Floyd Morris | Is Jamaica on track to achieve SDGs for persons with disabilities?

Every year, December 3 is observed as International Day of Persons with Disabilities. The day has been established by the United Nations to celebrate the achievements and challenges of persons with disabilities. For this year, the global celebrations are being observed under the theme “United in Action to Rescue and Achieve the SDGs for, with and by Persons with Disabilities”.

The theme for the celebrations is fittingly appropriate in light of the fact that 2030, the year set for the achievement of the SDGs, is just seven years away. It is also a reminder to global leaders at the recently concluded for the Conference on Climate Change (COP28) in Dubai. Global leaders are united in action to save the planet from self-inflicting wounds that mankind has been placing on the Earth. I applaud the fixity of purpose of the leaders and support the actions taken in Dubai thus far.

But there is another action that global leaders need to be united on. This is the effort to ensure the full and meaningful participation of persons with disabilities in society. One hundred and eighty-five countries, including Jamaica, have signed and ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) thus far. These countries have also agreed to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which have eight targets that are germane to the participation, inclusion, and non-discrimination of persons with disabilities.

But while these countries have all signed and ratified these treaties and agreements that are designed to empower and transform the lives of the approximately 16 pre cent, or 1.3 billion persons with disabilities living across the world, the 2030 development agenda seems extremely elusive for persons with disabilities. Data is showing that 80 per cent of the global population of persons with disabilities is living in poverty. The issue is further problematical with between 80-90 per cent of these individuals unemployed. Employers by and large view these individuals as defective labour and therefore pose, significant problems for their businesses. Healthcare and education facilities are in the main, inaccessible to the members of this marginalised group. These institutions were predominantly built in an era where persons with disabilities were viewed as objects of charity and not rights holders for healthcare and education.

The world therefore has another crisis to attend to and this is the continued marginalisation of the world’s largest minority group: persons with disabilities. The constant reminder from the Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres and other proponents of the SDGs is that no one should be left behind. At the current trajectory, persons with disabilities are still being marginalized and the 2030 development agenda seems like a pipe dream for these individuals.

Jamaica is one of the countries that have signed and ratified the CRPD. It has also agreed to the SDGs. Most commendably, Jamaica was the first to sign and ratify the CRPD in 2007.

In 2014, the country made the gigantic moved to establish legislation to protect the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities. This legislation was brought belatedly into effect in February 2022. Entrenched in the law are protection against discrimination in areas such as education, employment, healthcare, public transportation, participation in politics and public life, and housing and public facilities.

INCLUSIVE EDUCATION

The CRPD and SDGs require that countries establish an inclusive education system. Inclusive education means that persons with disabilities should be in the same education institution as those without a disability save and except in circumstances where the disability is so profound that it would not allow for such inclusion. But research is pointing to only 23 per cent of the educational institutions in Jamaica being accessible for persons with disabilities. Additionally, most of the teachers in the system are not trained to relate to these individuals. Jamaica is, miles behind in terms of achieving the targets set for education in the context of the SDGs.

The CRPD and the SDGs require that accessible, quality and affordable healthcare be provided to persons with disabilities. Qualitative research conducted highlights that the majority of these individuals are users of the public-health system. This is understandably so because a considerable portion of them are extremely poor. Research is also showing that these individuals have problems accessing information on the healthcare system, difficulties in relating with some health professionals, inaccessible healthcare facilities and problems with sexual and reproductive health services. These issues must be addressed post-haste if the provisions of the Disabilities Act 2014, the CRPD, and SDGs are to be realised.

The CRPD and SDGs require that an inclusive labour market be established to provide quality employment for persons with disabilities that fits with the decent work agenda. Persons with disabilities are able to perform efficaciously at the workplace and with the advent of modern technologies, their performance can increase exponentially. However, research data is pointing to over 90 per cent of the population of persons with disabilities in Jamaica unemployed. The employment landscape in Jamaica for persons with disabilities must undergo a seismic shift if the country is to meet the requirements of the Disabilities Act 2014; CRPD and the SDGs.

The Disabilities Act, the CRPD, and SDGs require that we build inclusive and accessible cities. Accessibility is now being treated as a human right for persons with disabilities. Thus, the moment that a facility is opened to the public, it must be accessible to persons with disabilities. It is what is regarded by the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities as an ‘ ex ante duty’. Therefore, any business that is opened to the public must have access features to accommodate persons with all types of disabilities. Jamaica is failing in this regard as a research conducted by me in 2020 and entitled “Accessible and Inclusive City: Can Kingston Jamaica Measure Up” has seen the city receiving a failing grade in the context of persons with disabilities. Again, Jamaica is languishing behind in terms of the 2030 development agenda for persons with disabilities.

NO SPECIFIC GOAL

While the SDGs made no specific goal for participation in politics and public life for persons with disabilities, the Disabilities Act 2014 and the CRPD have. For the goals set out in the SDGs, the Disabilities Act and the CRPD to materialise, there is the need for some serious political machinations on the part of persons with disabilities. Persons with disabilities based on World Health Organization’s (WHO) estimates constitute 16 per cent of a country’s population. Extropulatively, in Jamaica, this would amount to over 450,000 individuals who are either blind/visually impaired, deaf/hard of hearing, mentally ill, intellectually disabled, physically disabled, speech impaired, have a learning disability or some form of neurological disorder. When this population is conflated with mothers and fathers, it mushrooms into a powerful political army that can change the balance of power in any country. Persons with disabilities and their families must not allow themselves to be treated as mere ‘voting machines’ who turn up and vote for politicians who do not care about their existence post-election. They must, therefore, use their numbers and assert themselves in the political space so that they can get the issues so eloquently delineated in the Disabilities Act 2014, the CRPD, and the SDGs fully implemented in time for 2030.

Conclusively, it is not inaccurate to state that Jamaica is miles away from achieving the targets postulated in the SDGs and languishing behind in the implementation of the Disabilities Act 2014 and the CRPD. Notwithstanding, seven years still remain for the 2030 development agenda to be realised. There must be a redoubling of efforts to bring the targets up to speed and ensure that persons with disabilities are meaningfully brought into the mainstream of Jamaican society. Thus, greater emphasis must be placed on a genuine inclusive education system, an accessible and affordable healthcare system for persons with disabilities, a responsive and inclusive labour market for these marginalised citizens and cities and communities that are accessible and inclusive of persons with disabilities. Persons with disabilities are human beings and have a right to these facilities and services and Government must ensure that they are responsive to them in order to meet the provisions of the Disabilities Act 2014, the CRPD, and SDGs. The clock is indeed ticking for the SDGs to be realised for persons with disabilities in Jamaica for 2030.

Senator Floyd Morris, PhD, is the director of the UWI Centre for Disability Studies at Mona. Send feedback to morrisfloyd@gmail.com