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Dear Mr. Diamandouros,
It is our understanding that you have inquired about information on the situation of people with disabilities worldwide. The institution that I am working for, the Center for International Rehabilitation, is realizing a project to monitor disability rights in partnership with international and grassroots organizations of disabled people as well as individual disability advocates. Our first Regional Report on the Americas will be published on August 23rd and the first report on the Asia Pacific Region will be released on December 3rd. (Please, find details of the International Disability Rights Monitor Project IDRM on the attached summary). I am sending a copy of our IDRM Compendium. This publication contains a survey of disability legislation in 52 countries of the world and the results of the field-work conducted to test the IDRM research tool.
I will send you a copy of our Regional Report on the Americas when it is completed. However, if you have any question before that I will be more than willing to respond on behalf of the CIR.
Kind regards,
Maria Veronica ReinaInternational CoordinatorCenter for International Rehabilitation1900 L Street NW, Suite 500Washington, DC 20036Phone: 202-223-3576Fax: 202-223-3581mreina@cirnetwork.org
Program Description: The creation of a reporting network, database and annual report on the conditions of people with disabilities and the barriers and problems that they face.
Background: Remarkably little is known about the extent or the nature of the challenges faced by persons with disabilities in the world today. Even the most rudimentary statistics are unavailable. Estimates of the number of persons with disabilities range from 4 to more than 15 percent of the world's population. An absence of statistical clarity should not distract from the crux of the problem -- hundreds of millions of people in the world today are disabled and many of them are deprived of even the most basic human rights. Historically, disability has been defined and treated solely as a medical condition. Now the global paradigm is shifting, in large part because people with disabilities are the subjects of profound political and social discrimination. The international community is increasingly focused on those aspects of disability that are deeply interconnected with human rights. When disability is understood in these terms, it is clear that the rights of people with disabilities are not adequately protected by current international law although there has been an encouraging trend in recent years toward the creation of domestic laws and policies that commit governments to promoting access, ensuring inclusion and providing necessary services. As yet however, no civil society mechanism exists for monitoring and promoting these efforts.
Discussion: The International Disability Rights Monitor (IDRM) project is an annual report documenting and assessing the condition and treatment of people with disabilities internationally. The IDRM project documents, in a coordinated, systematic and sustained way, the problems and barriers experienced by people with disabilities. To accomplish this, the IDRM utilizes a network of local and regional researchers drawn not only from the disability community but also from other elements of civil society including human rights organizations, journalists and scholars. The major components of the IDRM are a regional report, a disability research guide, an international reporting network, a central database and an annual report card. The creation of the reporting network, comprised of local researchers in each country, is central to the IDRM methodology. In 2003, the Center for International Rehabilitation (CIR) completed Phase 1 of the IDRM project and published the International Disability Rights Compendium, a review of current practices and analysis of disability laws in 52 countries. A 90-item research tool was developed and field-tested to survey the rights and conditions for people with disabilities worldwide. Finally, a research network was formed covering 24 countries of the Americas and, in collaboration with Disabled Peoples International, 7 countries in the Asia Pacific region. As the project moves forward the IDRM will develop an annual report card and publish regional reports in August and December of 2004 to monitor the progress made on behalf of international disability rights.
