The final regional consultation on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) ended on Friday in Buka, Bougainville.
The two-day workshop brought together government officers from the Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG), people with disabilities, representatives from NGOs, churches, and key national government agencies.
The objective of the consultation supported by Building Community Engagement Program (BCEP) is to prepare combined initial and periodic report for UNCRPD Committee to fulfill the government’s international obligation.
The workshop was the last in a series of consultations held across Papua New Guinea’s four regions.
Deputy Secretary for Community Development and Religion Karen Haive officially opened the workshop and thanked participants for their involvement.
“As a government, our approach to supporting people with disabilities is guided by key national policy frameworks that promote the message: ‘Remove Barriers, Make Rights Real,’” Ms. Haive said.
She added that Papua New Guinea has ratified six of the nine core United Nations human rights treaties, with the department responsible for implementing three of them, including the CRPD.
Representing the ABG, Manager for Mandatory and Social Services Donovan Tami outlined the key objectives and priorities of Bougainville’s Disability Policy.
Throughout the consultation, participants engaged in open discussions and completed questionnaires focused on how government services, such as education and infrastructure, are supporting the inclusion of persons with disabilities.
Their responses aimed to capture experiences and implementations status of the CRPD.
With the regional consultations now completed, the Technical Working Group (TWG) will move onto national agency consultations, followed by three drafting workshops and a final validation workshop. The TWG included officials from national departments, including Justice and Attorney General, Prime Minister and NEC, Health, Treasury, Foreign Affairs, and the State Solicitor’s Office.