A RTIKEL/ARTICLETHE HINDU (2001): Rally to make Govt. see reason. Retrievedon June 28, 2009 from www.hinduonnet.com/2003/02/17/stories/2003021707080400.htmZusammenfassung: Trotz seines hierarchischen <strong>und</strong> kastengeb<strong>und</strong>enenCharakters hat Indiens Gesellschaft in denletzten Jahren das Heraustreten aus dem Schatten von stillenGruppen wie Frauen <strong>und</strong> Menschen mit <strong>Behinderung</strong>miterlebt. Die Verabschiedung der ersten umfassenden Gesetzgebungfür die Rechte von Menschen mit <strong>Behinderung</strong>,allgemein bekannt als der PWD Act, 1995, ist ein Beispielfür den Erfolg der Bewegung behinderter Menschen fürihre Rechte. Im Anschluss an die Verabschiedung diesesGesetzes 1995 hat die Art der Behindertenrechtsbewegungmit der Entstehung von Verbindungsnetzen <strong>und</strong> der Ausweitungder allgemeinen Anstrengungen als auch durch dieEinführung neuer Methoden des Zeitalters der Interessensvertretungeine Veränderung erlebt. Dieser Artikel untersuchtdiesen W<strong>and</strong>el in der Art der Behindertenrechtsbewegungmit Bezug auf verschiedene Methoden von Interessensvertretenals auch die jüngeren <strong>Entwicklung</strong>en in derBehindertenrechtsbewegung in Indien während der Periodenach 1995.Résumé: Malgré son organisation hiérarchique et liée auxcastes, la société indienne a vu ces derniers temps desgroupes silencieux comme les femmes et les personnesh<strong>and</strong>icapées sortir de l’ombre. La promulgation de la premièrelégislation complète sur les droits des personnes h<strong>and</strong>icapées,communément connue comme le PWD Act de1995, est un exemple du succès du mouvement des personnesh<strong>and</strong>icapées en faveur de leurs droits. Suite à lapromulgation de cette loi en 1995, la nature du mouvementpour les droits des personnes h<strong>and</strong>icapées a changé,avec l’apparition d’une alliance inter-h<strong>and</strong>icap et l’élargissementdes thèmes de lutte ainsi que l’adoption de nouvellesméthodes de plaidoyer. Cet article analyse ce changementen faisant référence aux changements de méthodesde plaidoyer ainsi qu’aux tendances récentes du mouvementpour les droits des personnes h<strong>and</strong>icapées en Indedepuis 1995.Resumen: A pesar de su carácter jerárquico y de castas, lasociedad hindú ha sido testiga recientemente de que silenciososgrupos tales como el de las mujeres y los discapacitadoshan salido de las sombras. La aprobación de la primeraley general sobre discapacidad, popularmente conocidacomo PWD Act, es un ejemplo del éxito del movimientode personas con discapacidad en su lucha por sus derechos.Después de la aprobación de esta ley, cambió lanaturaleza de los movimientos por los derechos de las personascon discapacidad por el surgimiento de alianzas integralesy la introducción de nuevos métodos de persuasión.En este artículo se analiza el cambio en relación a los nuevosmétodos de estos grupos para defender sus intereses,así como también las tendencias recientes en el movimientode la discapacidad en el período posterior a 1995.Author: Jagdish Ch<strong>and</strong>er is an Associate Professor inthe Department of Political Science, Hindu College,University of Delhi, Delhi, 110007.Contact: jagdish100@gmail.com.8<strong>Behinderung</strong> <strong>und</strong> <strong>internationale</strong> <strong>Entwicklung</strong> 3/2012<strong>Disability</strong> <strong>and</strong> International Development
A RTIKEL/ARTICLEHuman Rights-Based Approach in theUg<strong>and</strong>an <strong>Disability</strong> Movement: A Fairy Tale ofSelf-Determination <strong>and</strong> Self-Advocacy?Hisayo Katsui/Jukka KumpuvuoriThis article is based on findings from the research project entitled, Human Rights-Based Approach to <strong>Disability</strong><strong>and</strong> Development: Interplay of <strong>Disability</strong>-Sensitive Development Cooperation <strong>and</strong> National Policy in Ug<strong>and</strong>a between2007 <strong>and</strong> 2012. This is a multi-disciplinary project. Particular focus of this article is on ownership <strong>and</strong> prerequisites,without which self-advocacy work of persons with disabilities <strong>and</strong> their organisations (DPOs) is extremelydifficult. The article starts by exploring the Ug<strong>and</strong>an disability movement. Subsequently a case study on Ug<strong>and</strong>anMembers