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UN and Africa
Programme Number: 061
Week of: Sunday, 14th August, 2005
Recording Date: Thursday, 18th August, 2005
DISABLED PEOPLE SEEK RIGHTS: Scores of disabled
people from all over the world have been meeting here
at United Nations Headquarters to produce a document
or convention that guarantees them certain rights across
the world. Among these are the right to education, the
right to work and a drive to end usual stereotypes that
disabled people are beggars to be pitied. So for more
than two weeks, these delegates, some with white canes
and guide dogs, others on clutches or in wheel chairs
met to iron out the fine details of document to be adopted
by every government across the world. One of the most
vocal participants has been Phitalis Were Masakhwe of
Kenya, speaks to UN Radio about his own disability and
his personal triumph over the barriers he faced.
TOP UN MILITARY OFFICER IN THE DR CONGO ON BEING
ROBUST AND PREPARING FOR ELECTIONS: The UN mission
in the DR Congo, MONUC, is expected to play a key role
as the people of the DR Congo prepare to go to the polls
in a few months time. There are issues of security and
logistics for a vast country with very poor transportation
and communication links. The UN work and image have
taken a jolt after recent reports of sexual abuse and
exploitation by some Un peacekeepers in the DR Congo.
General Babacar Gaye, the UN Force Commander in the
DR Congo speaks to us about the force's current robust
operations in certain volatile parts of the country
and preparations for the elections and much more.
Editor / Presenter: Ben Dotsei Malor
Producer: Derrick Mbatha
Production Assistant: Nyi Nyi Teza
Studio Engineer: Carlos Marcias
Duration: 15'00"
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PRESENTER: Hello and welcome to United Nations Radio
from New York.
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and hold under narr.)
PRESENTER:
This is UN and Africa, and I'm Ben Dotsei Malor.
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hold under)
PRESENTER:
In this edition ….
Why disabled people from all over the world have gathered
together in New York to produce a landmark international
document that guarantees their rights to education,
employment and much more.
CLIP-1: PHITALIS MASAKHWE
"We have been free from slavery. We've been
free from colonisation. Recently we've been freed from
apartheid and racist discrimination. But I think the
world will not be free until and unless the more than
600 million people with disabilities are free."
PRESENTER:
That's Phitalis Masakhwe from Kenya. More from him in
just a moment.
And the challenges facing the United Nations in the
Democratic Republic of Congo, as this vast country prepares
to hold elections in a few months time. The UN's top
military man in the DR Congo, General Babacar Gaye,
says the role of the peacekeepers is very important.
CLIP2: GENERAL BABACAR GAYE
"All our activities will be focussed on the
elections. All our assets will be dedicated to the security
for the elections. … we start in Kinshasa where
the registration has been a success and then in the
BaKongo and at the same time in Ituri … ."
More from General Gaye later.
Stay tuned to UN and Africa, as we examine what the
UN is doing in Africa, for Africa or about Africa.
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until first sentence.)
DISABILITY RIGHTS AND AFRICA
Scores of disabled people from all over the world -
the blind, those in wheelchairs, those on clutches and
some with other forms of physical challenge - have just
concluded an important meeting here at United Nations
headquarters, as part of their campaign for disability
rights, including the rights to education and work.
It is currently estimated that there are about 600
million people in the world who have one form of disability
or the other - many of them living in the poorer or
developing countries. And many experts believe that,
to achieve the UN's Millennium Development Goals on
poverty, gender equality, health and environmental sustainability,
the issues facing disabled people must be addressed
urgently.
For more than two weeks the delegates discussed and
debated the key elements of a convention to be adopted
world wide, to remove what they see as the exclusion
and marginalisation of disabled people.
One of the most vocal participants has been Phitalis
Were Masakhwe. I caught up with him and asked him first
about his own disability?
INTERVIEW WITH PHITALIS WERE MASAKHWE
PHITALIS MASAKHWE: I personally have a physical
disability which I got through polio at the age of 3.
Disability can be taken in different ways. One, you
can take it as a tragedy and that means you live in
pain and sympathy… And you can also look at it
as a challenge on the way towards a better and richer
life. And so I took it positively and my parents accepted
it. My late great mother was a powerful force …
there have been a lot of obstacles, institutional obstacles
in terms of lack of good policies … a lot of social
stigma attitudes and stigma type of disability. There's
been also a lot of environmental barriers in terms of
accessibility and stuff. And, of course, coupled with
poverty, I was born from a very humble background, and
many of these could have brought be down. I could have
turned out as a beggar in the streets of Nairobi today
or where I was born …but I decided to turn against
this, to struggle through education, to struggle and
get good training… I have a first degree from the
University of Nairobi in Sociology and Philosophy. I've
done post-graduate studies in governance and democracy
at Marquette University in the United States of America,
in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
When people think about you as a disabled who
contracted polio when you were young at the age of three
... Describe yourself for the benefit of people who
are listening to us on radio.
