Data in the Caribbean shows persons with disabilities being severely challenged in terms of accessing employment.

 A 2015 socio-economic study in Jamaica shows 91 per cent of the respondents being unemployed.

Similarly, a 2017 Economic Commission of  Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) report has shown up to 90 per cent of the population of persons with disabilities being unemployed.

Importantly, for persons with disabilities to be meaningfully included in societies, access to modern technologies is foundational.

CONFLICT WITH HUMAN RIGHTS MODEL

However, in the Caribbean, persons with disabilities have a major challenge accessing modern technologies due to the cost associated with these devices. This has restricted the ability of persons with disabilities to vital information that would allow them to benefit from the information revolution that is taking place across the world.

In the Caribbean, the charity and medical models of disability, which regard persons with disabilities as objects of charity and not productive individuals, is conflicting with the human rights model that emphasises that persons with disabilities are human beings and are therefore subject to the fundamental rights and freedoms ensconced in the CRPD.

Recognising this existential situation, on June 14, at 4:30 pm, The UWI Centre for Disability Studies (UWICDS) in the Faculty of Social Sciences, UWI Mona will host an official UN Side Event for the Conference of States Parties (COSP) on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). The focus of the event will be around the topic ‘Eradicating the Tensions: Maximising the Potential of Persons with Disabilities through Technology and Employment in the Post-COVID-19 Era in the Caribbean’.

This official UN Side Event will see presentations from Senator Dr Floyd Morris, director of the UWICDS and member of the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; Ambassador Dr Aubrey Webson, permanent representative of Antigua and Barbuda to the United Nations; Dr Armstrong Alexis, deputy secretary general, CARICOM, and Gloria Goffe, executive director, Combined Disabilities Association of Jamaica.

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

The UWICDS, a registered non-governmental organisation with the UN Secretariat on the CRPD, is said it was pleased to be hosting the side-event to discuss some of the issues affecting access to technology and employment for persons with disabilities in the Caribbean.

According to the UWICDS, global discourse on persons with disabilities must not move ahead without the Caribbean having its voice lucidly articulated. Persons can join the discussions by registering here.