UN launched a joint programme to address the inequality and exclusion of persons with disabilities

Skopje, 22 June 2022: The United Nations launched the joint programme “From Knowledge and Engagement - to Empowerment and Participation” to enhance the capacity of the organizations of people with disabilities, government, service providers and the UN agencies to jointly contribute to the successful implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). The programme also aims to facilitate greater disability inclusion in national development and humanitarian plans, budgets, policies and monitoring processes.

The joint UN approach was developed based on the new evidence and key recommendations from the Situational Analysis of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in the Republic of North Macedonia which were presented today.

“The United Nations Country Team is a strong supporter of the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), and its monitoring, which are central for the country’s inclusive and sustainable development,” said Rossana Dudziak, UN Resident Coordinator in North Macedonia.” We will work to reduce the inequality and exclusion of persons with disabilities by supporting organizations of persons with disabilities and CSOs representing the most marginalised groups to advocate for their participation in national policy making and development and local-level decision-making processes. We also support their engagement in CRPD and Sustainable Development Goals monitoring.”

Funded by the UN Partnership on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Multi-Partner Trust Fund (UNPRPD MPTF), this joint programme is a unique collaboration that brings together UN entities, governments, organizations of persons with disabilities (OPDs), and broader civil society to advance the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and disability inclusive Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

It will be implemented by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), with overall coordination of the Office of the UN Resident Coordinator.

“Regarding the strategic commitments, I would like to announce that in addition to the Deinstitutionalization Strategy which is being successfully implemented, the Government of North Macedonia, together with the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy, has already started developing a new National Disability Strategy in collaboration with all relevant ministries, but also civil society organizations and the persons with disabilities themselves, respecting the principle "nothing for us without us, " said Jovana Trencevska, the Minister of Labour and Social Policy.

She highlighted that the situation analysis will certainly give the country a roadmap for future policies and the promotion of the rights of persons with disabilities in accordance with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and added: “I am convinced that all of us here, with joint efforts, will build and contribute to the idea of ​​a society for all, and especially for children and people with disabilities in which everyone will realize their potential and will be an equal member of our society.”

“Great progress has been made in the inclusion of children with disabilities in schools, but there is still much work to be done. Something I am especially proud of is the increase in the number of students with disabilities in primary schools to 4.5% compared to the 2019/2020 school year, but more can be achieved. With every new child with a disability enrolling in mainstream schools we break the stereotypes. They, like everyone else, can have an independent life,” said Jeton Shaqiri, Minister of Education and Science.

The analysis found that persons with disabilities are largely unaware of the national progress on both the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Sustainable Development Goals. Additionally, their representative organisations are generally excluded from decision-making processes that do not directly affect their constituencies. The lack of understanding, information and training among duty bearers, coupled with a one-size-fits-all service delivery model are key impediments for most persons with disabilities to realize their rights under the CRPD.

Using the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) lens, the situation analysis identified the main bottlenecks and challenges preventing persons with disabilities to enjoy their fundamental human rights.

To overcome these challenges the analysis recommends: promoting a social model of disability assessment versus the predominance of the medical approach, promotion of the CRPD at all societal levels to change societal perceptions and attitudes towards disability, and improving access to public spaces, infrastructure, information and services. It further highlights the importance of inclusion of people with disabilities in secondary and higher education, enabling independent living of persons with disabilities through systemic changes, and consistent, comparable and disaggregated statistics on persons with disabilities.

The UN family in North Macedonia will use the Joint Programme to strengthen the efforts on enhancing the rights, equal opportunities and inclusion of persons with disabilities in all areas of its work - both internally and jointly with its partners. The multi-stakeholder interventions planned under the joint programme will be used as a catalyst to expedite the much-needed systemic reforms in national and local planning and monitoring processes.