PICTURES

Reps from MCD, MAFREL, SPR and JKM for the Dialogue

Reps from Malaysia - MCD, MAFREL, SPR and JKM on 2nd day of Dialogue

Speakers & Presentors of AGENDA Dialogue after officiating

Election simulation for 'PWD'

Workshop - Hasnah with Cambodian Disabled People's Organization Ngin Saorath (Ex Dir) & Channtey Heng (Snr Program Officer)

Yu Ya Thu; Operation Manager of Mynmar Independent Living Initiative

AGENDA's program

Braille ballot paper for the blinds

PWD put her casted ballot paper into ballot box

AGENDA - Activity Report

Activity Report

There are 2 program held by AGENDA to promote elections access for PWD (persons with disabilities) :

1)    Capacity Building Workshop (Jan 30 & 31, 2012)

2)    Regional Dialogue on Access to Elections for Persons with Disabilities (Feb 1 & 2, 2012)

Capacity Building Workshop

(Jan 30 & 31, 2012) Jakarta

The workshop basically aimed at providing technical information on AGENDA’s sub-award system and requirements. Participants consist of DPOs and CSOs from 7 ASEAN countries (with exception of Thailand, Laos, Brunei Darus-salam and Singapore). Workshop focused more on DPOs. MAFREL as the CSO provide on election processes. 

Malaysia is represented by both DPO (MCD) and CSO (MAFREL) – Bathmavathy Krishnan (Secretary) and Adam Malek Miskun of MCD. Hasnah Hashim represented MAFREL.

The topics covered during the 2-days’ workshop were :

a)    AGENDA General Overview

b)    Accessible Election

c)    Monitoring the Accessible Election

d)    Sub-awards

e)    Reporting

f)     Performance Management Plan (PMP)

g)    Finance

h)    Advocacy towards Election Management Bodies (EMB) – SPR

i)     Research

j)     General Election Overview

k)    Index

l)     Coordination mechanism – information for website and index

m)  Coordination on the election monitoring activity (participants = Malaysia, Cambodia & Timor Leste)

Participant  Conclusion :

1.    AGENDA add a significant insight into special voters’ (disabled) rights. This is could be one of MAFREL’s way forward agenda; considering PWDs is averaged at 15% from total population – many may not register as voters or able to cast votes due to inaccessibility issues.

2.    AGENDA aim = access to PWDs to be able to cast their votes, not whether the election is free and fair. Eg. Polling Day = project’s observation only focus on polling process (exclude counting & tallying processes).

3.    AGENDA promote PWDs voters to cast their own votes; not assisted by non-PWDs.

4.    AGENDA program on Voter Education for PWDs complements MAFREL’s.

5.    The deliverables (reports-weekly, quarterly, financial & activity) are more stringent compared to other international funders experienced by MAFREL.

Regional Dialogue on Access to Elections for Persons with Disabilities

(Feb 1 & 2, 2012) Jakarta

The conference aimed at promoting PWDs rights to participate in political process of their countries.

Participants consist of DPOs and CSOs from all ASEAN countries (except Singapore). UN-ESCAP, ASEAN, Australia, South Korea, Japan, IFES, NDI were invited as speakers.

Malaysia is represented by DPO, CSO, EMB and related government agency :

a)    MCD – Bathmavathy Krishnan (Secretary) & Adam Malek Miskun

b)    MAFREL – Col (R) Sahahrudin Othman & Hasnah Hashim

c)    SPR – Mohamad Mahmud (Kelantan State Election Director)

d)    Department of Social Welfare Malaysia – Pathmanathan R Nalasamy (Principal Assistant Director of Department for Development of PWDs)

The topics covered during the 2-days’dialogue were :

a)    Why the disability community needs to talk about rights 

b)    CRPD – the challenge of implementing electoral rights ‘A discussion on Article 29’

c)    Access to Election – learning from best practices in the Southeast Asia Region ‘Article 29 in practice’

d)    Voter Education

e)    Electoral laws and disability

f)     Engagement with wider human rights community

g)    Experiencing an accessible election (+ election simulation)

h)    Bali Declaration – Ensuring the Right to Political Participation is addressed in the ASEAN Communities Framework

i)     The essential role of EMBs in facilitating elections that are accessible to persons with disabilities

j)     Assistive technology (and other tools) to promote accessible elections

k)    Disabilities and elections in Southeast Asia Region – an evolving concept and the way forward

l)     Learning Together – Reviewing and Refining Disability Access Monitoring Tools

Participants’  Conclusion :

1.    SPR does not provide access for PWDs to cast votes on their own, rather to use family members and assistants to cast their votes for them.

2.    SPR/ Malaysia still have a long way to go to provide election access for PWDs.        

Introduction on AGENDA PROJECT

AGENDA

GENERAL ELECTION NETWORK FOR DISABILITY ACCESS (AGENDA)

Background: The General Election Network for Disability Access (AGENDA) project aims to improve access to political and electoral opportunities for people with disabilities in Southeast Asia. To achieve this goal, the USAID-supported project will partner disabled people’s organizations (DPOs - MCD) with election civil society organizations (CSO - MAFREL), including the International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES). Together AGENDA network partners will develop new regional election monitoring activities and raise awareness about access issues in elections, ensuring that disability rights are squarely on ASEAN’s developing human rights agenda. The one-year project will bring together local organizations from Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Cambodia, Timor Leste, Vietnam, Mynmar and Thailand to conduct research and share best practice in disability access.

