SARAJEVO, 15 May 2010— May 15 is a day when we celebrate the Family, the basic unit of society, world-wide. The rights of individuals to quality family life are protected by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and by the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
Today, we draw everyone’s attention to the needs of the persons with disabilities and we call upon all the actors nation-wide to support the rights of persons with disabilities to have happy and fulfilling family lives, and to help enhance their social inclusion, in every sphere of life.
According to some estimates, persons with disabilities account up to 10% of Bosnia and Herzegovina population. Evidence points to the fact that these persons often face discrimination and exclusion in political, social and economic life, creating additional burden for them and influencing negatively on their family lives. Persons with disabilities are often also limited in their access to reproductive health services as well as to specially designed programmes of prevention and combating gender based violence.
The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in December 2006, and ratified by Bosnia and Herzegovina in March 2010, provides a framework for the protection of persons with disabilities against discrimination in matters relating to marriage, relationships and the family. The Covenant emphasizes the rights of persons with disabilities to decide freely and responsibly on the number and spacing of their children and to have access to gender sensitive reproductive health and family planning education and health services.
This year, UNFPA in BiH together with the BiH Parliamentary Group for Population and Development, will mark the International Family Day by organizing a roundtable ”Enhancing the rights of persons with disabilities in BiH to fulfilling family lives through increasing access to reproductive health services and increased prevention and combating of family violence in Bosnia and Herzegovina.”
“We must ensure that the persons with disabilities receive equal opportunities for employment, health care and social care, as every other citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina”, stated Dr. Milorad Živkovic, the Chairman of the Parliamentary Group for Population and Development in BiH.
“We call upon all the actors in BiH to accelerate the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and to ensure access to family planning and reproductive health services for the persons with disabilities throughout the country”, added Mr. Faris Hadrovic, UNFPA BiH Assistant Representative.
