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Keynote Address at the 11th Anniversary of Cambodia’s Day of Disabled
Persons and 27th Anniversary of the International Day of Disabled
Persons
National Education Institute, December 3rd, 2009
Your Excellencies, Senators, Members of Parliament, and
Members of the Royal Government,
Your Excellencies, Ambassadors of Friend Countries to the
Kingdom of Cambodia,
Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen Distinguished National
and International Guests,
Dear Disabled Compatriots, Teachers, and Students!
I am delighted
today to be here in the 11th Anniversary of Cambodia’s Day of
Disabled Persons and the 27th Anniversary of the
International Day of Disabled Persons being held on December 3rd,
2009. May I take this opportunity to praise the Ministry of Social Affairs,
Veteran and Youth Rehabilitation and related institutions, Disability Action
Council, Cambodian Organization of Disabled Persons, NGOs, the private sector,
and other donors for organizing this event, as well as for the contribution in
the sector of persons with disabilities and rehabilitation efforts. This shows
that we strongly support persons with disabilities and encourage them to fully
participate in national development effort.
I would like to
take this opportunity to extend my deepest gratitude to His Majesty KING
NORODOM SIHAMONI OF CAMBODIA for supporting people with disabilities. I
would also like to extend my profound gratitude to His Majesty KING-FATHER
NORODOM SIHANOUK OF CAMBODIA and Her Majesty KING-MOTHER MONINEATH
SIHANOUK OF CAMBODIA for the kind assistance given to their people with
disabilities. I would like to wish His Majesty KING, KING-FATHER and KING-MOTHER
healthiness and strength to remain as the umbrella of all Cambodian people.
The theme “We all Participate in the Enforcement of Law on Protection and Promotion of
Rights for People With Disabilities” of the 11th Anniversary of Cambodia’s Day of Disabled Persons and 27th Anniversary of International Day of Disabled Persons reflects our
commitment in protecting the rights, freedom and benefits of disabled persons,
eliminating discrimination against them, promoting mental well-being and
restoring work ability to ensure they can fully and equally participate in
social activities.
To address the
disability issues, the Royal Government has done its utmost to integrate
disabled persons into the society by promoting their access to basic needs,
especially protecting their rights such as the right to life, receiving
education, getting jobs, and moving around freely to enable them to fully
participate in social activities to realize an inclusive social environment
which is free of discrimination and based on respect of human rights and
dignity.
To support this
vision, the Royal Government has put forward an array of disability policies,
and in particular, adopted the Law on Protection and Promotion of Rights
for People With Disabilities on July 3, 2009. Moreover, the Royal
Government signed the Convention and Protocol on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities on October 1, 2007, joined the 2002-2013 Biwako Millennium Framework, and added its own 9th millennium development
goal which is designed to accelerate demining UXOs and provide assistance to
victims. Recently, the Royal Government has adopted the plan to assist landmine
victims and established a national committee, chaired by the Minister of Social
Affairs, Veteran and Youth Rehabilitation, to oversee this task. This task is
indeed essential and helps realize the objectives stated in Biwako Millennium Framework which is to integrate persons with disabilities into the
mainstream society through inclusiveness and barrier-free treatment for persons
with disabilities. It also complies with the UN Convention on the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities and the Royal Government’s Policies and
Rectangular Strategy.
According to the
Second Population Census, the number of persons with disabilities has declined
from 2% in 1998 to 1.4% in 2008. Drivers behind this decline include:
- The
end of war which brought the country with full peace has helped to completely
eliminate the number of disabled people from war. Along with that, high economic
growth, general change of people’s living standard has also contributed to the
reduction of the handicaps’ rate.
- The
prioritization of the Royal Government on the sector of social works, cultures,
education, health, agriculture and rural development…etc, has been fruitful such
as the disability prevention program for all people, pre-pregnancy, during
pregnancy, and neonatal health care, the allocation of vaccines for handicap
related diseases, medical treatment, reflexology treatment, mental treatment and
physical rehabilitation education, the elimination of the Polio since
1998 reduced the disability from birth.
- The
result of de-mining work and the assistance provided to handicaps of mines, have
remarkably reduced the number of mine dangers. In reality, the number of people
involved in mine related accidents in 2005 was 875 people, 450 people in 2006,
352 people in 2007, 269 people in 2008 and 199 people in 2009, in which our goal
is to continually reduce this figure.
