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

Swaziland

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© Dimitris Michailakis 1997 Swaziland National Association of the Deaf, Swaziland
No reply was received from the Government of Swaziland.

General policy

There is no officially recognized policy.

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 special legislation and general legislation. The judicial mechanism to protect the rights of persons with disabilities is due process (legal remedy through the courts), the non-judicial being constituted of independent expert bodies.

The following benefits are guaranteed by law to persons with disabilities: health and medical care, training, rehabilitation and counselling.

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. There are no special transport arrangements for persons with disabilities. The most difficult obstacles, when planning to build accessible environments, are lack of planning and design capacity, lack of knowledge, research and information and lack of co-operation from other organisations/institutions. 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 government measures to encourage media to make their services accessible to persons with disabilities but no government measures to encourage other forms of public information to make their services accessible. None of the following services are provided in order to facilitate information and communication between persons with disabilities and others: literature in Braille/tape, news magazines on tape/Braille, sign language interpretation or easy readers for persons with mental disabilities.

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 of persons with disabilities are never consulted, when laws and regulations with a disability aspect are being prepared. Persons with disabilities participate to a very limited extent in political parties and NGOs. The role of organizations of persons with disabilities is to advocate rights and improved services, identify needs and priorities and promote/organize income generating activities.

The Standard Rules are a milestone for changes according to the organization.

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