[Understanding the APRCEM Asia Pacific Disability Constituency]
Villaney Remengesau
Asia Pacific Disability Constituency
Asia Pacific Regional Civil Society Engagement Mechanism (APRCEM)
Background
The Stakeholder Group of Persons with Disabilities (SGPwD) is the representative civil society body of persons with disabilities to the United Nations High-Level Political Forum on the 2030 Agenda. The SGPwD is a network of persons with disabilities, organizations of persons with disabilities (OPDs) and other allies. The Asia Pacific is one of the five major global regions as defined by the United Nations. In the Asia-Pacific region, there is a strong and well-established coordination mechanism; the Asia-Pacific Regional Civil Society Engagement Mechanism (APRCEM).
APRCEM is a civil society platform aimed to enable stronger cross constituency coordination and ensure that voices of all subregions of Asia Pacific are heard in intergovernmental processes at the regional and global levels. It seeks to ensure that viewpoints and voices from all subregions of the Asia Pacific are represented and heard in intergovernmental processes at both regional and global levels. The AP-RCEM was started and is owned and driven by Civil Society Organizations. It seeks to engage with UN agencies and the Member States, and it is designed to reach as many Civil Society Organizations in the region as it can in order to harness the voices of peoples’ movements and advance development justice that addresses issues such as inequalities of wealth, power, and resources, between countries, between the rich and poor, and between men and women.
The AP-RCEM engages in sustainable development processes and the Disability Constituency is part of it. This document intends to establish a strong Asia Pacific Disability Constituency (APDC) as well as provide relevant information. All activities of the APDC are organized in relation to Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) implementation and the Economic and Social Commission of the Asia Pacific (ESCAP) Sustainable Development Forum. Persons with disabilities as a regional stakeholder group have the right to intervene, submit position papers and documents, hold side events, and engage fully as a civil society stakeholder at the ESCAP Sustainable Development Forum and related events.
Objectives
The key objectives are to raise awareness, amplify advocacy efforts towards CRPD compliant SDG implementation, participate in regional UN and other processes and opportunities and build our community and raise awareness. We hope to bring strong messages to the next regional Forum on Sustainable Development held by UN ESCAP as well as to create and build partnerships to further the implementation of the SDGs for persons with disabilities with the Member States and other actors in the region.
Scope
Our geographical scope is the Asia-Pacific region, with a connection to relevant global platforms and players such as the International Disability Alliance (IDA) and Stakeholder Groups of Persons with Disabilities (SGPwD).
Term of the Focal Point is two years endorsed by the organization’s governing board represented by. Sub-Regional Focal Points are nominated in a process and serve two years as well.
We note that the life of the SDGs is up to 2030.
Establishment of the Asia Pacific Disability Constituency
Role of a Focal Point
The Asia Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development (APFSD) meets annually to discuss the implementation of the SDGs. The AP-RCEM facilitates the participation of civil society at the Forum and the Disability Constituency under the umbrella of the AP-RCEM forms a part of that. The Constituency works to ensure that persons with disabilities from the Asia Pacific can unify their messages as a stakeholder group and are able to connect and interlink messages with the wider regional civil society, the UN, and the Member States. A key component of the organizational structure of the Constituency is the role of Focal Point and Regional Focal Point. The Focal Point shares information and opportunities to coordinate joint messages and carry out advocacy outreach. The Focal Points ensure that the workstreams adhere to the text of the CRPD, the 2030 Agenda, and other key documents.
The Pacific Disability Forum (PDF) is the current Focal Point of the Asia Pacific Disability Constituency. The PDF Board decided in August 2022 that the Female Co-chair will continue to serve this role as the Focal Point with the support of Male Co-chair. The decision for the alternate focal point will be discussed later this year.
The APRCEM Election process will conclude soon and the election committee will share the final results. However, PDF was the only eligible nominee for the election. Then, PDF will continue this role as the Focal Point until the official results are disseminated.
