The 12th Conference of the State Parties to the CRPD – Bangladesh promotes ‘disability inclusion’ in line with the CRPD and Agenda 2030 –Ambassador Masud Bin Momen

New York, 13 June 2019:
“At national level, our Government under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, has put special emphasis for the development and inclusion of the persons with disabilities in our journey towards inclusive socio-economic development. We have not only put considerable efforts in increasing their access in day-to-day life thus promoting ‘disability inclusion’ but also has updated our national legislations in line with the CRPD and Agenda 2030” –said the Permanent Representative (PR) of Bangladesh to the UN Ambassador Masud Bin Momen at the 12th Conference of the State Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) at UNHQs, today.
“Ms. Saima Wazed Hossain, daughter of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, has been an ardent advocate in this field. As the WHO SEARO Goodwill Ambassador and Chairperson of National Advisory Committee on Autism, she is championing awareness-building on autism in particular and disabilities in general in the country, the region and beyond” –the Ambassador added.
He informed that the National Human Rights Commission, NGOs and private sector companies have joined with the efforts of the Government.
Mentioning several development initiatives of Bangladesh’s government in this sector, the PR said, “From this July, our government shall provide allowances for all of the 1.4 million differently abled persons. Currently, 1 million of such people are getting such allowance”.
Ambassador Masud focused on the success stories of the youth with disabilities in various fields such as sports and innovations. He cited that Bangladeshi differently able youth won 22 gold medals in Special Olympics 2019 in Abu Dhabi. Drawing the example of Vashkar Bhattacharjee, a visually impaired Bangladeshi youth who has been recognized by UNESCO for his innovative use of ICT for Digital Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities for successfully developing Bangladesh’s first Accessible Dictionary in four forms for people with visual, print and learning disabilities, the PR said, “These examples are greatly inspirational for their peers to strive for empowerment”.
Ambassador Masud said, “Through ‘Digital Bangladesh’ campaign we are doing our bit. But we need more partnerships to reach desired level of ‘disability inclusion’ for which our development partners should come forward”.
It may be noted that, Bangladesh is one of the early signatories of the CRPD and its Optional Protocol. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) was adopted by the UN General Assembly by its resolution 61/106.

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