PHITALIS MASAKHWE: I use clutches, elbow clutches.
BDM: You don't use a wheelchair?
PHITALIS MASAKHWE: I don't use a wheelchair.
One part of my body - the right side of my body - was
paralysed. And therefore my right hand, my left leg
and a lot of my back was very weak I went through a
lot of physical therapy and physiotherapy services.
I'm now 37. I am married to a wife a wife, who is a
paramedic. I have four young boys, very handsome young
boys and they go school. And therefore I'm able to live
life like anybody else … very useful, very meaningful,
very positive life.
BDM: You've mentioned poverty but you've gone
through education, to the level of having your post-graduate
qualifications …. How did poverty either create
more difficulties for you in addition to being a disabled
person and how did you get out of it?
PHITALIS MASAKHWE: Lovely. It was a challenge,
because my parents were not able to take me to a good
boarding school. I had to go to an ordinary school.
I had to walk 3 kilometres every morning to school …
BDM: On clutches?
PHITALIS MASAKHWE: They didn't even have money
to buy me clutches. I used to cut an old tree at home
there and you make it like walking sticks. And you can
see these scars on my hands and near to my elbow. It
reminds me of my history. When I passed my primary school,
I didn't have school fees to go to secondary school.
I had to go through my local chief, my local leader,
and also a member of parliament these are the people
who paid my fees until Form Six. But I was a very brilliant
student in school. And I can't say that I'm an extraordinary
case in terms of brilliance. I think there are many
disabled people out there who are very brilliant but
who nobody even identifies because sometimes even their
parents do not want identify with them so they hide
them from the very beginning. Yes, they have disability
but they are human beings ….
BDM: There should be no shame?
PHITALIS MASAKHWE: There should be no shame.
There should be no stigma. There should be no discrimination
on the basis of disability. Therefore give them a chance
to go to school, to train, to get a skill and get a
job in life.
BDM: You have been here with a huge number of disabled
people from all over the world, trying to fashion out
an international binding document that will bring laws
in all countries across the world, to make life for
disabled people more manageable or more equal - What
are the key things you have been fighting or driving
for in this convention?
PHITALIS MASAKHWE: I think I must recognise the
fact that it's a nice move by the United Nations - of
course, a belated move, because we should have a convention
on disabled people earlier than this. We've had conventions
on all sorts of things; we've had international law
even on the maritime laws, laws on species of animals,
laws on the environment, on virtually everything, except
laws on disabled people.
BDM: You're saying disabled people have been
kept in the shadows and discriminated against?
PHITALIS MASAKHWE: I think it's time to call
a spade a spade. The international community has not
given leadership, has not recognise the diversity that
disability presents early enough. And I think, it's
important that we fast track this convention and we
get the convention in good time. So that disabled people
will get the kind of freedom we're talking about. I
think, the world is not free. We have been free from
slavery. We've been free from colonisation. We've recently
been freed from apartheid and racist discrimination.
But I think the world will not be free until and unless
the more than 600 million people with disabilities are
free, by the fact that we have international law, to
promote and protect the rights and dignity of disabled
people. And therefore, what I'm trying to say for example,
look at the UN for example, the UN has been able to
lead, by example, by putting in place, institutions
like UNICEF to take care of the rights of children,
provide institutions like UNEP. But that leadership
has been lacking for disability, for disabled people.
BDM: You are not suggesting that the United Nations
should set up a new, complete, organisation like UNICEF,
for disabled people? Are you?
PHITALIS MASAKHWE: I'm saying, in fact, they
must do it. The UN has an onerous responsibility. The
UN must provide leadership. The UN must provide a programme,
after we get this convention, a programme that will
have resources in terms of the people, in terms of resources,
physically liquid money, in terms of expertise, to be
able to ensure that it galvanises the international
community to appreciate the diversity that disability
presents."
We've been listening there to Phitalis Were Masakhwe,
a disabled Kenyan who has been participating in a conference
of disabled people here at UN headquarters in New York.
Phitalis is currently working in Afghanistan as a Disability
Advisor with the UN Development Programme.
