Disabled People’s International in New York

By Irene Feika

The "Big Apple", "The City That Never Sleeps" -- these are the thoughts that come to mind for most people when New York is mentioned. For Disabled People’s International (DPI) representatives during the week of October 9 to 15, 1992, New York meant lobbying at the United Nations Building. Marathon meetings. Eating on the run...

The week started off with a gathering of non-government organizations (NGOs) getting together to develop a common platform from which to present the UN’s General Assembly with action proposals beyond the end of the decade. We were joined in these discussions by representatives from the World Blind Union, the World Federation of the Deaf, International League of Societies for Mental Handicap, Rehabilitation International, the World Veterans Federation and the International Federation on Aging.

There was consensus that while the decade has raised awareness of disability-related issues in some ways, the declaration of a UN Decade has proven to be a very limited tool for dealing with the numerous issues and concerns of the world’s 500 million people with disabilities.

The General Assembly received our presentations in conjunction with its decade assessment. Here are some of the suggestions put forward regarding future UN action that are meant to ensure the implementation of the World Programme of Action Concerning Disabled Persons:
- involvement of persons with disabilities and their organizations in decision-making processes;
- the generation of adequate resources for disability programmes;
- integration of disability issues into policies and programmes.

Governments were also called upon to provide effective prevention, rehabilitation for all in need, a fully accessible society and appropriate support services.

Working with government is always a slow and tedious process. Working with many governments that service a variety of cultures and beliefs will take time. The NGOs must practise both patience and perseverance in continuing their efforts to work with all the UN nations.

Though the UN and the end of the decade brought us to New York, they were not the only matters we had to attend to while there. The numerous and varied issues and concerns of people with disabilities frequently require action that cannot wait for a full DPI council meeting. Today’s communication systems can and do provide for much of DPI’s work. However, conditions that many developing nations face means that, on occasion, more time is required for this communication to happen.

By contrast, some decisions have to be made immediately, or require an answer sooner than our Council dates provide for. Since it is the responsibility of the officers to ensure the operation of DPI goes smoothly, the various DPI offices employ occasions such as this week in New York to hold their meetings, in order to deal with the many issues that arise day-to-day on a world-wide basis.

The present officers represent a broad base of DPI nations, including Zimbabwe, Finland, Mauritius, Columbia, Japan and Canada. Time is limited, so every working moment is well spent, used to dispatch the business at hand to as great an extend as possible.

Such times involve much hard work, but they are ones of great revitalization, too. DPI has proven that people with disabilities can and will overcome obstacles that have kept us from being full, participating members of society. Renewals like the week in October spent together in New York will ensure that we continue to be effective, well past the first decade of DPI’s existence. We are a force in the international community to be reckoned with.

(Irene Feika lives in Edmonton and currently serves as COPOH’s representative on the Disabled People’s International (DPI) North American/Caribbean board, acting as its executive secretary. She also represents the region on that organization’s World Council. Irene is a former chairperson of COPOH.)