Research on

Written by Soran Hasan Hamakarim Buskerud University College / Human Rights Study

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0 9.0

INTRODUCTION..p. 3 WHAT IS DISABILITIES....p. 4 THEORIS .....p. 5 INTERNATIONAL RECOMMENDATIONS FOR POLICY MAKING ... .p. 7 RIGHTS OF DISABLED PEOPLE IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES .P. 8 DATA / SITUATION IN KURDISTAN. ....P. 9 DISCUSSION ......P. 12 CONCLUSION .........P. 13 REFERENCES .........P. 14

1.0 Introduction When we hear by disability we just imagine that there is some not being able to do things as a normal human. Most of the disabled persons in the world are suffering from deficiency which cause of his/her disabilities, the main issues of selecting this area is to show the actuality of those persons in Kurdistan, and at least to help them by anything for changing their life to better. The very important thing in this part is how to learn others to respect their case instead of emotions which should not be actively anymore. The disabilities are become increase day to day inside the persons, hopefully they get a bit little support by some charity, but unfortunately the government is still not put into its agenda, and also there are no kind of sense inside the society to encourage them for standing them up again. Generally they are not obtaining enough support; most of them have no places. Some of the persons who are suffering from their brains they are destroyed, and some others who are suffering from their physical disabilities they became brainless, both because of bad society that uncourageous to pull in for participation, and rehabilitating them. Through this research I hope I can affect for unless not differ them as strangers among their families. All civilized countries people with disabilities are respected and get the enough help in order not to feel less. The very embarrassing thing is that Iraq has 5 times more oil reserves than Norway, and a Norwegian organization is doing humanitarian project in Iraq, that is because of war after wars!!!? The people with disabilities could represent 10% of the population in worldwide (WHO world data) I recognize that persons with disabilities have the same rights as every human being think that they are one of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged groups of the Iraqi Kurdistan population consider that coming from attitudinal, institutional or environmental barriers the handicapped people have poor access to general services in health education and less opportunities to work, and/or participate in social life affirm that most of the scarce specific services they could benefit from NGOs without public support recognize that a few public projects exist, but lacking from a global perspective, coordination and financial resources. In this research there are many indications that lead the normal people for more understanding about the disabilities especially in Iraqi Kurdistan while they suffer from their situations in the life and how to deal with them in a charity or society ways which explained as moral models, also there are standard rules that stated and recognized for better knowledge. Some data have been mentioned about Kurdistan as sample that are coherent which can be differentiate with other countries.

2.0 What is Disability?

There are many different ways of understanding and interpreting disability. Disability takes various forms and is quite difficult to understand for both non-disabled persons and people with disabilities. Disability is a part of your body that does not work as expected. An eye that cannot see well, an ear that cannot hear well, a mind that reacts to things differently, a brain that cannot learn easily, or a body part that can work as intended, and more. When one or more of these things is present in a person they are called a person with a disability. Disability is an impairment of some degree like the inability to have full uses one or more parts of the body, and the main types are: Physical includes spinal, cerebral palsy, amputees, visual, hearing impaired, Intellectual, autism and Mental illness includes bipolar OCDs depression. The available data reflect this confusion as well: according to an oft-cited WHO figure, the prevalence of people with disabilities is on average 10% worldwide. However, DISTAT, the UN database on disability which summarizes statistics from different countries, mentions figures from 0.3% (in Thailand) to 20% (in New Zealand).These examples show that disability is difficult to measure and define. In the disability policy context, data and figures are very useful means of convincing decision-makers. In order to obtain a comprehensive understanding as well as to produce reliable and comparable data, international agencies such as the WHO are currently working on a general definition. Modifications of existing models in the last few years, and the emergence of a new definition (the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF), show that we are still in a process of understanding the concept. The research currently underway towards achieving an international definition is extremely challenging, as models of disability are strongly influenced by culture. The following sub-sections explain the three main models for understanding disability, However, we need to keep in mind that these models and definitions are proposals for understanding disability, and that a personal situation, or a country-specific one, may not exactly fit the models. Consequently they do not necessarily fit other country contexts and cultural backgrounds. These models (especially the social model) provide the basis for any action concerning disability, e.g. development programs. It is helpful to be aware of these models when communicating with somebody from another context in order to know what s/he is talking about and to find effective ways of explaining your own position. The problem is also linked to the use of different definitions. Problems of understanding are reinforced when translating the terms into or from other languages: some languages do not have an equivalent word for disability, but many words for different types of impairment. Even different European languages face this problem. There is an ongoing discussion about the use of non-discriminatory language.

