Toward Inclusive Social, Economic, and Political Policies for Persons with Disabilities in Mozambique
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Toward Inclusive Social, Economic, and Political Policies for Persons with Disabilities in Mozambique September 2019 COVER PICTURE: GONÇalo MABUNDA Mabunda is a Mozambican artist who through his sculptures shapes metal and deactivated firearms to create artefacts. The artist’s works encourage reflection on the power of transformation and creation of beauty from objects of destruction. Resilience and overcoming challenges are factors present in his artistic practice and in his own life path. TECHNICAL DATA: Ownership: WFD - Moçambique Title: Towards Social, Economic and Inclusive Policies for People with Disability in Mozambique Authors: Dr. Gilbert M. Khadiagala, Professor of International Relations, Witwatersrand University, Johannesburg, South Africa. and Jorge R. Manhique, Expert in Human Rights for Disability. Editing and Linguist Review: Delma Comissário Technical Coordination: Claive Juízo, Program Officer, WFD Mozambique Design and Layout: Arte de Gema Cover picture: Gonçalo Mabunda Printing: CIEDIMA Printouts: 1.000 copies September 2019 Maputo, Mozambique The consultation process on political, economic and social inclusion of people with disability in Mozambique that allowed the design of this report was conducted by a multi-sectoral team that worked as a task force composed of Genito Dinis Lobua (Parliament), Graciano Langa (Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Action), Ricardo Moresse (ADEMO), Cantol Pondja (FAMOD), Delton Muianga (WFD) and Claive Juizo (WFD). LEGAL WARNING: “All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, copied, transcribed or even transmitted by electronic means or through recordings without the written permission of the author and the editors. The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the Westminster Foundation For Democracy or the organisations for which the authors work. ” ÍNDICE ACKNOWLEGMENTS 7 PREFACE I 11 PREFACE II 13 PREFACE III 15 PREFACE IV 19 PREFACE V 21 SUMÁRIO EXECUTIVO 23 INTRODUCTION 29 GLOBAL AND AFRICAN EFFORTS TO EFFECT INCLUSION OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES 31 Problems of implementing the Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities 37 POLICY ENVIRONMENT FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES IN MOZAMBIQUE 41 Legal and policy frameworks 42 Institutional framework 47 BARRIERS AND OBSTACLES TO INCLUSION OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES IN MOZAMBIQUE 49 Similarities among Northern, Central, and Southern Mozambique 49 Regional variations and differences among persons with disabilities 58 Women and girls with disabilities 63 Persons with albinism 65 Persons with psychosocial disabilities 68 Deaf persons 69 Persons with visual impairment 70 Persons with physical disabilities 71 POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS 75 LIST OF ACRONYM ADEMO Mozambican Association for People with Disability AR Assembly of the Republic AU African Union CNAS National Council for Social Action CNDH National Commission of Human Rights CP4D Commonwealth Partnership for Democracy CRPD United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. CSOs Civil Society Organizations DFID Department for International Development of the UK Government DPOs Disabled People’s Organizations FAMOD Forum of Association of Person with Disabilities of Mozambique FRELIMO Front of Liberation of Mozambique GM Goverment of Mozambique HIV/AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immune deficiency syndrome ICESCR International Convent on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights IDE Human Development Index (HDI) INE National Institute of Statistics of Mozambique INGS International Non-Governmental Organisations ITCs Information and tecnologies MGCAS Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Affairs NGOs Non Govermental Organization 5 OHCHR International Convent on Civil and Political Rights PES Social Economic Plan PNAD National Plan for Disability RENAMO National Resistance Movement SAFOD Southern Africa Federation of the Disabled SDGs Sustainable Development Goals UDHR Universal Declaration of Human Rights UEM Eduardo Mondlane University UNFPA United Nations Fund for Population (UNFPA) UNO United Nations Organisation WFD Westminster Foundation for Democracy 6 ACKNOWLEGMENTS Delton Muianga Representative of Westminster Foundation for Democracy in Mozambique he Westminster Foundation for sustainable development of society. Democracy (WFD) is a UK public As WFD, we believe in collective and Tbody dedicated to supporting consensual work to find the right the strengthening of democracy in the solutions. For this purpose, these world. stakeholders should feel part of, and responsible for the process of building The WFD works in more than 30 a socially just and democratic society. developing countries, supporting the development and consolidation It is therefore based on the assumption of their democracies and helping of involvement and not exclusion their institutions becoming more from the development process that democratic, accountable and inclusive. the WFD in Mozambique aims to The aim and commitment of the WFD promote, through its Commonwealth is to enable all individuals to achieve Partnership for Democracy (CP4D) their socio-economic and political programme, an inclusive and aspirations independently within a responsible democracy within the democratic and rights-centred society. Commonwealth countries. As such, To this end, the WFD believes that there in September 2018, in partnership is a need for the main stakeholders in with national actors, WFD launched a the process of building democracy and socio-economic and political inclusion development, including government programme for people with disability institutions, political parties, civil in Mozambique. This programme society, the media, the private sector, specifically aims at broadening the traditional authorities, academia and visibility and voices of people with society in general, to have a democratic disability in the public space, supporting space that allows them to learn and their leadership to drive and influence openly discuss the obstacles to the public policies for the promotion of socio-economic, political, inclusive and social, economic and political inclusion 7 of people with disability, including an with organizations such as Light for effective response by the Government the World and Humanitarian Inclusion of Mozambique to their national and worked for the promotion and defence international commitments regarding of the social, economic and political the rights of people with disability. rights of people with disability in Mozambique. At the regional level, In order to achieve this goal and the programme received technical complement the efforts of the assistance from the Centre for Human Government and other national Rights of the University of Pretoria in and international stakeholders, the South Africa, in particular the Disability WFD has contributed through the Unit, bringing a scientific perspective articulation and drafting of the first to the programme. national agenda on the socio-economic and political inclusion of people with It was through this collaboration that disability in Mozambique. We strongly in January 2019 the WFD conducted believe that this agenda will assist a series of high-level consultations as a strategic tool to harmonise and and dialogues about the main guide the various national actions in causes of and barriers to the socio- response to greater socio-economic economic and political inclusion of and political inclusion and respect people with disability in Mozambique, for the human rights of people which resulted in this document, with disability in the country. In this entitled Towards the socio-economic context the WFD feels privileged and and political inclusion of people honoured to have managed to bring with disability in Mozambique. This together the key stakeholders in the study represents an important and national disability sector, particularly symbolic milestone to help the country the Forum of Organisations for People respond not only to the International with Disability, the Association of Convention on People with Disability People with Disability, the Ministry of and commitments made by the Gender, Children and Social Action Government at the Global Conference and the Assembly of the Republic of on Disability in London in 2018, but Mozambique in achieving this objective. also helps the country reconsider how We would also like to commend the to respond effectively and fully to the contribution of the international Sustainable Development Goals, based stakeholders in the disability sector, on the principle that nobody should be especially the United Nations - UNICEF, left behind in the development process. UNESCO, and UNFPA - which together As such, concrete action should be 8 implemented to eliminate the social, throughout the process. We recognise economic and political barriers for that this is not the end, but the people with disability identified in this foundations have been laid so that the document. country can achieve and experience democracy, in which the inclusion of all The WFD is immensely grateful to is fundamental. the leaders of the above-mentioned institutions and others who tirelessly We hope that the seed sown will made this process possible and work as a practical example to contributed to the consolidation of guide subsequent processes, such democracy in Mozambique, from as the implementation of the the conception stage, launching national agenda. Although the CP4D of the programme, conducting of programme will end in March 2020, if