Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/290775
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 6 APRIL 2014 Opinion 23 Stefano Mallia Opinion Give disabled people what they really want O ver the last year I have become more aware of the concerns of persons with disabilities. Although I am not an expert myself, I have come to realise more and more that politicians and, more importantly the government, need to work harder to ensure the rights of persons with disabilities are safeguarded and promoted to the full. As a candidate for the MEP elections, I am giving disability issues importance not because it sounds or looks good but because I sincerely believe in a democratic and equal society. From an early age, through my upbringing and my schooling, I was brought up to embrace equality and to work towards achieving it in cases where I saw or experienced inequality. Although throughout the years great progress in the disability sector has been made, based on careful planning and good diligence from the previous government, up to a few days ago Malta did not have a policy on the rights of persons with disability. On Monday 17 March the former Parliamentary Secretary Franco Mercieca executed what was probably his last act and published the draft National Policy on the Rights of Persons with Disability. This was a step in the right direction since policies set the boundaries and frameworks within which we need to operate. Policies give us the opportunity to set goals. In order to work towards improving the rights of persons with disabilities and to ensure that persons with disabilities are treated at par with non-disabled people, we need a direction. In addition, a plan is even more important now that Malta has ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilties (UNCRPD) in Ocotber 2012, which means that the government is now accountable to the UN for the implementation of this convention. Persons with disabilities in Malta still encounter a huge number of obstacles in their daily lives. One of these obstacles is the issue of voting during our elections, especially for people who have a visual impairment or mobility impairment and thus cannot write. This is a subject that I have already dedicated time to but which still needs an enormous amount of political will and work. Until now, and for the upcoming election, Malta is still going to be discriminating against this group of people. This discrimination occurs because people with certain disabilities cannot vote through the system of a 'trusted person' as stated in the UNCRPD but instead have to declare their vote in front of the Electoral Commissioners of any particular locality. This is a very undignified and embarrassing moment for people who have to use the current system. The draft National Policy on the Rights of Persons with Disability mentions this aspect in its introduction and this is a positive step. However, this is an issue that cannot merely be left on paper but on that needs sincere political commitment from both major parties concerned, including changes to the General Elections Act. As political parties we need to come together to transfer this issue from paper to practice. We simply cannot keep denying this right to this group of people who are equal citizens in our society. The draft National Policy on the Rights of Persons with Disability also speaks about the employment of disabled people. This is a very important issue if we want to really ensure the equality of disabled people. Work is a more than making a living. Work is the backbone of dignity and freedom. Although the policy gives an exhaustive list of what we want to achieve, I ask: Does the government have a plan of how this paper will be transformed into actual actions? Does the government have a plan on how it wants to increase the participation of disabled people in the workforce? Disabled people themselves know that they should not be discriminated against, but are employers aware of the Equal Opportunities Act and that it is against the law to discriminate? Are employers aware that disabled people do not want tokenistic jobs? I believe it is about time that we stop discussing and start acting. We need clear, specific, measurable and attainable goals if we really want to make a difference in this sector. The third issue which I would like to highlight, and which we have heard so much about from the present government prior to the election, is independent living. Independent living, I learnt, is not about living without needing the support of anyone but it is about the right of choice, which is too often denied for people with disability. The right of choice is the right of choosing where to live and with whom to live. This is surely not about going back in time and creating new institutions, even if they look nice, but about building small homes in the community. It is about disabled people living in a house with as much support as needed. Disabled people, no matter the impairment, do not want to be living in institutions where the services are tailored around the exigencies of the staff working there but they want homes where the services are tailored to their needs. One hopes that the change of Parliamentary Secretary will not derail this latest initiative and that the new PS Justyne Caruana will take on this issue with passion and enthusiasm. I hope that with this draft policy things will start moving and that actual plans with direct goals are set. Disabled people want this paper to be transformed into practice, disabled people want their rights to be respected, and disabled people want to be included in employment and in all other areas of society. It is high time that we start listening to disabled people and start acting. From my end, I can promise to continue being a sincere ally to disabled people and their fights. Stefano Mallia is a Nationalist candidate in the forthcoming European Parliamentary elections Persons with disabilities in Malta still encounter a huge number of obstacles in their daily lives We need clear, specific, measurable and attainable goals if we really want to make a difference in this sector.