Under the patronage of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, the Forum of the Handicapped in North Lebanon organized a national conference under the title: “The Right of the Handicapped to Education: Application of Law 220/2000 - Reality and Commitment of the Civil Society”. The event comes under the program “Afkar II”, financed by the European Union and managed by the Office of the Minister of State for Administrative Reform.
The conference, held in the UNESCO Palace, was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, the Lebanese Internal Security Forces, the European Commission in Lebanon, the Ministry of State for Administrative Reform, the Ministry of Social Affairs, public and private schools, NGOs and by other stakeholders of the project.
After the national anthem, the President of the Forum, Mr. Nabil Abed took the floor. Mr.Abd noted that the number of the handicapped persons in Lebanon holding the Individual Disability Card delivered by the Ministry of Social Affairs is estimated at 55000, according to a survey undertaken by the aforesaid ministry. He underscored that an equal number of handicapped persons do not hold the above-mentioned card, because of the limited privileges it brings to its holder. Mr. Abed said that the forum worked towards convincing the stakeholders to implement the law pertaining to the handicapped persons for it is not a difficult task. He added in this regard that the forum started the implementation of the project entitled “Model of the Application Strategies of the Preliminary Articles of law 220”, which is financed by the European Union, managed by the Office of the Ministry of State for Administrative Reform and extended till the end of 2008.
The representative of OMSAR and coordinator of Afkar II program, Ms. Youmna Ghorayeb underlined that the main objective of the program consists in enabling the Lebanese civil society to respect the civil and political rights of all the Lebanese citizens. Ms. Ghorayeb noted that the law 220/2000 provides an acceptable framework for the integration of the handicapped persons, the respect of their rights and the promotion of their role as active members in the social system. The speaker added that the law was ready to be implemented from the moment it was passed and joint efforts are exerted for its practical implementation in the field.
The Integration of the Handicapped Persons
The representative of the European Commission in Lebanon, Yussy Narvy, considered that the law provides the appropriate legal context for the integration of the handicapped persons in Lebanon, adding that the law 220 is no more a mere number, for no effort is spared to put it into force.
He furthermore considered that the respect of the rights of the handicapped persons is a task incumbent upon many sectors, for the disabled persons have been marginalized from the society not only because of their handicap but also because of infrastructural flaws. “They are often victims of discrimination regarding public services, job opportunities, education, and participation to the public life. Therefore, it is necessary for all the stakeholders to joint their efforts in order to assert the rights of the handicapped to work, to education, to health and to other services” added Narvy.
As for the general director of the Ministry of Education, Fadi Yarak, he noted that “our concept of equality and democracy in education rejects the marginalization in the school and society and refuses to consider the especial care a person needs a reason for isolation, exclusion or carelessness”. Mr. Yarak said, “We are gathered here to display our care to the persons of especial needs. This conference witnesses your fruitful cooperation and unwavering determination to persevere in the social, public and civil work, in order to modernize the laws and regulations that rule the methods of dealing with the exceptional cases”. Mr.Yarak added, “The Ministry of Education’s priority is to fill the gap between the student, who is endowed with all the mental and physical abilities and his counterpart who is deprived of some of these abilities. The minister Khaled Kabbani works in cooperation with the stakeholders, including the ministries, international organizations and the civil society to provide the necessary conditions and circumstances for the efficient integration of the students in the schools”.
After the opening speeches, the first session was held under the title: “The Right of the Handicapped to Education”.
Fahmi Karame talked about the right of the handicapped persons to education, from the perspective of law 220/2000.
Jean Hayek, from the Ministry of Education, presented the projects carried out by the ministry regarding the handicapped persons’ integration in the schools.
In the second session of the conference, many participants, including school directors, presented the experiences they carried out in the field with a view of facilitating the assertion of the handicapped persons’ right to education. In this regard, the public relations’ director of the FOH presented the challenges and the results of an experience led by the forum since its inception in 1986, which consisted in integrating handicapped persons in private and public schools.