The Chairperson for Persons with Disability, Augustino Wudu Illario expressed hope to advocate for enacting a bill in the parliament that will lead to the formation of a national disability council.
He said the body will be formed to monitor the effective implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD).
“We shall be launching the domestication of the UNCRPD by advocating for enacting of a bill in the parliament that will lead to the formation of a national disability council, a body that will monitor the effective implementation of the UNCRPD.”
The Chairperson states that the South Sudan Union of Persons with Disabilities with other organizations of persons with disabilities and its partners congratulate the leadership of the country for the remarkable decision to be a state party to the UNCRPD.
Mr. Wudu adds that the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) is instrumental for the population of persons with disabilities in South Sudan.
“We have experienced discrimination, harassment, intimidation, and other forms of human rights violations in the past, now South Sudan becoming a state party to UNCRPD.”
“The confirmation of the United Nations Secretary-General for the enforcement of UNCPRD and its optional protocol will kick off in South Sudan from the 6th March 2024.”
Wudu describes the process of South Sudan becoming a state party as a salvation for persons with disabilities in South Sudan.
“We are now expecting the government to take a proactive role in the domestication of the UNCRPD and its optional protocol in South Sudan by enacting a law to promote and protect the rights of persons with disabilities,” he said.
He further urges the public, private, and non-governmental institutions to take steps to translate the provisions of the UNCRPD and its optional protocol in their day-to-day work.
The African Union (AU) Heads of State Assembly adopted the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Africa on January 29, 2018.
The most recent census reported that 5% of the population in South Sudan, or approximately 1.2 million people, were living with a disability.