Under the patronage of his Excellency Dr. Muhannad Al-Azza, Secretary General of the Higher Council for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Arab Network for Civic Education-ANHRE conducted a launching meeting of the project "Inclusive Workplaces for Persons with Disabilities". The project is implemented by ANHRE in partnership and coordination with the Higher Council for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and funded by the Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI). The meeting was held on Tuesday, March 12th, 2019, at the headquarters of the Su Higher Council for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in the presence of a number of decision-makers, representatives of the Equal Opportunities Committee and a variety of civil society organizations concerned with the affairs of persons with disabilities and the media.
During the meeting, the participants discussed working mechanism of the project, timetable and implementation approach to ensure the effective participation of key stakeholders; and discussed partnership opportunities, roles and responsibilities of stakeholders from all sectors. The meeting was opened by the Secretary-General of the Higher Council for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Dr. Muhannad Al-Azza who stressed on the right of persons with disabilities to work and the need for the provision of accessible working environment in accordance with the of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities that was ratified by Jordan in 2008. This commitment also comes in accordance with the Jordanian Law on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities No. 20th of 2017. Mrs. Fattouh Younis, the Executive Director of ANHRE, presented an overview of the project. Eventually, the discussion was opened to the participants who showed their interest to be engaged in the project in order to ensure that persons with disabilities have the right to work on the basis of equality and non-discrimination with others.
Dr. Muhannad Al-Azza, the Secretary-General of the Higher Council for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities said that Jordan made noticeable steps to enhance Persons with Disabilities’ rights through several, legal and practical efforts during the last decade, one of the key obstacles Persons with Disabilities encounter is the stereotypical attitude by the employers who perceive Persons with Disabilities as “incapable” individuals, in addition to the physical barriers that inhibits their access to their rights of work on the bases of equality and nondiscrimination. Dr. Al-Azza continued that the Higher Council seeks through partnership with the ANHRE to activate the Equal Opportunities Committee and create supporting system for its work and adopt the Manual 40 which represents the legal and executive reference to the Committee work.
Peter Neisuler, Cultural Affairs Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Amman, said he was delighted to participate in the launching meeting of "Inclusive Places for People with Disabilities" project implemented by the ANHRE in partnership with the Higher Council for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. He continued that the meeting today is held in the framework of strengthening cooperation between partners to support of the rights of persons with disabilities in Jordan. Mr. Neisuler referred to the significant progress made by Jordan in terms of legislations in recent years, specially the adoption of in 2017 law which expressly prohibits discrimination against persons with disabilities and calls for their integration into all spheres of life, which put Jordan in front of a big challenge to implement this legislation on the ground. This project comes as one of MEPI's efforts to achieve its objectives, which are part of projects to protect and develop civil liberties, empower women and youth, strengthen the rule of law, and promote economic opportunities for women and youth in Jordan and the region.
Mrs. Fotouh Younes stressed that ANHRE appreciates the partnership with the Higher Council for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to implement the project for its importance in activating the Equal Opportunities Committee which is the mechanism adopted by the Higher Council to ensure that people with disabilities are able to access to work environment prepared for them. She added that the project is implemented in several stages; The first phase of this project will be a desk review and update to Manual 30, followed by an awareness and advocacy campaign, and then capacity building trainings targeting government and private sector stakeholders in order to facilitate their compliance with the new laws and increase work accessibility for people with disabilities. Also, targeting both employees with disability to educate them about their rights in accessible working environment as well as the public and private employers to educate them about the new law regulations and on how to make their workplace more accessible.
The Arab Network for Civic Education-ANHRE is regional network in the Arab region that works towards the enhancement of citizenship values and promotion of culture of human rights with a focus on mainstreaming gender equality, and rights of persons with disability and vulnerable groups, through coordination of efforts and capacity building.
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to see fact sheet of "Inclusive Workplaces for Persons with Disabilities" Project press here