Campaign Text
Equality, which constitutes ground of human rights and freedoms, and prohibition to discrimination, in the human rights documents, constitute ground of disabled persons’ participation into social life and productivity. Equality term does not simply mean to treat everyone in the same manner. Equality means understanding the obstacles of different group in the society for having equal opportunity and removing these obstacles. As a human being, we have characteristics that we are able to change them and we have another group of characteristics that we are not able to change. Discrimination occurs on the basis of these different characteristics. Over 600 millions people, who have physical and mental differences, are identified under disabled status because of the faults in social policies in the world and arrangements of social environment.
Disabled persons face up to common problems though they live in different countries and have different physical, social and cultural conditions. Limited education-training opportunities, low income, high rate unemployment, poor housing-nutrition-health conditions, similar discrimination experiences and lack of job opportunities, public services are problems for all disabled persons. According to official records approximately % 11 of population is disabled person in Turkey.
International human rights documents underline the necessity of equality, regarding using of political, cultural, economic and social rights, between disabled persons and others. Actually, the reality is different from the writings in the documents. Disabled persons are generally subjected to deprivation of using their economic, social and cultural rights by means of negligence, ignorance, exclusion, separation and differentiation. Disabled persons are regarded as sexless, thus; especially disabled women are subjected to double discrimination easily.
Therefore, equality politics should be implemented so as to be carried out in every field of social life from education to employing. Prejudice and discrimination problem limit disabled persons’ daily life opportunities and prevent their access to public services.
Human Rights Association’s general aim, in the problematic field of disability, is to contribute to protection of disabled persons’ rights and in this sense abolish discrimination against them. Disabled persons’ participation to public life’s all fields as an independent person depends on providing equal opportunities in job life and successful access to health, education-training services.
Disability is a social problem, because of its source, and these obstacles should be abolished via public politics and social regulations. According to Human Rights Association the essence of disability problem is that point. The first step, which should be taken in solution of this problem, is to make disabled persons’ obstacles visible.
Prohibition to discrimination is one of the general rules in the human rights law. Prohibition to discrimination, which brings lawful responsibility to States, in human rights documents charges to prevent acting unequally, by grounding persons’ coincidental characteristics (race, colour, nationality, sex, social status and also disability) in implementing-protecting the mentioned rights.
In order to provide equal opportunities and prevent discrimination İHD call for;
TBMM (Turkish Grand National Assembly); to make arrangements about prohibition to discrimination, which should mention about disabled persons, by starting from the Constitution. TBMM should make equality politics for disabled persons. Indeed, these politics should be appropriate Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Conventions of UN and ILO, EU’s directives and other international agreements in disability field.
Government; to act appropriate to Implementation of the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons and implement standards-rules in practical life, to consider disabled persons in planning-conducting of public services, to provide more accessible services-education and health- for disabled persons, to carry out activities that will prevent discrimination against disabled persons and rise awareness of other sides on this issue.
Local administrations; to plan-organise urban environment and services regarding disabled persons’ participation and access them.
Non-Governmental Organisation; to be more sensitive regarding human rights of disabled persons and more active to make realization related with disabled persons’ problems.
Media; to support activities that will help for abolishing prejudices and discrimination implementations,
And everybody; to think once again on disabled persons and release from prejudices.
All of us are equal for human honour and rights.
HUMAN RIGHTS ASSOCIATION