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NHRCK holds a workshop on promoting active participation of the disabled in the society
Date : 2006.09.28 00:00:00
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Graeme Innes, the Human Rights Commissioner and Commissioner responsible for Disability Discrimination at the Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission was the main speaker at a workshop hosted by the NHRCK on " Ways to promote active participation of the disabled in the society." Commissioner Innes" two day visit to Seoul on the 14th and 15th of September was marked with much anticipation and interest by diverse interest groups..
Commissioner Innes, lawyer, mediator and company director has been a human rights practitioner especially in the disability field for more than 25 years. He was Deputy Disability Discrimination Commissioner with the Commonwealth Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission from 1999 to 2005. He is also a member of the Australian delegation to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities.
The panel of the workshop consisted of professors on social welfare, representatives from the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Labor, and various citizens group and NGOs on disability issues. Commissioner Innes offered his insight into the issue of how to provide and promote ways to allow more active participation of the disabled into the society and also presented a keynote address on the various stages of development and achievements of the human rights policy for the disabled in Australia. The workshop sessions provided a useful insight into the current challenges in Korean society in conciliating competing and often conflicting interests of the disabled and others in society as well as guaranteeing the basic human rights of the disabled. Especially since the debate is still going on in relation to the recent decision by the Constitutional Court that found legislation permitting only the blind people to be certified and work as massage therapists unconstitutional, the discussion on expanding and guaranteeing the rights of the disabled to work was meaningful. Furthermore, Commissioner Innes stressed the need for developing and implementing policies on providing mobility aids that is essential for the disabled to more fully and actively participate in the society.
On his second day in Seoul, Commissioner Innes visited the Seoul School for the Blind. He was greeted by the headmaster, teachers as well as students at the school. Commissioner Innes had a brief tour around the school being introduced to the fitness center, massage therapy and acupuncture training room, library, and the ecording studio for audio books. He also had a short meeting with some of the adult students at the school who were especially interested to know about the employment rate for the blind, policies on providing mobility aids and the state of the social welfare system for the disabled in Australia.
Commissioner Innes" visit paved the way for the Korean society to start focusing on guaranteeing and expanding the basic rights of the disabled to be able to fully function in society as an individual.
