AICHR consults regional stakeholders in pursuit of “Building Back Better Together”

BANGKOK, 9 December 2021 – The ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) held the “AICHR Consultation Workshop on Achieving a Disability Inclusive Post COVID-19 World,” via video conference on 3 December.

The workshop focused on the inclusivity of persons with disabilities (PWDs) in the regional efforts to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), through the implementation of the ASEAN Enabling Masterplan 2025: Mainstreaming the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (EMP 2025), and the integration of disability rights in the ASEAN Comprehensive Recovery Framework (ACRF).

With over 150 participants in attendance, the workshop highlighted concerns over social and economic conditions of PWDs that were disproportionately affected the community by COVID-19, as well as resulted from government measures to curb the pandemic.

Not only inequalities in terms of accessing health services and vaccines, the intersection between disability and other vulnerabilities on specific topics such as health, education, and work must be addressed. For ASEAN to realise an inclusive and sustainable recovery, it is urged to put emphasis on stakeholders’ engagement by ensuring a meaningful participation of the PWDs community.

Reaffirming that the EMP 2025 is a benchmark instrument to facilitate and support regional commitment in mainstreaming the rights of PWDs in all policies and interventions by all ASEAN Community pillars, the implementation of a monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of the EMP is a welcoming development. It has encompassed with a results-based framework, and data collection  to complement the advancement of SDG indicators and targets. Discussions were also focused on indicators for the implementation of the ACRF toward achieving the goal of a disability inclusive recovery, among others.

The workshop, held on the International Day for PWDs, was a venue for consultation among representatives of ASEAN Sectoral Bodies, Organisations of Persons with Disabilities, government agencies, National Human Rights Institutions, members of UN Treaty Bodies, the ASEAN Secretariat, and relevant stakeholders on the strategies to build equal, inclusive, and resilient communities in the post-pandemic era.

AICHR Thailand hosted the workshop, in collaboration with the General Election Network for Disability Access and the ASEAN Disability Forum with the support from the Australian Government.