New York, SANA- Syria’s permanent representative to the UN, Ambassador Bassam Sabbagh, affirmed that “the terrorist war on Syria, in addition to the aggression launched by the Turkish and US occupation forces, resulted in an increase of persons with disabilities in Syria”, noting that “the unilateral coercive measures imposed by the West on Syria led to a decline in the quality of services for people with disabilities and aggravated their suffering”.
Sabbagh said in a statement during the “General Debate at the 15th session of the Conference of the States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) “that the terrorist war that took place in Syria had a profound impact on the situation of persons with disabilities there, add to it the acts of aggressions launched by the Turkish and US occupation forces under meager pretexts which led to more increase in acquired and compound disabilities”.
Sabbagh drew the attention to the fact that” civilians are still under constant threat by of explosives, including landmines and unexploded ordnance left by terrorist organizations in the areas they previously dominated and was later liberated by the Syrian Arab Army”.
Sabbagh noted that “the unilateral coercive measures imposed by the West on Syria led to a decline in the quality of services for people with disabilities and suffocated the Syria’s ability on providing educational and rehabilitation services to them, and to provide them with basic needs such as prosthetic limbs, wheelchairs and medical equipment, which aggravated their physical and psychological suffering, add to this the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic has increased these challenges”.
Sabbagh recalled that “Syria has ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol in 2009, which is in line with the general trend of Syria’s policy towards persons with disabilities.”
He noted that “Syrian law prohibits all forms of discrimination against persons with disabilities, and they are also involved in setting policies and legislation to ensure their inclusion in society, through their representation in the Central Council for Disability Affairs at a rate of one third of the members, as well as in preparing the national strategy for disability in Syria represented by the National Disability Plan 2022”.
Sabbagh also noted that “Syria cooperates with international organizations and their specialized agencies in the field of supporting persons with disabilities and calls for supporting its efforts to enable them to live independently and fully participate in all aspects of life and development, by providing them with special equipment, in addition to supporting demining efforts to ensure that no one is left behind in sustainable development”.
Source: Syria Arab News Agency