Government Implementation of the Standard Rules
As Seen By Member Organizations of
World Federation of the Deaf - WFD

Gambia

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© Dimitris Michailakis 1997 The Gambia Association of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Gambia
No reply was received from the Government of Gambia.
The views of "The Gambia Association of the Visually Impaired" and "The Gambia Association of the Physically Disabled" have also been included.

General policy

The officially recognized disability policy is expressed in guidelines adopted by a national disability council, and in policy adopted by NGOs. The emphasis in this policy is on rehabilitation and prevention.

Since the adoption of the Rules, the government has not done anything to convey the message of full participation.

Legislation

The rights of persons with disabilities are protected by general legislation. There is no judicial mechanism to protect the rights of persons with disabilities. The non-judicial body for that purpose is a governmental body (administrative).

General legislation applies to persons with different disabilities with respect to education, employment, the right to marriage, the right to parenthood/family, political rights, access to court of law, the right to privacy and property rights. No benefits are guaranteed by law to persons with disabilities.

No new legislation concerning disability has been enacted, since the adoption of the Rules.

Accessibility

There are no rules to ensure accessibility of the built environment. No responsible body exists to observe accessibility in the built environment. No measures have been promoted by the government in order to facilitate accessibility in the built environment. Special transport arrangements for persons with disabilities include a limited amount of free public bus tickets, lasting for 3 months and being distributed to persons with disabilities in the urban areas. The distribution takes place every 3 months on "first come first have"-basis. Special transport is available for medical treatment, education, work and for recreational purpose. The most difficult obstacles, when planning to build accessible environments are attitudinal factors, economic/budgetary factors, technical factors, lack of legislation and regulations, lack of planning and design capacity, lack of knowledge, research and information, lack of user participation and lack of enforcement mechanism. There is no disability awareness component incorporated in the training of planners, architects and construction engineers.

Sign language has no officially recognized status, is not used as the first language in education of deaf people and is not recognized as the main means of communication between deaf persons and others. There are no government measures to encourage media and other forms of public information to make their services accessible to persons with disabilities. No services are provided in order to facilitate information or communication between persons with disabilities and others.

Organizations of persons with disabilities

There is a national umbrella organization. There are no legal provisions mandating the representatives of persons with disabilities to participate in policy-making or to work with governmental institutions. Organizations are never consulted, when laws and regulations with a disability aspect are being prepared. The government gives financial support (about 600 USD per year to each organization) to organizations of persons with disabilities. Persons with disabilities participate to a very limited extent in government, legislatures, judicial authorities, political parties and NGOs. The role of organizations of persons with disabilities is to advocate rights and improved services, mobilize persons with disabilities, identify needs and priorities, contribute to public awareness, provide services and promote/organize income generating activities.

Co-ordination of work

The co-ordinating committee is reporting to the Ministry of Health and Welfare. It includes representatives from the Ministry of Health and Welfare, from organizations of persons with disabilities and from other NGOs. The government does not expect the co-ordinating committee to participate in policy development but to perform other tasks, e.g. to deal with disability issues. The establishment of the committee has had the following effects: improved integration of responsibility, a better dialogue in the disability field and improved promotion of public awareness.

The adoption of the Rules has led to a rethinking of the approach to disability policy.

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Contents of the WFD Report