On April 5, AGENDA, the Representative of Indonesia to ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights and ASEAN Disability Forum organized the first out of a series of four webinars on Advancing the Protection of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in ASEAN in the context of Post Pandemic. The first webinar collected best practices, lesson learned, challenges and ways forward in implementing reasonable accommodations, living independently, accessing the right to healthcare, right to adequate standard of living and social protection during COVID-19 in ASEAN Member States.
H.E. Yuyun Wahyuningrum, Representative of Indonesia to the AICHR and Jillian Ray, Development Counsellor of Australian Mission to ASEAN delivered welcoming remarks. H.E. Yuyun Wahyuningrum emphasized that it is our responsibility to make the Enabling Masterplan a reality while Jillian Ray affirmed Australia’s commitment in working with ASEAN to promote and protect human rights in the region and with DPOs to implement the Enabling Masterplan.
In her keynote speech, Saowalak Thongkuay, committee member of UNCRPD 2021– 2024, stressed that persons with disabilities should be involved in the planning, design, and decision-making processes of the COVID-19 pandemic measures.
The first speaker, Dato’ Dr. Madeline Berma, Commissioner at SUHAKAM Malaysia, shared lessons learned from Malaysia including the need for COVID-19 related information to be accessible for persons with disabilities. She also shared best practices to prioritize persons with disabilities in the government vaccination program. The second speaker, Dr. Sita Sumrit, Head of Poverty Eradication and Gender Division (PEGD) of ASEAN Secretariat (ASEC), expressed ASEC’s appreciation towards AGENDA and ADF’s contribution to the implementation of the Enabling Masterplan. The third speaker, Lauro Purcil Jr. of the Center for Advocacy, Learning, and Livelihood (CALL) Foundation highlighted the importance of engaging government officials and conducting activities at the provincial level to raise awareness on CRPD action points and principles.
Fifty-one people participated in the web seminar. Sign language interpretation and closed captioning were provided to accommodate deaf participants.