- The
strengthening of preventive measures against the traffic accidents and
disability, the strengthening of traffic law enforcement, the establishment of
dissemination and education measures, the creation of law enforcement mechanism,
the inspiration of wearing safety helmets as well as ensuring the social order
and security, the prevention and suppression of other violence in the society
that lead to the disability, have also contributed, to some extent, to the
reduction in the number of disabled people caused by traffic accidents.
- The
strengthening of work safety measures at the construction site, factories,
enterprises, and handicrafts, has also been paid attention to. The on-the-job
accident insurance regime for civil servants and employees and employers of the
private sector, have also been put into operation continually.
- The
Ministry of Social Affairs, Veteran and Youth Rehabilitation has prepared the
implementation of comprehensive policies for people with disabilities with
fruitful outcomes. The provision of workability service for people with
disabilities has been delivered for free and many disabled people have received
vocational training, have been working in factories, companies with professional
ownership and also contributed to the production of goods for market demand.
Along with that, the talents of people with disabilities in the sector of arts,
cultures, handicrafts have also been abundant, the masterpieces that cannot be
done by normal persons. The Cambodian handicapped sportsmen and sportswomen
have participated in the national and international competitions and have also
brought back a number of successes.
In actuality, these successes do not just only reflect the
intensive struggle of the handicapped people in implementing their own rights as
well as improving their living standard in families, but also show their
participation in implementing the Political Platform and Rectangular Strategy-Phase II of the Royal Government.
In order to assist the handicaps to participate fully and equally
in the society, the Royal Government has been boosting and encouraging in
providing opportunities for handicaps to be more competent in joining the
competition of the labor market, which is more lucrative to ensure
sustainability of their living with ownership and dignity. In this regard, the
Royal Government has been encouraging and supporting the preparation of
organization or self-help group of the handicaps in order to mutually support,
learn, depend on each other as well as mutual financing in jointly solving the
life issues or challenging environment that they cannot solve by themselves in
the framework of individual. The attention to the community basis where the
handicaps are living, is greatly significant in looking for issues and real
needs that handicaps are facing and jointly solve the problems and those needs
are at the local community they are living in, in order to effectively
contribute to the poverty reduction and vulnerability of the people.
The Royal Government has continued to promote the method of
supporting the handicaps on humanitarian aid to be the supporting mechanism
based on the rights of the handicap as stipulated in law on the prevention and
enhancement of handicaps, especially the establishment of social safety nets in
order to insure the welfare of the handicaps, which is a better way than
depending on only the humanitarian aid, which cannot ensure the sustainability
of the service delivery for the handicaps. In fact, the handicaps do not want
to live dependently or by aid forever, but, they want to have skills and proper
jobs in order that they can be more independent. The Royal Government has
continued to promote the prioritized policy for allocating the social concession
land for the poor families and vulnerable people, whom the handicaps are of high
priorities. The Royal Government has allocated many hectares of social
concession land in the Veal Thom Village, Treng Trayeong Commune, Phnom Sruoch
District, Kampong Speu Province for the handicaps of about more than 300
families to build houses, do plantation and other cultivation. Recently, the
Royal Government has put out the policy on the allocation of the social
concession land for the retired armed forces, those who lost their working
ability, become disabled, and the sacrificed families in order to improve their
living while being transferred to be civilians.
My wife and I
have built houses for people with disabilities at Taken Koh Sla, the bordering
community between Kompong Speu and Kampot Province. We also funded US$ 1 Million
for house buildings for people with disabilities in Koulen District in Siem Reap
Province. The Royal Government of Cambodia has also included in the Public
Investment Program for its three rolling years of the people with disabilities
village development’ projects in five provinces and other house building
projects in some communities. Moreover, through the Cambodia’s Veterans
Association, we have built fifty houses for people with disabilities who
contributed to the defense of the nation. This project will continue annually.
We have done and
achieved a lot for people with disabilities, but they are still facing many
obstacles in their lives that need our strong support to solve those obstacles
gradually:
1st,
Physical Barrier:
We should
strengthen our rehabilitation services to help people with disabilities such as
providing necessary tools to support their body, health services, reflexology
treatment as needed with comfortability. At the same time, we should think
carefully on a step by step basis on how to assist people with disabilities such
as having entrance-exits for people with disabilities at public and private
places, such as transportation means, at works, on the streets, at leisure
areas, cultural centers, academic institutions, hotels and hospitals etc.. We
should have ramp, at rest rooms, signs, including visual and vocal signs and
reserved parking lots for people with disabilities.
