Dec 18 - ERG Praises Advances in Disability Rights
‘Disability issues are receiving an important push towards progress,’ a statement from Equality Rights Group has said today.
‘We take note of Minister for Equality Samantha Sacramento’s recent report on the structural improvements made by her Ministry in terms of making environmental access for the disabled a growing reality, and are heartened by the effort and progress being made.
‘We are similarly glad to see Government’s commitment to the implementation of new legislation in 2014 to comply with the UN’s Convention on the Rights of the Disabled. Without a doubt this is the single most important action that Government can take and it is rightly and anxiously anticipated by many in the Community. It also has to be acknowledged that it is, perhaps, the most difficult in many ways because of the cost implications across the business community. Yet,’ the statement continues, ‘there are no two ways about this. Gibraltar in general must take this particular bull by the horns and move on. And move fast and without delay in 2014! The cost can no longer continue to be measured exclusively in financial terms. There is also the protracted on-going cost in individual lives condemning both the disabled and their carers to second-class status and limitations in great measure brought about by the unfriendly built environment for this sector of our population.
‘The message is also about opportunity. The business sector, faced with a changing society, must learn increasingly to value and service the new possibilities that are opening up. The disabled, along with other ‘new’ communities in Gibraltar are also consumers of goods and services. In this emerging new social and ever-competitive climate, absolutely noone can continue to ignore either change or inclusion in a shifting market place which involves both local consumers and people coming into Gibraltar. Indeed, all the indicators from international markets suggest that early adopters of a new, more open business approach towards inclusion point to sustainable growth and benefit.
‘We look forward, therefore, to Minister Sacramento’s continuing movement in this economically and human rights profitable direction, whilst, in particular welcoming and setting our sights on committed legislative change in 2014,’ the statement ended.
