Abstract

Disability Rights are not new rights per se, rather, they bring poignancy to Human Rights that already exist but have been historically denied or marginalized. The Challenges and impediments faced by Persons with Disability in Cameroon (PWD’S) are significant and should therefore not be treated with levity.

Consequently, the Cameroonian Legislature has enacted a plethora of laws and set up commendable institutional Mechanisms for the protection of this category of Persons. However, a critical examination of these laws and their actual fulfillment reveals a yearning gap between legal theory and practical reality.

Against this backdrop, this work aims at examining by way of a qualitative research methodology the extent to which measures for the protection of the Rights of Persons with Disability are effective in Cameroon. In addition to the ongoing Anglophone quagmire, findings revealed that the Protection of these rights has been deterred by lack of awareness of the existence of disability rights, increased stigmatization of Persons with Disability and the absence of political will in the enforcement of existing Laws and Policies.

As a panacea, it is recommended that the Government of Cameroon step up the enforcement of already existing laws and policies for the protection of the rights of persons with disability, organize workshops and Carry out Sensitization on the need to better protect these rights. Likewise, the parallel or simultaneous non State promotion, activism and Persuasion by Non-Governmental organizations (NGOs) and other Stakeholders should be encouraged.

CHAPTER ONE

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background To The Study

The Cameroon constitution guarantees the right of all its citizens among which are persons with disabilities.   Disabled people are people with certain malfunctions such as blindness, dumb, deaf, dwarf Disabled people are the world’s largest growing minority, until very recently, the were invisible in international human right law. Disables persons are not listed among the group explicitly protected against discrimination in the post war-human rights instrument that make up the international bill of rights “number 2 under the European convention on human rights” (council of Europe 1950).

Disability is any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or effectively interact with the world around them (socially or materially). These conditions, or impairments, may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, sensory, or a combination of multiple factors. Impairments causing disability may be present from birth or can be acquired during a person’s lifetime. Often, disabled people are “unnecessarily isolated and excluded from full participation in society. As a result of impairments, people with disability can experience disablement from birth, or may be labeled as disabled during their lifetime.

As Rachel  opines,

“I have disability. I was born profoundly deaf due to Usher Syndrome, a genetic condition that not only causes deafness but also shows a progression of blindness. I was fortunate to receive a technology called a cochlear implant at age two and a half years old…. Later on in my life, I got a microphone system …. to help me hear the teachers and students better… I completed my schooling when I was 19 years old in 2006. I graduated with honours from high school and went into universities where I completed a bachelor’s and master’s…I have been fortunate to grow up in an environment where people allowed me to reach my fullest potential and accept me as a female with disabilities. However, if you meet a Cameroonian with a disability, you would see that person will most likely not have earned the same fortune that I have.”

Approximately one billion people, 15% of the global population experience some form of disability, with 110 -190 million experiencing significant disability.  These persons face disproportionate socio-economic marginalization, resulting in poorer health and medical treatment, lower quality education, limited employment prospects and generally broad-ranging restrictions on their community participation. PWD’s face significant levels of discrimination and are often prevented from participating in their communities.

This exacerbates their plight and thus necessitates the quest for the protection of their rights.  The fact that PWD’s can be frequently prevented from enjoying their basic human rights by persons with whom they interact further demands and justifies their lawful protection.  In recent years, there has been increasing recognition of the need for proactive measures, beyond anti-discrimination legislation, to ensure the substantive equality of all class of persons.  The specialized corpus juris for the protection of the rights of PWD’s recognizes this and permits the adoption and implementation of international, regional and national substantive and procedural measures for their protection.

Worth noting is the fact that disability prevalence would likely increase in the future. This due to increased natural disasters, armed conflicts, diseases and an ever-ageing population. However, it was only in 2009, that the European Court made its first-ever findings on disability discrimination.  The decision of the court underscores the importance of the protection of the rights of PWD’s and marked the beginning of the enactment and implementation of laws geared towards the eradication of the gangrene. These laws are being accompanied by laudable institutional mechanisms for their implementation.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD)  defines disability as long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which in interaction with various barriers may hinder [a person’s] full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others.

Disability is a contested concept, with shifting meanings in different communities. It has been referred to as an “embodied difference,” but the term may also refer to physical or mental attributes that some institutions, particularly medicine, view as needing to be fixed (the medical model).  It may also refer to limitations imposed on people by the constraints of an ablest society (the social model); or the term may serve to refer to the identity of disabled people. Physiological functional capacity (PFC) is a measure of an individual’s performance level that gauges one’s ability to perform the physical tasks of daily life and the ease with which these tasks are performed. PFC declines with age and may result to frailty, cognitive disorders, or physical disorders, all of which may lead to labeling individuals as disabled. According to the World Report on Disability, 15% of the world’s population or 1 billion people are affected by disability. A disability may be readily visible, or invisible in nature.

Early effects to educate persons with disability in developing countries in general were made by missionaries, since then the various governments have become more sensitive and committed. Special schools, classes, units and resource centers have been built. Teacher training centers have been established locally in some cases and more teachers have been trained locally and abroad.

All these efforts notwithstanding, most developing countries have been caught in the web of international controversy of acceptable approach to effective education of persons with disability Globally, one million people or approximately has some forms of disability, about 80% of the world’s person’s with disability (PWD) live in low income countries, within majority of them are poor and they cannot access basic service with their conditions, persons with disability needs special attention and consideration in terms of health needs without discrimination. However reports shows that persons with disability have less access to health service and therefore greater unmet needs. This rights guarantees the protection of this vulnerable groups (PWDs).

1.2 Statement Of Problem

Various laws are put in place at the National, Regional and International levels to protect the rights of persons with disability. However, these rights are still violated because of their status in the society as they suffer violence from family member and are considered unproductive in the society due to their disability..

Despite some progress in terms of legislation over the past decade, such violations of the human rights of persons with disability have not been systematically addressed in society. Most disability legislation and policies are based on the assumption that persons with disability simply are not able to exercise the same rights as non-disabled persons. Consequently the situation of persons with disability often will be addressed in terms of rehabilitation and social services. A need exists for more comprehensive legislation to ensure the rights of disabled persons in all aspects – political, civil, economic, social and cultural rights – on an equal basis with persons without disabilities. Appropriate measures are required to address existing discrimination and to promote thereby opportunities for persons with disability to participate on the basis of equality in social life and development.

Also, irrespective of all the programs put in place by the Law to protect disabled persons this group of persons has remained largely neglected. Disabled people are the world’s largest growing minority, yet until very recently they were invisible in the International Human rights law. Disabled persons are not listed among the group of explicitly protected against discrimination in the post war human rights instruments that Make up the Bill of Rights nor under the European Court of Human Rights that made its first ever findings on disability discrimination only in 2009 in Glor V Switzerland.

Persons with disability face discrimination and barriers that ban them from participating in society on an equal basis with others every day. Persons with disability have however remained largely invisible, often sidelined in the right debate and unable to enjoy all the full range of Human Rights.

1.3 Research Question 

1:3.1 Main Research Question.

What are the Legal Protection of the Rights of Persons With Disability in Cameroon?.

1:3.2 Specific Research Questions

1. What are the Legal framework for the protection of the rights of persons with disability in Cameroon?
2. What institutional measures have been put in place for the protection of the rights of persons with disability in Cameroon?
3. What are the challenges in the protection of the rights of persons with disability in Cameroon?
4. What policy recommendations can be made to address this problem?

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