Workshop on the Roles of the Disabled Persons’ Organizations in Zimbabwe

When :

from Tuesday 10 March, 2020
08:00
to Wednesday 11 March, 2020
16:55

Type of event :

Meeting by Member States or Institutions

Where :

UNESCO Regional Office for Southern Africa, UNESCO Regional Office for Southern Africa, No 8 Kennilworth Rd, Newlands, P.O Box HG435 Highlands, Harare, P.O Box HG435 Highlands, Harare, Zimbabwe

Contact :

Phinith Chanthalangsy, p.chanthalangsy@unesco.org

Women and girls with disabilities are particularly vulnerable to discrimination due to their marginalized gender. This workshop, entitled "Towards an effective and meaningful participation of persons with disabilities in Zimbabwe - Roles of the Disabled Persons’ Organizations", is organized by UNESCO, UNDP, and UNFPA, in partnership with Zimbabwe’s disability umbrella organizations, Federation of Organizations for Disabled Persons in Zimbabwe (FODPZ), and National Association of Societies for the Care of the Handicapped (NASCOH). It will take place in Harare on 10 March 2020.

It seeks to develop an overall understanding of the Disabled Persons’ Organizations (DPOs) landscape in Zimbabwe, while also looking at how the implementation of the United Nations Partnership on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNPRPD) project by the UN Agencies has helped to empower DPOs.

Its objectives include to assess the main achievements and the current capacity needs of DPOs in relation to implementing the CRPD, especially within the UNPRPD project; to share good practices of effective DPO engagement; and, to identify areas of improvement in DPOs’ work towards effective and meaningful engagement and inclusion of persons with disabilities in Zimbabwe.

The primary participants of this meeting will be DPOs from Zimbabwe and some UNPRPD countries in the Southern Africa Region, the African Disability Forum (ADF), CSOs working in Disability sector, UNPRPD implementing UN agencies in Zimbabwe, the UNPRPD Secretariat, and the SIDA representatives. Approximately 45 participants are proposed for this workshop.

The United Nations Partnership on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNPRPD) project on Advancing the Rights of Women and Girls with Disabilities in Zimbabwe started in 2018, and has engaged with key stakeholders to contribute to the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Zimbabwe (CRPD). It aims at empowering girls and women with disabilities to become self-advocates and shape public discourse about disability, as well as improving access to the sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and justice services.

A strategic approach in empowering DPOs will be critical to promoting the rights and inclusion of persons with disabilities in national and international development frameworks such as Agenda 2030.