Introduction
This project, “Monitoring the Human Rights of People with Disabilities in Bolivia” has taken place in the context of the Disability Rights Promotion International (DRPI) project. DRPI aims to build capacity and develop a sustainable global system for monitoring disability rights. Monitoring takes place in three focus areas: individual experiences (collecting information about the actual situation of people with disabilities on the ground), systemic protections (evaluating the effectiveness of systemic protections for disability rights e.g. laws, policies and programs) and societal attitudes (examining the coverage and nature of media depictions of people with disabilities). The Bolivia project has focussed on monitoring in the first two focus areas – individual experiences and systemic measures. The monitoring and training tools and methods used in this project have also been applied in DRPI-sponsored projects in several other countries, including Australia, Cameroon, Canada, India, Kenya, and Sweden. The DRPI project is a direct outcome of the recommendations formulated at an international conference on Human Rights and Disability that was held in Almåsa, Sweden, in 2000, with the participation of representatives from all the main international disability organizations, as well as human rights experts and United Nations representatives. More information about the activities of DRPI can be found on the project website.
In Bolivia, the project was led by the Confederación Boliviana de la Persona con Discapacidad (COBOPDI), with the support of the Santa Cruz Federation of Persons with Disabilities (FECRUPDI) and the Departmental Federation of Persons with Disabilities (La Paz) (FEDEPDI).
We hope that in this report on the human rights situation of people with disabilities in Bolivia will provide all of the organizations for people with disabilities in Bolivia (COBOPDI, CONALPEDI, CODEPEDI, etc.) with the technical and scientific information that they need to support their advocacy work. It is also anticipated that this document will inform national authorities about the development of methodologies and tools for the promotion and protection of human rights and human dignity, and generate a debate and invite reflection upon these issues.
We also hope that this report can form a foundation for strengthening the engagement of the disability rights movement, allies and like-minded development partners. The information and ideas presented in this document will form part of a growing collection of information resources.
The first part of this report contains general notes on the social, economic and political situation of Bolivia, as well as information on the movement of the people with disabilities in the country, an analysis of the legislation and existing norms applying to the people with disabilities.
The second part contains statistical data and analysis of the individual experiences obtained from the interviews with people with disabilities in La Paz and Santa Cruz.