of Parliament as a form of representative democracy <strong>and</strong> its downside is introduced. The articleconcludes with some considerations on how self-determination <strong>and</strong> self-advocacy of persons with disabilities inUg<strong>and</strong>a could be promoted, including a future research agenda. All the arguments are based on empirical studyfindings <strong>und</strong>er the aforementioned research project.Development of the Ug<strong>and</strong>an <strong>Disability</strong>MovementIn Ug<strong>and</strong>a, the disability organisations startedto be established during the 1970s. The idea offorming a national umbrella organisation ofpersons with disabilities started aro<strong>und</strong> 1976,but was hindered by the war between Ug<strong>and</strong>a<strong>and</strong> Tanzania from 1979 to1987. In 1987, personswith disabilities in the Ruti RehabilitationCentre in Mbarara <strong>and</strong> the Kireka RehabilitationCentre in Kampala realised the idea of formingthe organisation as the National Union ofDisabled Persons of Ug<strong>and</strong>a (NUDIPU) (Ndeezi2004: 10-11). 17 DPOs joined NUDIPU. Thiswas the first of its kind in the African continent(ibid.: 12). Without assets <strong>and</strong> money, voluntarywork <strong>and</strong> contributions of members enabledthe activities in the beginning. This spirit is saidto have led the NUDIPU into “one of the strongestnational advocacy <strong>and</strong> lobbying organisationschampioning the cause of marginalisedgroups in Ug<strong>and</strong>a” (ibid.: 17).Already in the beginning of the disabilitymovement, Ug<strong>and</strong>an DPOs applied a humanrights-based approach in their activities (DSI2007: 21; Lang/Murangira 2009: 36). The AffirmativeAction Policy 1989, for instance, promotedrepresentation of marginalised groupsincluding persons with disabilities to upliftthem. In the Constituent Assembly for the formationof the Constitution in 1995, the late EliphazMazima, a disability activist with a physicalimpairment <strong>and</strong> the first elected chairpersonof the NUDIPU represented persons with disabilities.As a result, the Constitution includedmany clauses related to persons with disabilities.Consequently, the Constitution (1995) is citedas a “human rights charter” (Mawa 2003).That is, they were applying a human rights-basedapproach even before they started to engagein development cooperation. This is an importantpiece of fact that is against the <strong>und</strong>erst<strong>and</strong>ingthat human rights discourse comesfrom the North (Kennedy 2004: 18; Uvin 2004:17). In other words, it is misleading to presumethat a human rights-based approach is an exclusivelyNorthern concept. The Ug<strong>and</strong>an disabilitymovement has deliberately used this approachfor making political space even beforethe era of the UN Convention on the Rights ofPersons with Disabilities.The main achievements of the Ug<strong>and</strong><strong>and</strong>isability movement include political representation.After the enactment of the Local GovernmentAct of 1997, affirmative action policyhas been introduced for politically marginalisedgroups including women, persons with disabilities,youth, workers <strong>and</strong> members of the army.Since then, all those groups are represented inUg<strong>and</strong>an politics at all levels including the Parliament.Ug<strong>and</strong>a has a quota system where fiveMembers of Parliament represent persons withdisabilities: Four Members of Parliament fromfour regions (Central, East, West, North) <strong>and</strong>one woman with a disability. An interesting factis that in the 2011 election, two women withdisabilities stood for the positions outside of thedisability quota framework <strong>and</strong> also passedthrough (Margaret Baba Diri <strong>and</strong> Jessica Ababiku).Therefore, there are seven persons withdisabilities in the Parliament linked to the disabilitymovement today. Moreover, over 50,000disabled councillors work in the local governmentstructure (Lang/Murangira 2009: 37), ofwhich half are women with disabilities at district<strong>and</strong> sub-county levels, while parish <strong>and</strong> village<strong>Behinderung</strong> <strong>und</strong> <strong>internationale</strong> <strong>Entwicklung</strong> 3/2012<strong>Disability</strong> <strong>and</strong> International Development9