Menase Kifle
18 December 2007
Addis Abeba — Marking the international day of the disabled on Friday, December 14, 2007, a senior UN Official said Ethiopia was striding towards the respect and observation of fundamental rights of Persons With Disabilities.
In his opening remark at an event organized to award POWs for their remarkable talent and skills in different trades, Fidele Sarassoro .acknowledged Ethiopia as among those pioneering countries who signed the international convention on the rights of persons with disabilities on march 30, 2006.
He said by so doing, Ethiopia sent a message to the rest of the world that it was ready to adopt the set of principle and values aimed at promoting, preserving and protecting the rights and dignity of persons with disability.
He also said "one cannot legislate negative attitudes away or draft laws to eliminate stereotypes. Nor can one remove from the hearts and minds of people the tendency to discriminate." Abilities of people with disabilities were celebrated on this day where a number of dignitaries during the occasion which was attended by members of Ethiopia's development partners, stakeholders, members of the diplomatic corps, and the media.
Also present was State minister of labor and social affairs Mohammed Mealin Ali and state minister of trade and industry Tadesse Haile.
On the occasion disabled women veterans were awarded for their accomplishments and encouraged to be an example to others.
The ILO technical cooperation project "developing entrepreneurship among women with disabilities" is being implemented in Ethiopia by the Ethiopia federation of Persons With Disabilities (EFDP) and the Tigray disabled veterans association (TDVA) and was funded by the government of Ireland.
The objective of this project is to develop entrepreneurship among women with disabilities and empower women to be economically independent and income generating society despite their handicap.
Participants of this project receive training in business skills, vocational skills, and marketing techniques and are supported in identifying a business idea and turning it into a business enterprise.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2007 The Daily Monitor. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
