Advocacy for CRPD in Plan Nepal’s Social Inclusion Programme Social Inclusion Programme Presentation for Civil Society CRPD Forum, 5 September 2012 Silje Vold, Child Rights and Advocay Advisor, Plan Norway

© Plan The Situation in Nepal Persons With Disabilities live in neglect and humiliation Data is limited and inconsistent Most people with disabilities live in rural areas, and about 1/3 are children. About 50% of disabilities are caused by disease and accidents, and armed conflict increases prevalence of disability Health is compromised due to lack of accessible sanitation and clean water sources. Access to health and education is limited, particularly due to physical and attitudinal barriers. Different types of discrimination intersect and overlap (gender, caste, ethnicity etc).

© Plan Plan Nepal’s experience: Advocacy, programming and capacity building Social Inclusion and Non-Discrimination Project has been implemented for the past 10 years, with support from Plan Norway and funded by Norad. The overall aim is to contribute to the realisation of the rights of persons with disabilities. A key partner has been the National Federation of Disabled Nepal (NFDN).

© Plan Three components: Advocacy - seeking to influence and hold the government to account at all levels Direct interventions to address violations of the rights of persons with disabilities (especially children). Capacity building – strengthening networks of Persons with Disabilities at local / village levels.

© Plan Joint Advocacy on the CRPD Development of national level and district level action plans on disability for 32 districts Establishment of a CRPD monitoring plan - consultation sessions were organized to identify gaps in implementation. Disability Budget Auditing – holding Village Development Committees and District Development Committees accountable. Advocacy and support to the Central Bureau of Statistics to incorporate disability in the population census for Advocacy for a disability friendly constitution. Disability caucus in parliament. One key achievement has been a monthly allowance for PWDs

© Plan Capacity building and participation Establish, support and strengthening of networks of persons with disabilities at village and district levels, supporting them to be able to advocate for themselves. Local network advocate to local government to ensure laws and policies are being implemented. Encouraging children with disabilities to participate in child and youth clubs.

© Plan Plan Nepal’s experience on child rights monitoring and reporting Plan Nepal supported NGO partners in CRC monitoring and reporting in 2004 The organization has engaged in child rights advocacy at national and district levels. Children with disabilities are mentioned particularly in the CRC concluding observations on Nepal. The experiences in child rights monitoring, reporting and advocacy have given the organization a solid foundation for advocacy on the rights of persons with disabilities.

© Plan Concluding remarks Cooperating with Disabled Persons Organizations and networks is key to the success of the project. Empowering representative groups has inherent value. Partnerships are mutually beneficial. There is a need to bring in child rights into the disability discussions, and disability rights into discussions about children. Focusing on holding duty bearers to account at all levels is essential – following CRPD ratification, advances are made in policy-making, but not necessarily in implementation at local level.

Thank you!