Terming the persons with disabilities as partner of development, Information and Broadcasting Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud has said the persons with disabilities are also an integral part of development as the government has incorporated them into the national development plans.
The minister said this while describing Bangladesh’s position in the country-wise review during his address on the first day of the 27th session of the committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities of the United Nations (UN) convention held on Thursday afternoon at Geneva in Switzerland.
Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations Office at Geneva M Mustafizur Rahman, Social Welfare Secretary M Jahangir Alam, Deputy Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations Ms. Shanchita Haque and other concerned officials, among others, attended the two-day session along with the minister.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has especially given emphasis on incorporating all the disabled people of the country into all national development plans including the poverty alleviation, he said.
Side by side, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s daughter Saima Wajed is also working relentlessly in helping provide autism, neurological and mental diseases treatment, service development, research and creating mass awareness at national and international level, Dr Hasan told the conference.
To bring the disabled persons into the mainstream of society, Hasan said the government has raised allowance for the disabled people, extension of inclusive education for the disabled children, construction of disabled friendly infrastructures and using of information technology to make all necessary information available.
Even the government is working to ensure the right of the disabled people through enacting different acts that include the Rights and Protection of Persons with Disability Act of 2013, Neuro-Developmental Disability Protection Trust Act-2013, Bangladesh Rehabilitation Council Act-2018 and Mental Health Act-2018, he said.
Citing a declaration of the Prime Minister, the information minister said the head of the government has declared to bear all the responsibilities of the orphan autistic children, adding “Even the government has constructed disabled friendly infrastructures at Bhasanchar in Noakhali for the Rohingya people of Myanmar who have taken shelter in Bangladesh.”
After concluding the address, the members of Bangladesh delegation led by the minister also gave answers of different queries posed by the representatives of the convention committee and the civil society.
Bangladesh is a signatory country of the UN Convention on protection of the rights of the persons with disabilities in 2007 and the first review on Bangladesh is being held at the session as part of country-wise review.
The Information and Broadcasting Minister will return home on August 27.