“Whatever makes us different cannot take our rights away”

The Samoan Blind Persons' Association (SBPA) acknowledged with appreciation the release of the Braille version of the 2020 Human Development Report – the UN flagship publication reviewing country’s progress in advancing the human development agenda.

The report was launched recently at the same time as a braille version of the book 'Seu and the Ruffled Bird Catcher', written by Steven Percival at a ceremony in Apia to commemorate World Braille Day. Simona Marinescu, UN Resident Coordinator praised both books and the efforts by the government and the NGOs, such as the Blind Persons' Association in Samoa to promote and protect the rights of people with disabilities in line with the provision of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.   (CRPD). The Blind Persons' Association creates teaching resources for children who are visually impaired now using an embossing machine donated by UNDP in 2020.

“All people have a fundamental right to education and to written communication,” she said. “The continued development of braille publications is keeping with the spirit of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Diversity has a social, economic, moral and spiritual value that can only thrive in an environment of inclusiveness. Progress can only be sustainable if it benefits everyone. Whatever makes us different cannot take our rights away.”

The United Nations in Samoa has recently established a disability reference group within the Social Protection Programme, a joint initiative of the United Nations for which the UN Sustainable Development Goals Fund allocated USD 3.0 million. The programme will help the government to develop a social protection floor including culture-sensitive, special measures for persons living with disabilities, in line with the standards set out under the CRPD. This will better define disability, introduce caregiver institutions, provide financial benefits to people with disabilities and expand accessibility across the country.

The Samoan government ratified the disability convention in 2016 and is in the process of integrating it into law. Recent improvements have included the establishment of mobility services at the Ministry of Health, the inclusion of disability issues into disaster planning and efforts to increase the number of children with disabilities enrolled in school. However, a recent government report says that there are still many challenges for people with disabilities in the country, including the lack of data, and the absence of a disability Act to guarantee rights. About seven percent of Samoans live with some form of disability, while about half of them face severe difficulties including blindness.

World Braille Day commemorates the birth of the written system’s inventor France's Louis Braille. It is observed on 4 January every year to raise awareness about the importance of braille as a means of communication and highlight the challenges faced by the blind. 

There are an estimated 253 million worldwide who are visually impaired. This includes more than 7,000 in Samoa.

United Nations Resident Coordinator Simona Marinescu - Full Speech