The mission of a Decade Steering Committee (DSC) is to advocate for the enhancement of the quality of life, full participation and empowerment of all categories of disability in all spheres of life. This will be done through the implementation and monitoring of plans and strategies outlined in the Continental Plan of Action (CPOA), at local, district, provincial, national and international levels.

The major functions of the national Decade steering committee are as follows:

(a) To play a key role in the preparation of a comprehensive national plan and in the development of national policy and legislation on disability and related issues, this will serve as the basis for a network of services that can benefit all disabled people within their communities;

(b) To work, where on-going national social policies exist and to augment these policies directed at improving the status of disabled persons and support of their families;

(c) To establish procedures to monitor, on a constant basis, the implementation of policies and programmes for persons with disabilities by all relevant agencies, and draw attention to the co-ordination thereof at national level

(d) To review and evaluate on a continuous basis the effectiveness of all existing policies, programmes and activities concerning disabled people; 

(e) To facilitate the fundraising for the implementation of national plan of action.

(f) To encourage the creation and strengthening of organizations of disabled persons; 

(g) To emphasize, in recognition of the fact that large numbers of persons with disabilities continue to be victims of war and landmine explosions and other forms of violence, the need for national and international peace as well as respect for human rights;

(h) To plan, promote and assist in the dissemination of information and the creation of greater awareness through all types of media, including traditional and cultural forms of communication, in order to ensure a positive but realistic portrayal of disabled persons and disability;

(i) To organize local or national seminars, workshops or meetings on special themes of disability in order to educate people regarding these themes, to promote awareness of the problems, and to find suitable solutions within the national context;

(j) To be actively involved in the process towards the UN Convention on the rights and protection of disabled persons;

(k) To encourage regional exchange of experience and state-of-the-art technology; and help to elucidate how bilateral and multilateral co-operation can improve the living conditions of disabled persons, particularly in rural areas;

(l) To report annually to the Head of State, the Head of Government,  African Rehabilitation Institute (ARI) and the Secretariat of the African Decade of Persons with Disability or any other appropriate body until the end of the Decade on the progress made in the implementation of the Decade Programme of Activities.

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To get the guidelines on how to establish a Decade Steering Commmittee in your country, send an email to info@africandecade.co.za – or contact us via phone +27 21 426 5858 or regular mail. 

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This article was published in Human Rights Africa number 2, 2007.