STING/JINGLE: UN AND AFRICA THEME
DR CONGO: CHALLENGES FACING UN AS ELECTIONS APPROACH
The UN mission in the DR Congo, MONUC, is preparing
seriously for one of the most daunting electoral assignments
ever undertaken by the United Nations. The people of
the DR Congo should have gone to the polls in June this
year but it has been postponed until March next year
because of problems in the voter registration exercise,
insecurity in certain parts like Ituri in the east and
problems in parliament. Still, there are issues of security
and logistics for a vast country with very poor transportation
and communication links. In the meantime, the UN's work
and image have taken a jolt after recent reports of
sexual abuse and exploitation by some UN peacekeepers
in the DR Congo. So how is the UN preparing for its
crucial election role? General Babacar Gaye, the UN
Force Commander in the DR Congo has just been to New
York. UN Radio's Diane Bailey met him and asked him
first about the robust position being taken by UN peacekeepers
in the DR Congo?
INTERVIEW WITH MONUC FORCE COMMANDER, GENERAL GAYE
Lt. General Gaye: This point is a very important
point because of course there are a lot of expectations
in the international community, in the Congolese population,
among the Congolese officials, because of this new robustness
of the UN forces in Congo, just 2or 3 points: first
point - we have a new capacity because of these gunships,
because of our APCs, because of our heavy weapons. But
the robustness is mainly because we have good troops
that are committed in the mission, very important. Second
point: I think it's very important not to make a confusion
between having the capacity of carrying out robust operations
and going through really war, because you don't go to
war with white --- and blue helmits, and war is not
our mandate. This is the second point. The third point
is this robustness is a very good deterrent and it's
also a very good force protection asset. That's what
I can say concerning this robustness.
DB: Militarily, what needs to happen, what needs
to be in place, for there to be successful elections
next year?
Lt. General Gaye: Of course, the issue of the
elections is the main issue, is the main issue of our
presence. It will be an achievement that will show that
Congo is now on the good way to peace. Of course, one
of our missions is to provide security during the elections.
That is to say that the elections will be our main activity,
all our activities will be focused on the elections,
all our assets will be dedicated to the security of
the elections. And we started, first of all in Kinshasa.
Registration was a success, and then in the bas Congo
and at the same time in Ituri, we are going to carry
out a lot of courses of action like escorting the people
dominating the area where the people are going to register,
and so to overlap our activities with electoral activities
in order to provide wider security.
DB: Peacekeepers in the DRC, both civilian and
military, have been accused of sexual abuse. But what
have you done personally to ensure that this is stopped
and is it still going on?
Lt. General Gaye: I think as far as sexual exploitation
and abuse is concerned, it's very important I think
to remind that this issue was an important and very
bad issue for the United Nations because it accused
at a moment when, for a lot of reasons, MONUC was not
very successful in Congo and so the only image of MONUC
was the image of the weaknesses of MONUC and at the
same time the abuse on the sexual point of view. It
was a very bad conjunction. Be weak on one hand and
at the same time making sexual abuse and exploitation.
But what is important is not to be wrong. What is important
is to have the willingness, the capacity to change the
situation.
Fortunately, MONUC reacted in a very good way
- through the code of conduct, through guidance and
I consider that now we are in a very good situation
concerning sra (?) because first of all, there is very
clear guidance, very clear code of conduct, first of
all. Second point: because we have good leadership in
our contingents, in our battalions, leaders that are
very aware of the situation of the code of conduct of
the aim of zero tolerance. Third point, we are implementing
our code of conduct in a very strong, very quick, and
very just way. When there is any case, MONUC is reacting
very strongly, very fairly but very quickly. And this
is the best way to deter any soldier, every civilian
not to go through sexual abuse and exploitation. And
also we have to stress one point: now in MONUC, there
is no perverse case. Maybe there will be some fraternizations
of having sex with Congolese and so on. But when MONUC
is aware, is informed of the situation, or if there
is any allegation, I will tell you that the inquiry
is very quick and if the case is substantiated, the
reaction will be very strong and very quick. I think
that considering ….I will not tell you that there
will be no more cases but I will tell you that if we
are informed of any case, we will react very strongly.
The deterrence now is working very well.
DB: When you say react very quickly, do you mean
dismissal?
Lt. General Gaye: Concerning the military, the
disciplinary action is up to the contingent under the
country. What we do is to repatriate you. And we expect
the country to prosecute you, to court martial you,
if really it is a very bad and important case. And we
hope that the country will do it and report to the United
Nations because it's important for the country to know
that their image is engaged in that issue."
The Force Commander for MONUC - the UN Mission in the
DR Congo - General Babacar Gaye.
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PRESENTER:
And that's all for this edition of UN and Africa, from
UN Radio.
I'm Ben Dotsei Malor, with Nyi Nyi Teza Carlos Marcias
and Derrick Mbatha.
Thank you for listening and goodbye.
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