A main component of AGENDA is to develop new regional partnerships for improved data collection and further-reaching advocacy efforts targeting ASEAN’s developing human rights agenda. MCD and MAFREL will work together in conducting disability access monitoring and field research. Data from these activities will be used to produce a regional index, which will help MCD and SPR identify priorities for reform and set targets for improved accessibility. Through additional research initiatives, regional events, a website, and publications, AGENDA will also facilitate a new regional dialogue for sharing best practices in disability access.

Regional partners: MAFREL will be part of a regional network for the AGENDA project. Each selected organization will be responsible for the conducting and providing extensive research on national disability issues, including legislation, regional networks, and access issues related to elections. MAFREL will help to identify Malaysia challenges and best practices in disability access and will track individual and collective organizational activities to engage with national human rights institutions and SPR on election access issues. MAFREL will also monitor ASEAN member states progress toward adopting and/or ratifying the CRPD, as well as positive legislative action to bring domestic laws into compliance with CRPD, especially in regards to Article 29 on participation in political and public life. The project is expected to start in February 2012 and end in January 2013.

Specific duties of the regional partners:

Activity 1- Prior to Election (January-March)

a)      Coordinate with electoral NGOs and CSOs to prepare monitoring mission in evaluating electoral access for people with disabilities.

b)      Conduct research on current electoral legislation in Malaysia that impacts the rights of people with disabilities and electoral access.

c)       Support MCD in conducting the research on the “Political Participation of PWDs in Southeast Asian Countries”

d)      Lead the monitoring on (with the assistance of MCD that will be sub-awarded independently by AGENDA): regulations related to human rights and or disability rights with the main focus on elections, or any other regulations that govern the rights of disabled people; selection of election organizer; voter registration; candidates; campaign. Work with AGENDA team in Jakarta throughout the process.

e)      Support MCD in conducting a pre-election workshop to identify issues on disability access in election inviting 15 persons consisting of DPOs from all types of disabilities, and election experts), 3 persons from CDPO and 2 persons from the selected CSO (total of 20 invitees).

f)       Conduct workshops on tailoring the Pre-Election Technical Assessment/PETA to adopt the country’s local context (1 workshop inviting DPOs and 1 workshop inviting election CSOs).

g)      Conduct PETA training for election access monitors in Malaysia (2 trainings for 40 persons each, total of 80. Each training will consist of 20 PWDs and 20 non-PWDs. Specifically for the cost of PWDs’ Per Diem and local transport shall be borne by MCD).

h)      Participate in a monitoring mission that will be held in Indonesia (for 2 persons).

i)        Report on the above activities to AGENDA.

Activity 2 - Prior to and During the Elections

a)      Travel to 4 Parliament constituencies in Malaysia on Malaysia 13^th General Election to evaluate access for people with disabilities using the checklist and research developed under Activity 1 (20 observers will monitor each constituency, total of 80. All cost related to PWDs observers shall be borne by MCD).

b)      Conduct workshop to collect the checklist and gather feedback/experience from the observers (the workshop will be held on 2 locations held on the afternoon after the monitoring has finished).

c)       Report on the above activities to AGENDA.

Activity 3 – Post Election

a)      Report on the above activities to advise AGENDA and assist other regional countries to develop procedures to ensure access to the ballot for all in future regional elections.

b)      Support MCD in conducting a post-election workshop to discuss the result of the monitoring activity inviting 15 persons consisting of DPOs from all types of disabilities, and election experts, 3 persons from CDPO and 2 persons from the selected CSO (total of 20 invitees).

c)       Report on the outcomes and recommendation of the elections’ administration and processes specifically on election access for PWDs to SPR as the Election Management Body (EMB).

d)      Support MCD in conducting launching workshop on the election monitoring results (total 50 persons).

e)      Support MCD in announcing the monitoring result to the government and other stakeholders including, but not limited to the SPR.

f)       Report on the above activities to AGENDA.

·         Contribute information to AGENDA’s website in form of regular reporting on the situation of people living with disabilities with emphasis on the issue of political rights of the disabled people in Malaysia;

·         Write a report on the outcomes and recommendation of the elections’ administration and processes specifically on election access for PWDs to SPR. The report will also be used to contribute to AGENDA’s Index result;

·         Support MCD in conducting launching workshop on the election monitoring results (inviting 50 persons)

·         As part of advocating disability rights, MAFREL is expected to support MCD in announcing the monitoring result to the government and other stakeholders including, but not limited to SPR.

Sub-award: Sub-grant recipients will use results from pre-election technical assessments (PETA) to advocate for important changes to the election preparations or legal/regulatory framework.  MAFREL will be expected to engage with national human rights institutions and elections management bodies to present PETA research and recommendations.

Deliverables (the selected Civil Society Organization is expected to deliver the followings):

·         Weekly updates on activities (narrative in bullet points format, one page maximum);

·         Quarterly reports (narrative, using a reporting template provided by AGENDA);

·         Financial reports (using a template provided by AGENDA);

·         Activity reports / assessment reports

Contact person in AGENDA:

Yusdiana Email: yusdiana@agendaasia.org