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Equalization of Opportunities: A Goal for All Action Hissa Al Thani
UN Special Rapporteur on Disability
Friends, colleagues, greetings and good wishes. I have already expressed to you my happiness at being here this morning. I am very fortunate to have been given the stage twice in one morning. I have been asked time and again to speak about the importance of the Standard Rules in many forums and meetings. However, I am sure that a group such as yourselves must be very familiar with their importance as tools and guidelines for the equalization of opportunities for persons with disabilities. For that reason I will be taking a slight detour from this topic to speak about the Standard Rules as a tool for social change, not only for people with disability, but for marginalized people deprived of the right to participate. So it is in fact the concept of equality that lies at the core of the Standard Rules, and which the Rules were drafted to address, and the goal towards which we all thrive. For people with disabilities the Standard Rules are an enabling instrument, they are the guidelines for what needs to be done to remodel and restructure society. For others, they specify the measures to be taken to achieve a healthy, harmonious, cohesive society which takes into account the abilities, potentials, and contributions of all its members. While the Rules specify the pre-conditions and target areas, there are so many different ways of implementing them. In each culture, in each country, in each society and in each community, the Standard Rules and their implementation take on a different form, shape and colour. But their purpose—to guarantee the rights and protect the dignity of people with disability, remains the same. Our criteria are the quality of life people enjoy and the level of participation which members of each community experience. I was asked last night, during our long drive from the airport, by Francisco Cisnero about the best community for people with disability. My immediate reaction is that the best community is a community in which the dignity and rights of all members are preserved and realized. A community where all members feel accepted, where they participate equally, are given the opportunity to grow and achieve without physical, legal, cultural or traditional barriers. So for me—a person who has placed developing countries at the top of my monitoring and advocacy activities—I emphasize the human dimension over the technical and monetary dimension. This is not a theory. There are many communities in Africa, Asia, Latin America in which this is a reality. Communities that have succeeded in making full use of the human capital. One of those successful communities lies in our own backyard, not too far from here. It is the community of Santiago Atitlan in Guatemala. It is the example I am referring to. Where women, men and children pull their meager resources to put up a center to educate themselves, rehabilitate their children, support each other, and celebrate their children`s first independent steps, their first few comprehensive words despite severe physical limitations. These people have probably not heard of the Standard Rules. Yet their community exemplifies the spirit of the Standard Rules: They are providing all children with the equal opportunity to develop to their full potential enjoying total support, complete acceptance and unconditional love. The fathers and mothers of the children of Santiago Atitlan are building a harmonious community free of barriers and discrimination, where members reach within themselves to cultivate their human resourcefulness which is the only resource available to them. So let us always keep in mind that the Standard Rules are guidelines to remind us of what needs to be done. But whatever we do will never be sufficient if we don`t achieve the full and equal participation of all in all aspects of the life of a community. With this I end my intervention and thank you for your attention. I wish you all the success in your deliberations in the coming few days.
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