Social Inclusion and The Promotion of the Human Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Zimbabwe - 31 March 2021
Executive Summary
Trocaire and its consortium partners namely Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR); Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP); Masakhaneni Project Trust (MPT), the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) Zimbabwe; CCJP Masvingo and CCJP Mutare through research sought to assess the extent to which their interventions promoted and upheld social inclusion for the poor and marginalised communities including the promotion and protection of the rights of persons with disabilities (PWDs). The research brought to the fore opportunities as well as gaps to ensure greater social inclusion for the poor and marginalised communities including PWDs. Qualitative and quantitative methods were used to collect data for the research.
The study revealed symptoms of exclusion that are pervasive among people who are poor and persons with disabilities in the target communities. Exclusion manifests in unequal access to resources, unequal participation and denial of opportunities. These symptoms manifest differently and in different intensities for the non-disabled poor communities and persons with disabilities. Consequently, exclusion has resulted in inability to access justice, information, duty bearers, inaccessible services, inability to access the built environment and systemic poverty. The consortium is working to reduce the symptoms of social exclusion as well as promote the rights of persons with disabilities through various interventions in the target areas. The diagram shows the interventions that consortium members are implementing to ensure the rights of the poor and PWDs are protected and promoted.