KATHMANDU, Dec 13: With an aim to shed light on the issues of people with disabilities (PWDs) living across the country, a two-day National Human Rights Summit of Persons with Disabilities was organized in the capital on Monday.
Speaking on the first day of the conference organized by National Federation of Disabled Nepal (NFDN), Chief Guest Anup Raj Sharma, who is also chairperson of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), stressed on the need of adopting disability-inclusive policy to ensure that PWDs are not left behind.
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“The perception of the general public toward PWDs in Nepal is still not friendly. Therefore, it is high time for the government to work more on making the constitution friendlier toward PWDs,” he said.
On a similar note, NFDN president Shudarson Subedi, who chaired the first day of the summit, said PWDs have struggled a lot to ensure their rights in the newly promulgated constitution. He, however, said the struggle has not borne any fruits as implementation of the disable-friendly constitution is still a far cry.
Subedi also announced an ambitious 18-month long nationwide campaign to bring the burning issues of PWDs to the notice of the general public and the concerned stakeholders. The campaign is set to start after three months from March next year, he informed.
NFDN General Secretary Raju Basnet said that those who do not have disabilities should understand the feelings of people with disabilities. “Otherwise, their voices will be unheard and remain unnoticed.”
The summit brought together people with different types of disabilities from across the country. Parliamentarians, representatives of partner organizations, local NGOs and INGOs working on issues of the PWDs, among other stakeholders were also present during the meeting.
