Workshops build capacity to realise the rights of people with disabilities
People with disabilities are a particular focus for AIPJ. As justice seekers, people with disabilities are one of largest marginalised groups. In 2004, the World Health Organization estimated there were 22 million people with a disability in Indonesia.
In June 2012, MitraNetra, an NGO with long-term experience in helping the visually impaired access information, commenced a four month computer literacy training course for 20 visually impaired participants with AIPJ support. The course provides training in the use of text-to-voice software, thereby helping participants realise their right to information. AIPJ will support three of these courses to benefit a total of 60 visually impaired persons. Each course has a train-the-trainer component to ensure the benefits of the training are multiplied. AIPJ is also supporting the production of audio digital books containing laws and information of relevance to people with disabilities, such as the Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities (Disabilities Convention), ratified by Indonesia in 2011.
Juwita, a 24 year-old female participant from Bojonegoro, a small district in East Java commented on the usefulness of the course. “I can now get a lot of information by accessing the internet. I can access news and get information about the rights of people with disabilities – I know now what discrimination is,” she said.
Legal and judicial websites, such as those of the Supreme Court and the Judicial Commission are being used as case studies in the training. Contact information and details about the work of each institution are what the participants are usually looking for, “so that we know where to go and who we should contact (when we need to access legal assistance or public services),” Juwita said.
From 3-6 July 2012, AIPJ collaborated with the Jimly School of Law and Government to deliver training on judicial review mechanisms in the Constitutional and Supreme Courts. This focused on laws that discriminate against people with a disability. For example, a judicial review mechanism allows people to challenge laws that are contrary to the Constitution. The Jimly School is headed by Jimly Asshiddiqie, the former Chief Judge of the Constitutional Court of Indonesia. The 26 participants who received training were legal professionals, paralegals and representatives from disabled person’s organizations (DPOs). Participants intend to use the information received during the training to identify possible review actions, including against the Marriage Law (Law No.1/1974) which allows a man to practice polygamy if his wife acquires a disability.
In other training, the Indonesian National Commission on Violence against Women (Komnas Perempuan) and the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) collaborated with AIPJ support to hold workshops focusing on the Disabilities Convention on 9-14 July 2012. The first workshop was attended by personnel from Komnas Perempuan, DPOs and other civil society organisations, and the Ministries of Home Affairs, Health, Education, Women and Children’s Rights, Social Affairs, People’s Welfare, and Law and Human Rights. It examined the coverage and implementation of the Convention, especially in relation to violence against women with a disability. This was followed by a workshop for the Commissioners and staff of Komnas Perempuan on the implementation of the Convention and its alignment with other international conventions such as Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), Convention against Torture (CAT), and Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), for which the Commission prepares reports to the United Nations. A third workshop was held for Komnas Perempuan and local DPOs to discuss collection, research and processing of disability-related data, and how DPOs might work more closely with the Commission. These activities are designed to prepare for the effective implementation of the Convention, particularly in relation to violence against women with disabilities.
