Dozens of Palestinians with special needs demonstrated in the Gaza Strip today, Sunday, to demand their rights, coinciding with their international day, which falls on December 3 of each year.
The demonstration took place at the invitation of the Palestinian NGO Network, in front of the headquarters of the Ministries of Labor and Social Affairs, west of Gaza, during which banners raised reading: (Whatever your needs are, you are distinguished), ( I am distinguished, and my disability is not my death from life) and (My disability does not mean my end).
The demonstration came in accordance with the United Nations´ global slogan "Transformational Solutions for Inclusive Development: The Role of Innovation in Nurturing an Accessible and Equitable World", amidst the participants´ demand to demand the rights of persons with disabilities and their alignment with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
The young man, Muhammad Ajour, a young man with disabilities, said during the demonstration that countries are reviewing their achievements in supporting disability issues, and we consider it a day of advocacy and demand for basic rights, which continue to be ignored by all Palestinians parties.
Ajour called on the Palestinian government to pass a comprehensive and free health insurance law for people with disabilities, in a manner that guarantees the preservation of their dignity and rights, the provision of complete and uncompromised medicines, and the facilitation of "treatment abroad" procedures for them.
He also called on the Palestinian government to independently adapt all its buildings to facilitate access for persons with disabilities, stressing the importance of the Ministry of Local Government and Municipalities preventing the issuance of any new licenses for public and private buildings and roads except after guaranteeing that they are suitable for persons with disabilities.
In his turn, the Director of the NGO Network, Amjad Shawa, said in his speech that the rights of persons with disabilities require the implementation of the relevant Palestinian laws and the need to harmonize them within the international conventions and covenants for this category.
Shawa called on all Palestinian parties to assume their responsibilities and provide a safe environment, job opportunities and a future towards real development, especially for people with disabilities, calling on the international community to put pressure on Israel to lift its blockade imposed on the Strip.
There are approximately 49,000 people with disabilities in Gaza, equivalent to 2.4 of its total population, who live in "difficult conditions that their counterparts with disabilities in other societies around the world can hardly bear," according to officials of Palestinian associations.
In the year 1992, the United Nations designated the third of December of each year to be an international day for people with special needs, with the aim of increasing understanding of disability issues in order to guarantee the rights of people with special needs. This day also calls for raising awareness about the inclusion of people with disabilities in political, economic and cultural life.
Dozens of people with special needs demonstrate in Gaza to demand their rights