2nd,
Communication Barrier:
We should
provide necessary tools to support the blinds and deaf people to communicate and
receive information about our society such as education, vocational training
through Braille and Sign Languages at training centers, transmitting via media
channels and increase the use of information technology to people with
disabilities.
3rd,
Legal Barrier:
We must prepare
legal documents relating to Law on Protection and Promotion of Rights for
People with Disabilities such as the preparation of sub-decree,
directive, Prakas of Inter-Ministerial, Ministerial Prakas for effective and
timely implementation of law. We should propose for adding, changing or amending
any legal document that may bar people with disabilities to fully participate in
the society.
4th,
Social Barrier:
We should raise
awareness about the disability to local communities to prevent, reduce and
abolish all forms of discrimination and stigma against people with disabilities.
Moreover, we must encourage the multi-parties’ participation in the promotion of
rights for people with disabilities.
In fact, we have
many duties to carry out, to act together to resolve any problems for people
with disabilities so that they can fully participate with equity in the society,
to be able to compete freely, independently with dignity in the labor market.
Within this
context, I would like to raise some recommendations as follow:
1.Strengthen
and expand the disability preventive measures more effectively by reducing the
venerability in the society, preventing violence, traffic accidents, work
related accidents, strengthening health system, demining and UXOs,
strengthening of workability rehabilitation and raising awareness on the
prevention of disability.
2. Effectively promote the Law on Protection and Promotion of Rights for
People with Disabilities. I strongly support the theme of People with
Disabilities’ Day 2009 that goes “We all participate
in the enforcement of Law on Protection and Promotion of Rights for People with
Disabilities”.
This law is the
most meaningful legal instrument that response to the urgent needs as well as
long term needs of people with disabilities. This law will change the
humanitarian like handicap’s services to a systematic social insurance services
for people with disabilities.
To implement
this law more effectively, the Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth
Rehabilitation must raise the awareness of this law comprehensively to all
people across the country. Similarly, we must prepare relevant legal documents
and mechanisms for law enactment in a timely manner. The Ministry of Social
Affairs, Veteran and Youth Rehabilitation is a key implementing agency in
making sure all articles of this law is respected accordingly and effectively.
3. The key to handicap related tasks is to strengthen and to increase the spirit of
ownership of people with disabilities. Within this regards, May I urge all
people with disabilities to sharpen their braveness, hope and self-confidence,
using their remaining physical ability to overcome any difficulties, raising
their standard of living independently as well as contributing to the national
development.
4. Continue to mobilize resources to develop the welfare sector for people with
disabilities. I encourage development partners to support the disability sector
and to consider creating the disability policy which focuses on providing
services to people with disabilities. Similarly, I encourage the private sector
to participate in disability related works voluntarily and obligatorily as
stated in the Law on Protection and Promotion of Rights for People with
Disabilities by including the disability issues in its activities and
help people with disabilities integrate themselves at the maximum level.
5. The Ministry of Social Affairs Veteran and Youth Rehabilitation and relevant
ministries/institutions of all levels must efficiently and sustainably continue
strengthening handicap related tasks and improving workability rehabilitation
and be focal point for implementing national policy for people with disabilities
and promote effective enforcement of Law on Protection and Promotion of
Rights for People with Disabilities. Sub-national administration of all
levels must pay attention to handicap related tasks, incorporate it into the
action plan of sub-national administration and ensure its efficient
implementation.
6. Continue humanitarian activities for poor people with disabilities who are
facing real hardship at local areas, in this sense I would like to appeal to
members of the government, national assembly, senate and the kind-hearted to
keep helping and supporting poor people with disabilities at local areas, who
are in bad need of support
7. Continue strengthening and expanding sustainable physical workability
rehabilitation service to people with disability. According to information I
received, international organizations who are managing 11 physical workability
rehabilitation centers will complete their projects in 2011 and will transfer
the management of the centers to the Ministry of Social Affairs, Veteran and
Youth Rehabilitation. The transfer has been gradually started since 2008. On
behalf of the government I would like to convey my deep appreciation to 5
organizations namely Veterans International, Handicap International
Belgium, Handicap International France, The Cambodia Trust and International Red
Cross for support for 11 physical workability rehabilitation centers and
left with basic material, human resource and technique...etc… for sustainable
conduct of the centers.
Finally, May I wish all Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,
national and international guests, dear compatriots, teachers, students and
veterans the four Gems of Buddhist Blessings: Longevity, Nobility, Health
and Strength.
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