilities should have a requisition paper to the line ministries then the speaker of the parliament,”
“One of the chairpersons of the justice committee from the parliament requested the Union to prepare more copies of the laws so that the parliament should have for deliberations,” he said.
However, he said that the copies shall this week be prepared to reach the parliament for analysis before consideration and deliberation.
He called on the parliament not to disregard their request but table it as a motion that would benefit all persons with disabilities across the Country.