Being part of the making of a law taking into account disabled people’s situation
From end 2004, Parousia has carried out several actions designed to incorporate the issue of disabled people’s rights and places into the legal texts at the root of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s new regime. Actions were made to increase members of Parliament’s awareness and to have legislation take into account disabled people’s specific rights and the State’s obligation to protect them. The association first began communicating informally with some of them, so as to assess how much they were aware of the issue. To increase pressure on Parliament, it was then necessary to focus the sensitizing work on this institution’s legal advisers, who are strategic participants in the law-making process on the national level. A bill was written and incorporated into a memorandum sent to the different authorities. Finally, a petition with a proposal to improve some articles of the Constitution project for the Third Republic was given to the transitional authorities.
The movement particularly wished that the article specifying that the disabled person has a right to specific protection measures in relation to his or her physical, intellectual and moral needs be modified and that the State’s obligation to guarantee these people’s participation in public life be added.
During the Senate’s examination of the proposal, a peaceful protest was held in front of the Palais du Peuple, seat of the Parliament, in order to pressure the senators. The discipline and calm of such a mobilisation of hundreds of people positively impressed the members of Parliament, who accepted to see a delegation of protesters. It also influenced the public opinion, who usually see disabled people as unable to get together and mobilise. The mobilisation ended successfully with the Constitution’s improvement which now states that "The State is under the obligation of favouring the presence of people with special needs and disabilities into local, regional and national institutions".
Raising people’s awareness so that disabled people’s rights be applied
After a year of mobilisation led by the association, the Governor of Kinshasa finally promulgated a circular guaranteeing free public transport for disabled people by 2004. However, as no measures were taken by the public authorities to compensate public transport companies, drivers often refuse to let disabled people into their vehicles as they represent a major loss of earnings.
Some Parousia Association members decided to launch an awareness campaign directed to drivers and public transport users. The campaign aimed first at informing the whole population of Kinshasa about the circular giving disabled people free public transport. Beyond that, the goal was to make transport companies and the population realise that this measure should not be considered as an unfair privilege but as a specific right, lawfully granted to a category of people who face many difficulties everyday, particularly to travel.
Comment
To avoid tensions easily grown within a group, some rules must be made to enable the powerless to find their place in the society. The Parousia Association contributes to that by participating in the making of a law more favourable to disabled people, and its initiatives aim at building a lasting social peace in the DRC.
