The University of the West Indies Centre for Disability Studies (UWICDS) and Office of CARICOM Special Rapporteur on Disability, with support from the Commonwealth Secretariat, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and Digicel Foundation recently completed its first ever regional Special Ministerial Conference for Specific Legislation for Persons with Disabilities in the Caribbean.

The UWICDS and the Office of the CARICOM Special Rapporteur on Disability in the Caribbean, with support from the Commonwealth Secretariat, UNESCO and the Digicel Foundation, concluded the first ever regional Special Ministerial Conference for Specific Legislation for Persons with Disabilities in the Caribbean. The two-day conference which was held virtually on July 27 and 28, 2021, came within the context of all the countries within the Caribbean signing and ratifying the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, commitments to the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and the Declaration of Petion Ville, a 2013 decision by Caribbean heads of governments to prioritize persons with disabilities in policy-making. Notwithstanding the commitments to these international and regional agreements, only six countries and territories have developed specific legislation to protect the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities.

Under the distinguished leadership of Senator Dr. Floyd Morris, CARICOM Special Rapporteur on Disability in the Caribbean, and a special conference committee drawn from diverse stakeholders, the conference aimed to advance legislation for, with and by persons with disabilities in the Caribbean.

The keynote address was delivered to the conference by the Rt. Hon. Baroness Patricia Scotland QC, Secretary General of the Commonwealth, who expressed continued support from the Commonwealth Secretariat for the efforts of the Caribbean to secure the participation, inclusion and non-discrimination of persons with disabilities through legislation.

Ms. Gabriela Ramos, Assistant Director-General for the Social and Human Sciences, UNESCO, also addressed the conference and expressed solid commitment to work with the UWICDS in identifying best policy practices to protect the human rights and empowerment of persons with disabilities throughout the Caribbean. Importantly, the Vice Chancellor of The UWI, Professor Sir Hilary Beckles stressed UWI’s commitment to unlocking the potential of persons with disabilities in the Caribbean through education.

Mrs. Charmaine Daniels, Chief Executive Officer of Digicel Foundation, reaffirmed Digicel’s commitment to an inclusive, participatory and non-discriminatory Caribbean environment for persons with disabilities and stressed the need for the education and employment of these marginalized individuals.

Mrs. Helen Royer, Director, Human Development in the Directorate of Human and Social Development of the CARICOM Secretariat, addressed the conference and endorsed the need for specific legislation to protect persons with disabilities in the Caribbean.

Ministers, Permanent Secretaries, Attorneys General, and government representatives from over 20 countries within the region participated in the conference. There were over 100 participants in the two days of exhilarating discussion on the theme of “Securing Participation, Inclusion and Non-discrimination of Persons with Disabilities through Legislation.”

Emanating from the conference was the development of a special template for specific legislation to protect the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities. The template gives a clear indication of the essential features that should be captured in specific legislation for persons with disabilities in the region. Some of the features include: the establishment of statutory agency to drive disability development in each country; the development of disability rights tribunals; the establishment of dedicated funding mechanism to drive development of persons with disabilities and clauses to protect persons with disabilities in education, health care, employment, housing, public transportation, accessibility and access to information. Countries will use the template as the guide to preparing their specific legislation.

According to Senator Dr. Floyd Morris, “we cannot dictate to governments what must be included in the specific legislation as we have to respect their sovereignty. However, we can assist in guiding the process to advance the development of legislation to allow for the participation, inclusion and non-discrimination against persons with disabilities in their countries.”

The conference ended with some commitments from the varied stakeholders:

1. A five-year timeframe for all countries within the region to develop specific legislation to protect the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities;
2.  A three-year timeframe for countries that already has specific legislation, to amend such laws to capture essential elements of the template that does not exist in their current legislation;
3.  To capacitate institutions and individuals within the Caribbean to advocate for the establishment of specific legislation for persons with disabilities;
4. To use the Regional Disability Index that is administered by the UWICDS as a tool of tracking and ranking countries in their efforts to establish specific legislation for persons with disabilities and
5.  To continue and foster collaboration with partners such as the Commonwealth Secretariat, UNESCO, Digicel Foundation and CARICOM in strengthening institutions to develop specific legislation to protect persons with disabilities in the Caribbean.