SATV, Kathmandu, May 11: "Asia Regional Workshop on Access to Justice for Persons with Disabilities", an event projecting the idea of “Strengthening access to justice persons with disabilities through legal reforms and compliance with the CRPD” was held today in Kathmandu’s Radission hotel. The event was half day long and has been scheduled for 11th and 12th of May.
Nepal Disabled Women Association(NDWA) in support of KOSHISH, Transforming Communities for Inclusion and International Commission of Jurists organised the event. The workshop was conducted to identify and understand the challenges faced by persons with disabilities in accessing justice.
The event was formally inaugurated by Ms. Tika Dahal, President of NDWA and with lighting of lamp by honourable Mr. Kalyan Shrestha, former Chief Justice and ICJ Comissioner.
The event was opened with the storytelling of the journey towards psychological rehabilitation and living independently by Ms. Kamala Poudel from KOSHISH. As an opening keynote Ms. Yeni Rosa Damayanti, Vice president of TCI adderessed need for re-defining the entry point from mental health to human rights for all.
The whole event of the day was divided into five sessions. The first session elaborated its audiences the human rights approach to disability, understanding and identities of disability, stereotypes and misconceptions attached to disability thoroughly awaring the appropriate terminologies used to refer to persons with disabilities in order to avoid stigmatized language. In addition, the “Right to equal treatment” in law, practice, everyday life of disability was put light on.
Delegates in second session discussed on legal frameworks relating to legal capacity and access to justice in Nepal describing the concept of legal capacity and differentiating between “substituted decision making” and “supported decision making”.
Further, Mr. Yuhei Yamada from Porque, the organisation of persons with psychosocial disabilities in Japan and Ms. Glenda T. Litong, a professor in University of Philippines discussed the third session that dealt with legal frameworks relating to legal capacity and access to justice bringing out the exmaples from other asian nations.
More, speakers from different organisations of Taiwan, Korea and Indonesia shared their lived experiences on barriers to access also suggesting probable provisions of procedural accomodations. They highlighted challenges faced by the persons with psychosocial and intellectual disabilities in accessing justice. They scrutinized helpful procedural accomodations and existing challenges for accessing such accomodations.
The end session of the day profoundly threw light upon Mental health laws, institutionalization and right to live independently. The session brought into discussion meantal health laws, conditions in institutions, experiences of forced treatment suggesting alternatives to institutionalization like CRPD guidelines on deinstitutionalization and deprivation of liberty. Delegates such as Mr. Matrika Devkota from KOSHISH,Nepal, Mr. Mohammed Rejaul from International Disability Alliance of Bangladesh, Ms. Beatrice Leong from AIDA in Malaysia, Ms. Kavita Nair from Bapu Trust in India participated as speakers in the session.
