The United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), together with its Optional Protocol, was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) December 2006. As a State party to the Convention, Kiribati has launched initiatives to improve lived experiences and human rights of persons with disabilities, undertaking institutional reforms to implement disability inclusive development for greater accessibility to life opportunities of citizens with disabilities.
The Kiribati National Disability Policy and Action Plan 2018-2021 marked a major endeavor with concrete steps forward, including identifying CRPD legislative compliance as a priority area. Led by the Ministry of Women, Youth, Sport and Social Affairs (MWYSSA), in coordination with the Ministry of Justice and Kiribati National Human Rights Task Force (KNHRTF), the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) has conducted a review of Kiribati’s legislations for compliance with the CRPD, in partnership with the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS), Pacific Disability Forum (PDF), the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
In ensuring an inclusive stakeholder engagement to effect meaningful change at community-level, this initiative is complemented with workshops to socialize and train Government and Non-Government stakeholders to apply rights of persons with disabilities in their line of work and daily lives, as well as to implement legislative reforms.