Membership and Participation
If you want to be part of the Asia Pacific Disability Constituency and receive information about the region, the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, and how to engage, we are inviting you to join the Asia-Pacific Disability Group Listserv! We will be using the listserv to disseminate information, coordinate joint messages, and correspond about important events.
What is the listserv? This is an open and moderated forum intended to serve as a platform for exchange, knowledge sharing, and peer learning for the disability community in the Asia-Pacific region. The listserv will share information and opportunities for persons with disabilities related to the Asia-Pacific Regional Sustainable Development Forum. Members of the listserv are encouraged to raise any issues, make suggestions, and communicate with one another. The listserv is open to all persons with disabilities, organizations of persons with disabilities (OPDs), non-governmental and other organizations working on the rights of persons with disabilities, non-governmental donors working with persons with disabilities, and disability rights advocates in the Asia-Pacific region.
To join the listserv: Click on https://groups.google.com/g/asia-pacific-disability-constituency-aprcem/membership
Email te...@visionpacific.org.nz or telesia...@pacificdisability.org to add you in the listserv.
If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact the Focal Point at lanys...@gmail.com or l...@visionpacific.org.nz.
Engagement and Structure
Establishment of a Core Group
The Asia Pacific Disability Constituency proposes to create a collaborative approach to support the work of the focal point. Division of labor will enhance the participation of persons with disabilities in the SDG and related events in the region.
As such we have established the Core Group consisting of the Focal Point and the three working groups on advocacy, capacity building, and communication. In order to establish synergies, all working group leads and the focal point will meet once a month to exchange and to identify future steps ahead.
Focal points role remains – representation, coordination, sharing of information, communication with ESCAP, exchanges messages between the global and regional level
Be a Subregional Focal Point
Subregional Focal Points will carry out technical facilitation of Working Groups, organize meetings, and maintain official records of meetings, participants, and action steps. The subregional focal points will help to ensure that the Working Groups adhere to the text of the CRPD, the 2030 Agenda, and other key documents, and report to the regional focal point of the Asia Pacific.
There will be elections for the Subregional Focal Points for the SGPwD in the subregional offices in the Asia Pacific. The elections will be conducted later this year as well. The offices are as follows: ·
East and North-East Asia: China, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Japan, Mongolia, Republic of Korea, and Russian Federation. Associate members: Hong Kong and Macau;
North and Central Asia: The Russian Federation, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, Armenia, and Georgia;
The Pacific: Australia, Fiji, Kiribati, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Micronesia (the Federated States of), Nauru, New Zealand, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. Associate members: American Samoa, the Cook Islands, French Polynesia, Guam, New Caledonia, Niue, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands;
South-East Asia: Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Cambodia, Myanmar (Burma), Laos;
South and South-West Asia: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Turkey.
Sub-Regional Focal Points Nomination
Invitation for an open, transparent, and participatory application process to identify the Sub-Regional Focal Points. This is a volunteer, unpaid position, and the core responsibilities are:
- · To share the information received from the regional focal point with organizations of persons with disabilities at the subregional level.
- · Maintain communication and coordination with regional and other subregional focal points.
- · Organize meetings, capacity building workshops/webinars in coordination with the regional focal points.
- · Strengthen and engage subregional OPDs in the SDGs implementation.
- · Work in cooperation and collaboration with the Regional Focal Point.
Resources
The key resource is the contribution and skills of the different members in the constituency.
Regional, sub-regional, and national level OPDs will be a strong resource of the group.
We also do have the support of various organizations/platforms who are contributing mainly through the provision of guidance, management, leadership, information sharing, creation of linkages, coordination, and logistics support to the Focal point, groups, and respective members. Some of the organizations/platforms include.
- · Pacific Disability Forum (PDF)
- · International Disability Alliance (IDA)
- · CBM
- · Light of the World
- · Sightsavers
- · Asia Pacific Regional Civil Society Engagement Mechanism (APRCEM)
- · Stakeholder Group of Persons with Disabilities (SGPwD)