Capacity Building Workshop on Disability Mainstreaming

The Deputy Prime Minister’s Office, through its United Nations Programme for Persons with Disabilities (UNPRPD) Project, has embarked on a two-year (2022 – 2024) Disability Programme in partnership with the United Nations Agencies.  This Programme seeks to support Government, Organisations of Persons with Disabilities and Civil Society Organizations in advancing the implementation of the United Nations Organisations of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), which the country ratified in 2012, by:

• Strengthening disability-inclusive accountability and governance;
• Advancement of equality and non-discrimination; and
• Ensuring UNRCRPD-compliant budgeting and financial management approaches.

CANGO is attending a two day multi-stakeholder capacity building workshop on disability mainstreaming. The objectives of the workshop are as follows: 

Objectives: 

1. To understand disability mainstreaming from a human rights, equity and inclusion perspective rather than a medical and welfare mind-set.
2. To interpret the obligations contained in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the deliverables of the Eswatini National Disability Plan of Action 2018-2022 into their Ministry’s mandate, strategic sector and annual plans.
3. To identify the access and participation barriers persons with different impairments experience and find enablers to remove these barriers
4. To understand how to put systems in place to avoid pitfalls such as ‘responsibility dumping’ and to facilitate meaningful participation of organisations of persons with disabilities (OPDs) in planning and monitoring processes

Acting Director Children’s Coordination Department (Deputy Prime Ministers Office) Remarks

The Acting Director Children’s Coordination Department was representing the Principal Secretary (PS). The Director stated that “organisations of persons with disabilities (OPDs), supported by Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), play a critical role in advocacting for the rights of persons with disabilities. But, it is essential that these advocacy efforts advance disability action from within a human rights and inclusion perspective, rather than from the welfare and segregation approaches”. The Director further stated that “it is crucial that OPDs and CSOs deepen their understanding of how to engage parliamentarians, government leaders and the media more effectively to achieve a better impact from their advocacy efforts. 

It was also stated that the overall objective of this workshop is to conduct capacity for OPDs and CSOs in order to equip them with insights, knowledge and skills that will sharpen their disability inclusion advocacy impact. 

CANGO actively advocates for the rights of persons with disabilities and a multi – sectoral approach to addressing the challenges faced by persons with disabilities. Furthermore, a consultative approach in addressing these challenges should be adopted in order to ensure meaningful participation and buy in of interventions. Lastly, CANGO encourages continuous capacity building on disability mainstreaming, advocacy and coordination.