A RTIKELquelle sont confrontées les personnes h<strong>and</strong>icapées. Les limitesdu système et les stratégies pour améliorer la situationsont décrites et discutées.Resumen: El artículo describe resultados de <strong>in</strong>vestigacionessobre la eficiencia del sistema de la gestión de catastrofespara personas discapacitadas en <strong>Bangladesh</strong>. Éllas ycolaboradores de las ONG fueron entrevistados y formaronuna idea sobre la dificil situación, además se describe deficienciasdel sistema y discute estratégias para mejorar la situación.Autor<strong>in</strong>: Hedda Gienger hat e<strong>in</strong>en Abschluss <strong>in</strong> Erziehungswissenschaftmit dem Schwerpunkt Beh<strong>in</strong>derungan der Universität Oldenburg. Von 2008 bis 2009 verbrachtesie e<strong>in</strong> freiwilliges Jahr bei Social Assistance<strong>and</strong> Rehabilitation for the Vulnerable (SARPV) <strong>in</strong> Dhaka/Bangladesch.Kontakt: Hedda-G@gmx.de32 Zeitschrift Beh<strong>in</strong>derung <strong>und</strong> <strong>Dritte</strong> <strong>Welt</strong> 1/2010
B ERICHTEInclud<strong>in</strong>g Persons with Disabilities <strong>in</strong> the MDGsThe last decades of the last century saw two important issues surfac<strong>in</strong>g to unprecedented levels of <strong>in</strong>ternationalattention: the human rights of persons with disabilities <strong>and</strong> the need for a s<strong>in</strong>cere scal<strong>in</strong>g up of efforts of susta<strong>in</strong>abledevelopment. As paramount as both issues are – <strong>and</strong> cont<strong>in</strong>ue to be – the l<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g between one <strong>and</strong> the otherhas been slow <strong>in</strong> com<strong>in</strong>g. Importantly, the developments <strong>in</strong> the realm of human rights for persons with disabilitieshold gro<strong>und</strong>break<strong>in</strong>g features for the advancement of development generally. This article will sketch the separatedevelopments, <strong>and</strong> summarize the latest General Assembly resolution <strong>in</strong> this realm: Realiz<strong>in</strong>g the Millennium DevelopmentGoals for Persons with Disabilities.The Separate(d) IssuesPersons with disabilities <strong>and</strong> development: oneneed not revert to the scarcely exist<strong>in</strong>g data toappreciate that the needs of persons with disabilitieshave to form part <strong>and</strong> parcel of developmentefforts. Development efforts, which failto <strong>in</strong>clude persons with disabilities are not go<strong>in</strong>gto achieve their aspirations <strong>and</strong> goals.While there are entry po<strong>in</strong>ts, which enablethe <strong>in</strong>terconnection so as to actually implementdevelopment <strong>in</strong> an <strong>in</strong>clusive <strong>and</strong> accessiblefashion, contemporary development efforts arenot yet acknowledg<strong>in</strong>g the need to overcomeexclusion of persons with disabilities. The mostprom<strong>in</strong>ent development mach<strong>in</strong>ery of theUnited Nations, the Millennium DevelopmentGoals (MDGs) fail to mention persons with disabilitiesor accessibility <strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong>clusion policies <strong>in</strong>the goals as well as the accompany<strong>in</strong>g targets<strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong>dicators for progress.Persons with DisabilitiesThe Convention on the Rights of Persons withDisabilities (CRPD) emerged from a lengthyprocess, which moved the paradigm of cur<strong>in</strong>gthe persons (medical model) to need<strong>in</strong>g to‘cure’ societies by overcom<strong>in</strong>g social barrierspersons with disabilities frequently face (socialmodel) for the first time <strong>in</strong> a core human rightstreaty. Curiously, the orig<strong>in</strong> of disability as awelfare <strong>and</strong> charity issue also means that thereis a strong tie to the development branch of theUnited Nations. The World Programme of Actionof 1982 <strong>and</strong> the St<strong>and</strong>ard Rules on theEqualization of Opportunities of Persons withDisabilities of 1993, both viewed as milestoneslead<strong>in</strong>g up to the CRPD, are development policydocuments. In addition, the Special Rapporteuron <strong>Disability</strong> – by way of the St<strong>and</strong>ard Rules – isappo<strong>in</strong>ted by the Commission for Social Development,a subcommittee of the Economic <strong>and</strong>Social Council of the General Assembly.Importantly, the CRPD, a human rights treatyat heart, does l<strong>in</strong>k up with development policy<strong>in</strong> manifold <strong>and</strong> important ways. For starters, itenshr<strong>in</strong>es a st<strong>and</strong>-alone provision on <strong>in</strong>ternationalcooperation, a first for the eight core humanrights treaties of the United Nations. Article32 CRPD lays out some of the aspects of developmentwork, all of which need to be accessibleto <strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong>clusive of persons with disabilities.It is noteworthy that the concept of development<strong>und</strong>erly<strong>in</strong>g this provision sketches developmentas a multi-directed effort, whichgoes every which geographic way, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g,importantly, South-North. F<strong>in</strong>ally, the importanceof <strong>in</strong>volv<strong>in</strong>g the beneficiaries of aid, i.e.persons with disabilities <strong>and</strong> their representativeorganizations – an obligation elsewhere(Article 4 (3) CRPD) <strong>in</strong> the CRPD – is also enshr<strong>in</strong>edhere.Article 11 CRPD – also a historic first – prescribesthe need to ensure that persons withdisabilities <strong>and</strong> their needs are taken <strong>in</strong>to account<strong>in</strong> situations of risk, such as humanitari<strong>and</strong>isasters. Accessibility for <strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong>clusion of personswith disabilities to poverty reduction programmesis specifically highlighted 1 as part ofsocial security measures.Millennium DeclarationParallel to the evolvement of the rights of personswith disabilities, the development effortsof the United Nations progressed to unknownheights with the creation of the Millennium DevelopmentGoals. The <strong>in</strong>ception of the UnitedNations clearly revolves aro<strong>und</strong> developmentas the purpose <strong>in</strong>cludes “<strong>in</strong>ternational co-operation<strong>in</strong> solv<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>ternational problems of aneconomic, social, cultural <strong>and</strong> humanitariancharacter” (United Nations 1980: Article 1).Various development efforts of the UnitedNations culm<strong>in</strong>ated at the Millennium Summit,held as part of the open<strong>in</strong>g of the General Assemblysession <strong>in</strong> 2000. The so-called MillenniumDeclaration (UN A/RES/55/2) reaffirmsthe commitment to establish peace, prosperity<strong>and</strong> greater justice <strong>in</strong> the world. The Declarationenumerates a series of eight developmentgoals, commonly referred to as Millennium De-Zeitschrift Beh<strong>in</strong>derung <strong>und</strong> <strong>Dritte</strong> <strong>Welt</strong> 1/201033
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