Africa-Press – Seychelles. The delegation from the Human Rights Unit of the Commonwealth secretariat yesterday afternoon met with the Minister for Youth, Sports and Family, Marie-Celine Zialor, on the last trip of their one-week visit.
The three-member delegation, headed by Dr Shavana Haythornwaite, head of the Human Rights Unit of the Commonwealth secretariat, is conducting an in-country assessment pertaining to the rights of disabled persons.
Also present at the meeting were the principal secretary in the Family Affairs department, Clive Roucou, and the director for disabled persons in the department of Family Affairs, Marco Gerry.
During their visit they met government officials, members of the legislature, the civil society, the schools, especially the School for the Exceptional Child at Roche Caiman, among others, to understand the success and challenges experienced in ways persons with disabilities are being treated and incorporated in their everyday lives.
Speaking to the press after the meeting, Dr Haythornwaite stated that the delegation was satisfied with the visit.
She said that there is a huge drive and appetite for the government to do more with regard to the rights of the disabled.
She added that they have seen an enormous recognition from the ministry who is now putting together a strong package to promote and protect the rights of the disabled in areas of facilities, capacity building and specialisation of people to work with them.
Dr Haythornwaite said that they will be working on a report with recommendations to share with the department of Family Affairs to consult and engage with the various local stakeholders to ensure that they implement the recommendations moving forward.
Among the recommendations to be included is the provision of better facilities and capacity building in terms of awareness and more qualifications around disabilities. This will, as examples, cater for health professionals getting the qualifications they need to better support unique situations and teachers getting the support that they need to better identify children with disabilities.
Dr Haythornwaite said that they will work with the ministry to implement a long- term programme to strengthen those rights to ensure that persons with disabilities are getting the support they need among which some have already been prioritised by the ministry for implementation.
On the part of the ministry, PS Roucou explained that it was the ministry who recommended for the assessment from the Commonwealth.
He noted that the meetings by the delegation with the government and the different local stakeholders were frank.
He said the ministry will assess the report and depending on the recommendations, it will seek to tackle issues that can be tackled in the immediate while others will be dealt with as the year goes by.
Apart from a lack of access to buildings, PS Roucou said that a lack of parking and lack of qualified teachers for the disabled are among some of the challenges that need to be addressed.
Dr Justin Pettit, Human Rights Adviser and Gary Rhoda, Human Rights Officer, are the two other members of the delegation. They leave the country today.
For More News And Analysis About Seychelles Follow Africa-Press
