NEW YORK, Friday, June 16, 2023 (WAFA) – The Israeli occupation is the main cause of the suffering of all segments of the Palestinian people, including persons with disabilities, according to Palestine’s United Nations envoy Riyad Mansour.
Speaking at the 16th Session of the Conference of States Parties to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (COSP16), held in New York from June 13-15, Masour, Palestine’s Permanent Observer to the UN, stated that while Palestine should not spare any effort to fulfill its obligations under the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), it is a must to reiterate the call for international protection for the Palestinian people as well as for ending the Israeli military occupation, which remains the main reason of the suffering of all segments of Palestinians, including persons with disabilities (PWD).
Mansour highlighted Palestine’s efforts to guarantee the rights of persons with disabilities in Palestine, particularly with regards to providing assistance to PWD given ongoing Israeli assaults against Palestinian civilians.
Showcasing Palestine’s strategy to fulfill its commitment to amplifying the voices of PWD, Mansour pointed that Palestine has enacted a number of legislation and put in place strategies intended to combat discrimination and marginalization of PWD in the public and private sectors, including in education, health and labor, and facilitate their integration to the public education, higher education and vocational training.
He added that Palestine offers support to PWD, especially women and children, along with their families, in order to empower them economically, shield them from need and want, and help them achieve economic independence, not to mention the set of projects implemented to raise community awareness of the CRPD clauses and ensure respecting the rights of PWD as an integral part of the human rights and fundamental freedoms enshrined in the law.
In the conclusion of his speech, Riyad pointed that Palestine continues to endure the Israeli military occupation, limiting its ability to realize its vision and obligations, at a time when many Palestinian youths and children have become disabled due to the attacks of Israeli occupation forces and armed settlers and Israel’s widespread and systematic policy of deliberate resort to lethal and other excessive force as part of a shoot-to-kill policy and that of permanently disabling Palestinians through excessive use of force, including through its “kneecapping” policy.
K.F.
