Pacific forum ministerial meeting to focus on rights of disabled persons

Persons with disabilities in the Pacific will be the focus of a Pacific Islands Forum ministerial meeting that will be held in Rarotonga, the Cook Islands on Oct. 21-23.

The Forum Disability Ministers Meeting is the first such meeting to be convened by the Forum Secretariat, the Secreatiart said in a statement on Saturday.

"This is a landmark meeting as it signals the first time that the Forum Secretariat has convened a ministerial meeting with a human rights focus," says Feleti Teo, acting Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat.

"Although significant progress has been made in our Forum Island Countries in the advancement of issues facing people with disabilities, many challenges remain. Persons with disabilities deserve the practical concern of the Pacific community as around 10 percent of all populations have a disability, and also because of their particular human and social condition," Teo said.

At their meeting in Cairns, Australia in August, Pacific Islands Forum Leaders, "reaffirmed the need for more attention to be directed to the region's most disadvantaged people - people with disabilities - who are among the poorest and most vulnerable in the world."

With the theme: Strengthening Partnerships for Disability Inclusive Development in the Pacific, the meeting in the Cook Islands will discuss the Pacific regional strategy on disability, key international and regional agreements on disability and disability in the national planning process.

Source:Xinhua