The committee decided to conduct the meeting here because we have a strong concern in providing services, protection, and facilities to people with disabilitiesJakarta (ANTARA) - The Indonesian government is paying attention to the needs of people living with disabilities in the country, Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Muhadjir Effendy has said.
This is evident from the implementation of the High-level Intergovernmental Meeting on the Final Review of the Implementation of the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons (HLIGM-FRPD), which is being held in Indonesia on October 19–21, 2022, he added.
"The committee decided to conduct the meeting here because we have a strong concern in providing services, protection, and facilities to people with disabilities," Effendy said here on Wednesday.
The high-level meeting is the largest meeting focused on people living with disabilities in the post-pandemic era, he noted. It is an honor for Indonesia to be appointed as its host.
The minister said that the government has taken serious steps, including providing sufficient platforms for people living with disabilities to showcase their talent such as the National Paralympic Week (Peparnas) in Jayapura, Papua, and the ASEAN Paralympics in Surakarta, Central Java.
Indonesia has sufficient experience in providing services to persons living with disabilities, he added.
Furthermore, executive secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, informed that the meeting will review the progress of the Incheon Strategy over the past 10 years on the aspects of accessibility, rehabilitation, and assistance for persons living with disabilities, in which a lot of progress is considered to have been made. There are several more tasks that will be discussed at the meeting.
"There are 38 countries present at the meeting that can share with each other, including CSOs (civil society organizations) and stakeholders. We will show our experiences and good practices to them," Alisjahbana added.
The meeting will result in the Jakarta Declaration, she said.
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Meanwhile, Minister of Social Affairs, Tri Rismaharini, said the meeting is being joined by 648 participants in a hybrid manner. Later, the Indonesian government will present the country's achievement in fulfilling the rights of persons living with disabilities throughout Indonesia.
She noted that one of the problems that would be addressed at the meeting is job opportunities for people living with disabilities. The government is offering entrepreneurship as a solution for the group.
"By becoming an entrepreneur, they do not need to depend on anybody. The progress is quite good. Some of them have become millionaires. They produce several products, including wheelchairs, adaptive sticks, adaptive wheelchairs for cerebral palsy, all of them made by them," she highlighted.
As a member country of the UNESCAP, Indonesia is committed to fulfilling the rights of persons living with disabilities. The effort has involved the implementation of the “2013–2022 Decade of Action Agenda for Persons with Disabilities," also known as the “Incheon Strategy to Make the Right Real for Persons with Disabilities in Asia and the Pacific.”
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The agenda is intended to accelerate disability inclusiveness in the Asia and Pacific region in a measurable manner and within an agreed time frame of a decade.
The Incheon Strategy contains 10 objectives, with 25 targets and 44 indicators that must be implemented in the Asia and Pacific region.
One of the goals of the Incheon Strategy is to reduce poverty and increase job opportunities and employment opportunities. This is in line with another goal, namely strengthening social protection for persons living with disabilities.
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Translator: Devi Nindy Sari R, Resinta S
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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