3.0 Theories

They aren't generally considered theories, but models. There are other names and slight variations in different countries. The moral model of disability says disability is the result of sin of the person, their parent, their family, or in some cases their previous life. In this model the whole family is shamed by the individual with the disability. This model has generally fallen out of favor except in some third world countries, The three common models are explained below: The Charity Model The Charity Model sees people with disabilities as victims of their impairment. Their situation is tragic, and they are suffering. Consequently, they need special services, special institutions, etc., because they are different. Sometimes people with disabilities themselves adopt this concept, in which case they usually feel unable and have a low sense of self-esteem. Summarizing the model i. Aiming to fulfill the needs of poor PwD. ii. PwD victim of their impairment. iii. Their situation is tragic they need assistance. iv. Special services for special institutions because they are different. v. Low self-esteem of PwD who feel unable. The Medical Model The Medical (or Individual) Model considers people with disabilities as persons with physical problems which need to be cured. This pushes people with disabilities into the passive role of patients. The aim of a medical approach is to make people with disabilities normal which of course implies that people with disabilities are in some way abnormal. The issue of disability is limited to the individual in question: in case of disability, the disabled person has to be changed, not society or the surrounding environment. Summarizing the model i. PwDs are with physical problems and need to be cured. ii. PwDs are considered as patients. iii. Individual problem. iv. Make them normal(they should be abnormal). v. Intervention of specialists. vi. PwDs are passive. The Social Model The Social Model regards disability to be a result of the way society is organized. Because society is not well organized, people with disabilities face the following types of discrimination (see Figure below):

 Attitudinal: This is expressed in fear, ignorance and low expectations (influenced by culture and religion); Environmental: This results in physical inaccessibility affecting all aspects of life (shops, public buildings, places of worship, transport, etc.); and Institutional: This means legal discrimination (e.g. by not being allowed to marry or to have children), or exclusion from school, etc. These three types of barriers make people with disabilities unable to take control of their own lives. Summarizing the model i. Society limits PwDs in having the own control of their life. ii. Barriers should be removed. iii. PwDs are active to remove them.

Civil Rights or Minority Rights model of disability is slightly different than the social model - 'disability' is a socio-political construct with provides an individual specific rights that provide equal access to opportunity. With equal access one can be independent of "helpers." Instead one is in charge of one's life. People with disability have sought (and can seek) a political voice, and become politically active against social forces of ableism. The main difference between the social model and the civil rights model is how actively involved the person with the disability is involved in the actual process of change.

4.0 International recommendations for policy making The following recommendations were elaborate sharing experiences and good practices in different countries. They were adopted by the United Nations and are moral commitments for every State Members of the UN. The new Convention on the Rights of persons with disability recognize the importance of standard Rules in policy-making Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities
General Assembly resolution 48/96 of 20 December 1993

Rule 14. Policy-making and planning States will ensure that disability aspects are included in all relevant policy-making and national planning. 1. States should initiate and plan adequate policies for persons with disabilities at the national level, and stimulate and support action at regional and local levels. 2. States should involve organizations of persons with disabilities in all decision-making relating to plans and programs concerning persons with disabilities or affecting their economic and social status. 3. The needs and concerns of persons with disabilities should be incorporated into general development plans and not be treated separately. 4. The ultimate responsibility of States for the situation of persons with disabilities does not relieve others of their responsibility. Anyone in charge of services, activities or the provision of information in society should be encouraged to accept responsibility for making such programs available to persons with disabilities. 5. States should facilitate the development by local communities of programs and measures for persons with disabilities. One way of doing this could be to develop manuals or check-lists and provide training programs for local staff.

5.0 Rights of disabled people in different countries of the world Having rights and enjoying rights are different. There are millions of rights.... The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol were adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in December 2006, and opened for signature in March 2007. The Convention aims to ensure that persons with disabilities enjoy human rights on an equal basis with others. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities received its 20th ratification on 3 April 2008, triggering the entry into force of the Convention and its Optional Protocol 30 days later. This marks a major milestone in the effort to promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms of persons with disabilities, and to promote respect for their inherent dignity. The twenty nations that have given it their full support & agree to be penalized if they do not enforce the rights are Bangladesh, Croatia, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Gabon, Guinea, Hungary, India, Jamaica, Jordan, Mexico, Namibia, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, San Marino, South Africa, Spain, and Tunisia. In some countries people with disabilities have rights that are no different than any one else and don't seem to need an extra set of rights as they are treated with dignity and respect. In other countries they have rights and are treated very badly and there is not much that can be done about it. In some countries they have enacted national laws that give people with disabilities rights:
USA: Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Australia: Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) (1992) Great Britain: also called DDA (1995) New Zealand Human Rights Act (1993) Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms Japan: Disabled Person's Fundamental Law and Heartful Building Law Netherlands Act on Equal Treatment on Grounds of Handicap or Chronic Illness (2003) Scotland Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (Chapter 50) Sweden Prohibition of Discrimination Act 2003 Kenya Persons with Disabilities Act (2003) Nigerians with Disability Degree (1993) Zambia Persons with Disabilities Act, Section 32 Zimbabwe Persons with Disabilities Act 1992, Section 10 (c) Ecuador Ley sobre discapacidades no. 180 (1992) Guatemala Disability Discrimination Ordinance (1997) Bangladesh Persons with Disability Welfare Act (2001) Cambodia Draft of Law on Rights of People with Disabilities People's Republic of China Law on the Protection of Disabled Persons Hong Kong Disability Discrimination Ordinance India The Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 Israel Equal Rights for People with Disabilities Law section 15 and 19 Jordan Law for the Welfare of Disabled Persons, no. 12 of 1993 Palestine Law Number 4 (1999) Concerning the Rights of the Disabled Philippines Magna Carta for Disabled Persons, Title IV, section 46 Sri Lanka Protection of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, No.28 of 1996 Thailand Rehabilitation of Disabled Persons Act B.E. 2534

