Regional Experiences Promoting the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in the Labour Market

While sharing much in common in terms of language, religion and culture, the 14 countries and territories that make up the ESCWA region differ in terms of social, economic, political and geographical characteristics, all of which affect how the governments and societies perceive and address disability issues. In such ESCWA members as Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine, Sudan and Yemen, political instability and armed conflicts have significantly contributed to a higher prevalence of disability and have, at the same time, been a primary cause for lagging behind on the disability and development front.  Political tension and turmoil are coupled with other factors, including weak political will, inadequate infrastructure and transport, institutional and budgetary constraints and insufficient public awareness. Overall, social stigma and tacit discrimination against persons with disabilities remains a significant barrier for realizing their rights and potential as catalysts of development. 

Against this backdrop, this chapter examines the progress made in the ESCWA region in terms of responding to the international and regional agreements related to disability, notably the Standard Rules on the Equalization of Rights for Persons with Disabilities, the Arab Decade for Disabled Persons and CRPD, through a review of national policies and regulations that address the unemployment predicament of persons with disabilities. 

The analysis is based on information gathered from the internet and national policy documents and cannot be deemed exhaustive given that disability-related interventions cut across a multitude of sectoral ministries and public institutions, including ministries of planning, health, education and labour; of social protection programmes and funds; and of constitutional and legislative frameworks. There is, therefore, a need for a regional survey of the approaches to the social and economic integration of persons with disabilities and of legislations dealing with discrimination and inclusion in order to assess actual compliance with the global and regional instruments.