APC signs MoU with UNICEF on youths with disabilities

New Delhi: In a historic development, the Asian Paralympic Committee (APC) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) to promote the rights of children and youth with disabilities, and to work together for their greater inclusion in society.

The MoU stems from a mutual desire to use sport to empower children and youth with disabilities to reach their full potential and drive social inclusion. It reflects both the organisation's commitment to promoting the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), and achieving the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.

The MoU outlines several partnership objectives which, in addition to promotion of the CRPD, include support for initiatives that increase provision of assistive devices, scale up provision of accessible infrastructure and use sport to eradicate the stigma and discrimination faced by children and youth with disabilities.

"Today is a historic day for the entire family of the Asian Paralympic Committee. We are very proud to be associated with UNICEF whose aims and objectives align so closely with ours. This new association will help us achieve our new Strategic Objectives which also focus on using sport to engage young people with disabilities and promote social inclusion," APC President Majid Rashed said at the signing ceremony.

"We look forward to implementing the MoU across Asia which is the biggest continent with the highest number of children and youth with disabilities. I am hopeful that all the 44 National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) within the five Sub regions of Asia will benefit from this association contributing to the growth of the Paralympic Movement in the region and ultimately a more inclusive society," he added.

The MoU will run through to February 2022 and will be regularly reviewed.

It's signing comes after APC President Rashed attended a meeting and participated in the United Nations' 12th session of the Conference of State Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities' at its headquarters in New York, last June.