UZBEKISTAN: "ACCESS" PROJECT SUPPORTS THE RIGHTS OF THE

UNCLAS TASHKENT 001538 SIPDIS DEPT FOR SCA AND DRL E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM KPAO OIIP PGOV PREL UZ SUBJECT: UZBEKISTAN: "ACCESS" PROJECT SUPPORTS THE RIGHTS OF THE DISABLED ¶1. (U) Earlier this year, the Uzbek Ministry of Labor announced that it signed an agreement to participate in an ACCESS (Accessibility, Civic Consciousness, Employment, and Society Support for Persons with Disabilities) project with several international partners - including UNDP, UNICEF, UNESCO, and UNFPA - that aims to expand social integration and employment and educational opportunities for disabled persons in Uzbekistan. The project, which began in August 2008 and will end in August 2010, has been implemented in several provinces of the country and has a budget of 415,000 dollars. ¶2. (U) Noting that some children with disabilities do not currently attend school in Uzbekistan, an October 17 article in the state-controlled UzReport.com website reported that the ACCESS project will aim to overcome this problem by promoting a national model of "inclusive" education in Uzbekistan. As part of the project, six pilot inclusive kindergartens and schools, which educate both children with and without disabilities, were opened this year in the cities of Navoi, Termez, Qarshi, Jizzakh, Samarkand, and Kokand. In October, the ACCESS project held a two-day international conference in Tashkent on inclusive education attended by international experts and government officials, including Uzbekistan's Permanent Representative at UNESCO Lola Karimova, President Karimov's younger daughter, who also is the head of the children's rights NGO Sen Yol'iz Emassan ("You Are Not Alone"). ¶3. (U) Also as part of the ACCESS project, UzReport.com reported on December 23 that UNDP conducted a training course on employing persons with disabilities for staff of employment centers administered by the Tashkent City branch of the Labor Ministry. The article noted that training was "the first step" in expanding employment opportunities for persons with disabilities and reported that such trainings would continue in 2009. The article also cited "a debate" within the government on the ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with disabilities. ¶4. (U) Comment: We believe that it is highly likely that the government will adopt the UN Convention on the Rights of Disabled Persons sometime next year. Given the apparent willingness of the government to engage at a high-level on the ACCESS project, we believe that it may be possible for us to pursue human rights-related cooperation with the government through programs aimed at benefiting disabled persons. NORLAND To view the entire SMART message, go to URL http://repository.state.sgov.gov/_layouts/OSS SearchResults.aspx?k=messageid:eba8835c-283e- 4f4b-8415-01eb668469ff