Malawi Disability Council Enlists Media on Enforcing New Disability Law
Moving forward, MACODA hopes that duty bearers will change their orientation and perspective regarding the rights of persons with disabilities.
SALIMA, Malawi - The Malawi Council for Disability Affairs (MACODA) is undertaking an orientation exercise to educate media practitioners about the country's new Persons with Disabilities Act, according to the council's Director General, GeorgeChiusiwa, writes Tionge Hara.
Speaking to journalists at a disability act awareness meeting in Salima, Chiusiwa emphasized the importance of engaging various stakeholders, including the media, as agents of change.
"We are aware as council that it is very important to engage various stakeholders as agents of change to ensure the new law is popularized and publicized far and wide," he said.
"Media practitioners therefore need to be equipped with in-depth information on this law, particularly pertaining to MACODA's powers, functions and responsibilities for its enforcement."
A key objective of the orientation is to enhance effective reporting, research, monitoring and investigations by media practitioners on issues related to the rights and fundamental freedoms of persons with disabilities.
"The media is very key and central to ensuring that various human rights issues affecting the rights of persons with disabilities are reported adequately and effectively," Chiusiwa stated.
"To achieve this, we need journalists who are well-equipped and soundly informed on the legal information related to disability rights in the country."
The orientation covers the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which Malawi has ratified, and highlights the importance of disability inclusion and mainstreaming as outlined in the Malawi2063 Development Vision.
While acknowledging that Malawi's legal and policy framework is relatively progressive and normative in terms of promulgating the rights of persons with disabilities across various pieces of legislation, the MACODA’s Chiusiwa acknowledged the challenge lies in enforcement.
"The Persons with Disabilities Act is providing a unique mechanism to enforce the rights of persons with disabilities, and we believe that the establishment of MACODA under this act will bring about a unique mechanism through which the rights of persons with disabilities under this new disability legislation, as well as under the constitution and other various pieces of legislation, will be realized," he explained.
MACODA expects to continuously engage various media organizations and practitioners on human rights issues while also seeking partnerships and alliances with journalists, who are regarded as human rights defenders.
"Honestly and fairly speaking, the legal and policy framework in Malawi is relatively progressive and normative, and we have everything in as far as the promulgation of rights of persons with disabilities in various pieces of legislation," Chiusiwa acknowledged.
"However, the challenge is enforcement."
Moving forward, MACODA hopes that duty bearers will change their orientation and perspective regarding the rights of persons with disabilities.
To achieve this, the council is reaching out to various stakeholders, including state and non-state actors, to orient them on the new law.
"It is our hope that going forward, duty bearers will change their orientation, their perspective regarding the rights of persons with disabilities, and this is why we are also reaching out to various stakeholders, various actors both in the state and non-state sector, to orient them on this new law promoting the rights of persons with disabilities as principal rights holders," Chiusiwa said.