Delivering REAL Change

Rights, Empowerment, Action, Lobbying - REAL Network was launched today at the Long Gallery in Stormont.

Disability Action's Centre on Human Rights for People with Disabilites has created this network of disabled human rights activists that work to promote and protect the human rights of disabled people.

With statistics estimating that there are up to 40,000 people wounded as a result of the conflict, it is fair to say that a significant proportion of them will have an acquired disability as a result. The wounded survivors are often forgotten, but todays launch is one more tool we can use to ensure their needs are met.

The five key areas of work the Network seeks to address are independent living, education, employment, health and the United Nations Convention on the rights of persons with disabilites which was ratified here only last week.

What was most interesting about the launch was that each of the political parties in the Assembly were represented on a panel and asked a number of questions about rights and responsibilites and the audience were given electronic keypads to rate their response. It's fair to say there was a mixed response, with some parties scoring better in certain areas than others. It was participatory democracy in action and it certainly caused the politicians to pay more than lip service. The key will to be keep pressure on to ensure the UN convention is implemented via a cross-departmental strategy.

www.disabilityhumanrights.org/realnetwork