24 August 2019
Solomon Islands: Ratification of the UN CPRD likely to improve the chances of funding grants from the Disability Rights Fund
Pacific neighbours of the Solomon Islands, like Kiribati and Papua New Guinea, have to the best of my knowledge both received monetary grants from the US based Disability Rights Fund (DRF) to introduce adaptation measures in order to minimize the impact of climate change.
The Disability Rights Fund (DRF) is a grant making collaborative between donors and the global disability rights community that empowers persons with disabilities to advocate for equal rights and full participation in society.
The DRF resources organizations led by persons with disabilities, primarily in Africa, Asia, the Pacific Islands, and the Caribbean, that are leading efforts to secure rights for all.
Through grant making, advocacy, and technical assistance, the Disability Rights Fund and the Disability Rights Advocacy Fund support Disabled Persons Organizations (DPOs) to use global rights and development frameworks, such as the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – ensuring no one is left behind.
In 2016, Samoa and the Federated States of Micronesia ratified the CRPD after years of advocacy by DPOs supported by the Disability Rights Fund and Disability Rights Advocacy Fund.
The Solomon Islands has not yet ratified the CRPD despite several assurances over the years that ratification would be done and simply needed Cabinet approval.
Ratification by the DCGA of the Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities could be the tool needed by the DRF to facilitate the same kind of grants given to Kirabati and Papua New Guinea and help in providing development agendas for those still marginalized by their disabilities in the local communities.
The eroding shorelines are threatening the way of life and livelihoods of many in the Solomon Islands today
Decreasing food security; decreasing access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene; reduced access to infrastructure, shelter and basic services; and increasing displacement — those are realities that many with disability are faced with.
The DRF’s mission is to support persons with disabilities, to build diverse movements, ensure inclusive development agendas, and achieve equal rights and opportunity for all.
Can we please work to see such worthy aims happen in the Solomon Islands?
Yours sincerely
Frank Short