6.0 Data: the situation in Kurdistan The successive military conflicts in Kurdistan have littered the country with tremendous number of Explosive Remnant of War. During the Iran - Iraq war the borders were extremely planted with mines by both armies. After the Kurdish appraise in the north, people started to repopulate in their villages. Hence mine and other UXO problems were encountered while villagers intended to utilize their lands and villages. As a result villagers by themselves started from early 90s and many accidents occurred because of lack of systematic and proper procedures and equipments for clearance. Also lack of enough education and knowledge as to the dangerous areas exposed innocent civilians to risk and explosions. Because of poor and decentralized data base, there is no certain figure about disabilities situations in common. The recorded number in the three governments, Sulaimaniyah, Erbil and Duhok, shows that over 3500 death and around 6000 injuries happened until 2006 by mines and UXOs. As shown in the charts below and according to the updated data of General Directorate of Mine Affairs in Kurdistan, Sulaimaniyah province has more numbers of mine victims (Death & injuries) in compare with other provinces in Kurdistan region as well as is most mine contaminated province in Iraq.

Number of mine victim in each governarate

No.of mine victim 4000 2000 0 Slemany Arbil Duhok Governarate no.of death no.of injures

More often than not, the disabled people become jobless and suffer from poverty and consequently psycho social problems. With modest support from local authority and international organizations, still there are grate need for supporting the victim survivors in order to reintegrate those vulnerable individuals and their families into society.

Here are some parts dealing with disabilities Norwegian People's Aid (NPA): Mine Victim Assistant is one pillar of demining activities, hence NPA decided to conduct MVA beside his other various demining activities in order to be integrated program and to avoid duplication of activities MAP decided to implement this project through partnership with KORD organization (former handicap) Then due to the good impact of such a kind of income generation projects to mine victims and as there are huge number of disabled people, NPA located an amount of money from MFA budget to make his contract with KORD through this stage there were 140 income generation projects fulfilled. The Main Aim of helping peoples with disabilities: 1. Supporting the disabled to depend on them. 2. Reactivate their abilities to produce and to be productive individual in the community. 3. Rising up their income to afford their needs. 4. Changing the opinion of the community about them and not to be regarded as parasites. 5. To be individual with indignity and protected from insults and to be apart of the states infrastructure. Those projects were Included 1- Animal raising project: This project consists of buying domestic animals for the disabled peoples so that they can benefit form the animals products as such, milk, yoghurt, etc kind of the animal depends on what the disable person prefers like sheep or caw. 2- Shop opening project: This project includes opening a shop for the disabled person, and providing the shop with goods. This intends to be sustainable income resources which make the person interdependent economically. 3- Sewing project This project involves buying sewing machine for the disabled person on his\her demands. Some of the disabled people prefer this kind of project when they have some sort of previous background in tailor.

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Handicap International Belgium Lately KORD Since 1991 Handicap International (Belgium), like other humanitarian NGOs intervened and contributed to alleviate the sufferings of disabled people. One of the most vulnerable groups among the people is the disabled. Handicap International From the beginning rehabilitated the disabled physically and then socio-economically. To make the Programme sustainable HI created a local NGO to prolong their Programme and access national fund also. This organization is named KORD. Mine Advisory group (MAG): First international NGO came in 1991. MAG implemented almost all pillars of mine action excluding mine victim assistance. its Objective in Iraqi Kurdistan is Healthy communities developing without disabled people & fatalities cased by land mine or other explosive remnants of war. Emergency Started from early 90s in order to provide trauma care and treatments for mine and UXO explosion survivors. Role of local authorities The Local Authority is the official authority for supporting and coordination of all mine related activities. Through them some national fund was made available for mine action activities including mine victim assistance. Local authority which is the main power in the area have not a kind of best role among all parts which mentioned above, but still there is no such a good system for making them at least to live without taking a way for begging, because of there is only a small amount called as a money support (30000 ID) which is equal 25 USD taken for a person per a month. In Kurdistan there are around 100 000 disabled people with different cases available among these 7000 are caused by mine and UXO (data collected from KORD). 1 2 3 Disabled People in general 100 000 Caused by Mine & UXO 7 % of 100 000 Disability Rate 100 % 25 % of 100 000 Male 70 % Male 78 % Male 68 % Female 30 % Female 22 % Female 32 %

