District Rehabilitation Centers necessary for the rehabilitation of persons with Disability: NHRC Chairperson, Justice Arun Mishra

Press Release

National Human Rights Commission

27th July, 2023

District Rehabilitation Centers necessary for the rehabilitation of persons with Disability: NHRC Chairperson, Justice Arun Mishra

Civil Society representatives & NGOs can augment better community awareness and sensitization efforts for the rights of persons with disability: NHRC Member, Dr. Dnyaneshwar M. Mulay

NHRC Chairperson, Mr. Justice Arun Mishra today said that district rehabilitation centers should be set up for the persons with disabilities to give them assistance in enjoying their human rights like any other citizen.

Justice Mishra was chairing a policy dialogue on disability inclusion for C20 organized by the NHRC, India in collaboration with ‘Disability, Equity, Justice’ (DEJ) Working Group. CIVIL-20 (C20) is an official engagement group of the G20, representing the civil society organizations of the G20 member countries. The group was established in 2013 and seeks to provide a platform for civil society organizations to engage with G20 leaders on issues of global importance.

Justice Mishra said that reasonable opportunity should not turn into proportional opportunity for the persons with disabilities.

Referring to the NHRC Advisory to prevent and minimize the impact of ocular trauma, he said that the stakeholders should work towards setting up for rehabilitation facilities, especially for persons with visually impairment. He also urged the Civil Society Organizations and the NGOs to join hands towards achieving them.

He also expressed concerns on the issue of non-informed consent in case of severe disability during the surgery as severe disability has not been defined in the Act.

Justice Mishra appreciated the participation of persons with disabilities in the dialogue, throwing light on ensuring pluralism by NHRC. He urged for a fruitful deliberation and collaborative efforts by all so that the strategies are developed and the recommendations trickle-down, benefiting all.

NHRC Member, Dr. Dnyaneshwar M. Mulay expressed the hope ‘Disability, Equity, Justice Working Group’ will advance the voices of disability. Summarizing the proceedings of the policy dialogue, Member Dr. Mulay said that the discussion was relevant as it identified the gaps and will help move towards better policy discussions. He also urged NGOs and Civil Society representatives to take advantage of the HRC net portal to send complaints to the NHRC online. He also said that the Civil Society representatives and NGOs can augment better community awareness and sensitization efforts for the rights of persons with disability.

NHRC SG, Mr. Bharat Lal, in his opening remarks acknowledged the concerted and collective efforts towards the promotion and protection of rights of persons with disabilities. He said that such collaborative efforts and discussions help in improving the system to meet the requirements of persons with disability ensuring protection of their rights.

Ms. Nidhi Goel, Coordinator DEJ Working Group chairing a session in the discussions on ‘Ensuring Financial Inclusion and Social Protection’ presented the main findings of ‘Disability, Equity, Justice Working Group’. NHRC Joint Secretary, Mr. D.K. Nim said that uniform access to banking solutions, access to insurance and friendly technology needs to be further improved for the protection of rights of the disabled.

NHRC Member, Mr. Rajiv Jain, Director General (I), Mr. Manoj Yadava, senior officers of the Commission, members from NHRC Core Group on Disabilities, civil society organizations and NGOs also participated in the discussions.

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