National and International Declarations of Support for Persons with learning disabilities
- Ivy Ching Ying Chong
- Dec 6, 2019
- 3 min read
In many nations, marginalization and isolation of persons with disabilities (PWD) by a certain group of society are common problems, mostly due to the lack of legal action to address the problems. This is one of the main factors contributing to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Optional Protocol (UNCRPD) being formed in 2006(Md Tah & Mokhtar, 2017)
Q1, Why is the United Nation Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) important in Malaysia?
UNCRPD (United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability)
It is the Convention on Human Rights of Persons with Disabilities. It is a list of rights that people with disabilities are guaranteed in order to improve their access to society, education and employment. People with disabilities are still protected by other UN rights and treaty documents; however, the CRPD explicitly recognizes rights relating to the freedom of persons with disabilities to communicate within their own groups.
The purpose of UNCRPD is to promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities and to promote respect for their inherent dignity. Click here for more information.
It is important in Malaysia as it can help bring improvement in the lives of people with disabilities in Malaysia from the aspect of freedom, equal recognition, justice, education, law, employment.
Q2, How does Malaysia government ratify with the UNCRPD?
Malaysia's ratification of the UN CRPD
On 7 April 2008, Malaysia became a UN CRPD signatory and ratified the agreement on 19 July 2010 with reservations to Articles 15 and 18. This is a positive development on the human rights commission, provided that only three out of ten core human rights agreements have been ratified by Malaysia.
Prior to the ratification, according to Tah(2013). Malaysia introduced the Personal Disability Act 2008 to show its responsibilities under the UN CRPD to international obligations. Malaysia also committed itself to an Incheon Strategy 2013–2022 Asian-Pacific regional commitment that enabled the development of disability-inclusive activities with ten (10) interrelated objectives to promote and safeguard the rights of people with disabilities (Md Tah & Mokhtar, 2017).
Q3, How do you explain the public’s perception regarding people with disabilities in the real world?
Public’s Perception
Before that, social attitudes reflected the view that people with disabilities were unhealthy, defective and deviant. In some culture, these people have been treated for generations as a source of misfortune, a personal tragedy, curse and even a punishment for past. The main attitude was that such individuals were unable to take part in or contribute to society and had to rely on welfare or charities. This thinking had them being feared, discriminated, ostracized, ignored by others, pitied and seem them as an exotic.
In general, before the late 1800s, there were residents and cared for their families of people with mental retardation, cerebral paralysis, autism and/or epilepsy. Life expectancy has not been as long as today for people who are severely and deeply disabled.
Nowadays, society have take a positive step and change direction towards social inclusion for people who have learning disabilities. Assistance, medical care, education and some facilities are provided to support people with learning disabilities. Moreover, those discrimination and negative perception among the community are reducing with the increases of awareness about learning disability
References
Human Right Watch. (2010). Malaysia: Disability rights treaty ratification an ‘important step’. Retrieved from https://www.hrw.org/news/2010/08/16/malaysia-disability-rights-treaty-ratification-important-step
UF Health. (n.d.). Society’s attitude toward people with disabilities. Retrieved from https://paul-burtner.dental.ufl.edu/oral-health-care-for-persons-with-disabilities/societys-attitude-toward-people-with-disabilities/
Wecapable. (n.d.). UNCRPD: Summary, important points, PDF and infographic. Retrieved from https://wecapable.com/uncrpd-summary-important-points-pdf-infographic/
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