UN special rapporteur highlights tragedy of disability in war: Lebanon
BEIRUT, July 07: Hammoudi, a soft–spoken 13–year–old from South Lebanon, had both
his legs blown off by an Israeli cluster bomb while playing in a field
in August 2006. It was two days before the cessation of hostilities
between Israel and Hizbullah in that summer's war. In a new TV spot
released by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Disability, the boy
struggles to walk with a pair of prosthetic legs and vows not to let the
pain conquer him.
The emotionally taxing video is one of several – filmed in Lebanon, Iraq,
Bosnia, Palestine and elsewhere – that the office of the special
rapporteur, Hissa al–Thani, screened in Beirut this week to highlight
the tragedy of disability in war and the courage of those who overcome
it. The screening of the videos was part of the launch of a global
campaign to raise awareness on war and disability following the "entry
into force" of the International Convention on the Rights of Persons
with Disabilities last May.
UN officials said they chose Lebanon to launch the worldwide effort
because the country has a large proportion of people who have
disabilities as a result of war, and because of the "opportunity for
open dialogue" in the country.
At the same time, the setting provided a venue for Thani to urge Lebanon
to ratify the legally–binding convention. Lebanon is one of 129
countries to have signed the convention, but the Lebanese Parliament has
yet to ratify the document.
On Friday, Thani sounded an optimistic note about the possibility of
ratification in Lebanon, after a meeting with President Michel Sleiman.
"[Ratification] was one of the main points that came up during our
meeting with the president," she told The Daily Star. "I'm not sure yet
when, but ... I am very optimistic Lebanon will be the sixth, if not the
fifth Arab country to ratify the convention."
Jordan, Tunisia, Egypt and Qatar – Thani's home country – have already
ratified the convention; only seven Arab countries signed the convention
at all. Bringing the document into force at a domestic level is a two–
part process that includes its signing at the UN by a country, and its
ratification by that country's domestic lawmakers.
In a press conference on Saturday, Thani spoke alongside Parliament
Speaker Nabih Berri and his wife Randa Berri, founder and chair of the
Lebanese Welfare Association for Persons with Disabilities.
The Berris took the opportunity to criticize the legacy of war and
unexploded ordinance that they said Israel had left in Lebanon. Thirty–
four million square meters of Lebanese land are contaminated with
cluster bombs, according to the UN.
"We are still living with an aspect of Israeli aggression," the speaker
said.
Recovery from these wars "is like a bleeding wound that needs a lot of
time to heal," he added.
Thani turned the discussion back to the ratification, after thanking the
panel.
"I think that we should put more pressure on the Lebanese Parliament ...
so that it can sign and ratify this," she said.
At a separate news conference on Friday, activists and others expressed
concern that creating equal rights and opportunities for people with
disabilities needed more action, and less talk.
The participants praised the production of the video clips, but urged
the awareness–raising campaign to be the first step in a move for more
practical steps – better legal frameworks and allocations of resources –
to help people who live with disabilities in wartime.
Thani also sees the campaign as a first step.
"It will not stop war," she told The Daily Star. "But at least it will
make people face the reality of the ugliness."
"The ultimate goal for these campaigns is to create a culture of human
rights," she added.
Source: http://www.dailystar.com
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