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7.0 Discussion:

The Iraqi State has ratified on 21/01/71 the International Covenant on Economical Social and Cultural Rights, but is still not complying with its obligations coming from the general observation Nr 5, particularly in maintaining discriminative laws based on disability and therefore not respecting the covenant having neither policies nor plans of implementation for people with disabilities progressively to enjoy their rights on the same basis as other Iraqi people, and therefore not complying with the implementing obligations. International Commitments: 1. Iraq as member of UN system is committed by international conventions and declarations. 2. Conventions are binding and define obligations for the State if ratifying. 3. Declarations are moral commitments for every member but there is no sanction for State not respecting these documents. 4. Iraq is also members of various regional organizations were moral commitments are also taken.

The Iraq international obligations in terms of disability 1. Respect: No discrimination in law or bylaw based on disability. 2. Protect: if a person or private institution is violating the human rights of PWDs (direct discrimination) State should react. 3. Implement: to have a plan and affect reasonable resources to reduce progressively the gap in term of access to health education employment. On 1980 Iraqi government issued a law for disables but it was specifically for Iraq-Iran war victims. There are some decisions in favor of PWDs like. a- Allowance for disables. b- Official leave with full payment for mother have % 100 disabled children.

The Iraqi Kurdistan Government is not fulfilling its responsibilities when its inaction perpetuates the marginalization of people with disabilities is loosing opportunities when neglecting all potentialities of this part of the population should develop a comprehensive approach of disability based on international recommendations such as the standard rules for the equalization of opportunities adopted by the UN Nation and referring to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with disabilities. The national legal framework in Iraqi Kurdistan: The project of Draft of Kurdistan Constitution in Article no 52 which contain 5 points refers to different rights of disabled like economical, social, health and legal rights are not mentioned that these rights should be arranged by law or didnt ask to legislate it, also they didnt refer to representation of PWDs in parliament.

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8.0 Conclusion In a spirit to construct a better Kurdistan for all without discrimination and in particular disabilities, The Minister of Labor and Social Affairs in charge of coordinating disability matters should organize a coordinative process for the elaboration of a disabilities policy in Kurdistan. All disabilities will be encourage having opportunities for bringing their experience and suggestions and are stressing the importance of the participation of disabled people organizations to take initiative for establishing an appropriate regional legal framework. As I mentioned in the introduction that the disability is suffering from deficiencies I interested with the subject that I clarify most of the matters in this research which I see there are big number of disabilities in my country that haven't such an enough help from the people and government. The people are not treating the disabled in either charity or social way and also the government is not having such a kind of plan for making them in a good level and omitted their rights which made the people to do so, while we talk about the disabled in Iraq generally and in Kurdistan especially we should know that they are poor financially and in morale; who they need to encourage them within a good system which can be done medically and socially. While both central and the Kurdistan region governments have a little role for human rights in general, they are just taken those matters easily without thinking to step to a real way, and through my research I recognized that if the disabled people rights be away more they will either trying to kill themselves or begging or become mad, and in Kurdistan government have such a kind of discrimination among the individual rights which some of them through personnel relations could obtain some needs and the others not. Recommendation: In order to keep the person with disabilities rights and to prevent lack of compliance in Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan I recommend that: 1. The three models which mentioned above should be taken into considerations definitely. 2. The United Nations should have a role for more pressure on the government to put all the disabilities rights in its agenda and implemented. 3. The data should be collected in a proper way for doing best calcification among them. 4. Remove all the discrimination systems. 5. Find out the work for who can work and help those who entitled. 6. Present the medical treatments for those who need it.

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9.0 References:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Kurdistan Organization for rehabilitation of the disabled / KORD data WHO world data. Norwegian People's Aid / NPA data Rekawtnnamai Jihani Mafakani kamandaman / Kurdish book by KORD 2007 Human, a seasonal magazine published by Ministry of Human Rights of KRG 2007 6. Disability Rights Law and Policy: International and National Perspectives by Mary Lou Breslin, Silva Yee Law - 2002 7. http://www.mafimnalan.blogfa.com 8. http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/DisabledPeople/RightsAndObligations/Disability 9. http://www.un.org/disabilities/default 10. http://www.ada.gov/cguide.htm 11. http://www.icbl.org/lm/2006/iraq.ku.html

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