September 5-7, 2011, Seoul, South Korea

Preparatory Meeting to establish AP DPO United was held at Eroom center on September 5-7. The preparatory meeting hosted by the Korea Federation of Organizations of the Disabled (KOFOD) and the Korean Solidarity for the Preparation of 3rd Asia-Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons was an important meeting for persons with disabilities in Korea as well as in Asia and Pacific region. Around 100 disabled persons‘ leaders from 12 countries such as China, India, Thailand, Nepal, Palau, Philippines, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, East Timor, Vietnam and Korea participated. During the meeting, they reviewed the 2nd Asian and Pacific Decade of Persons with Disabilities, and discussed and agreed in creating the AP DPO United for the coming 3rd Decade.

Disabled leaders who joined in the preparatory meeting agreed that participation of persons with disabilities in the 1st and 2nd Decades was not enough, therefore the two times of Decade failed to make tangible results that persons with disabilities were able to feel. Against this background, they decided to conduct a survey to evaluate the 2nd Decade from the disabled perspective. The result of the survey will be collected by May, 2012 and submitted to the UN ESCAP High-level Meeting, which will be held at Songdo, Korea, October, 2012.

Based on deep discussion about the AP DPO United during the preparatory meeting, participants agreed to establish the secretariat of AP DPO United in AP DPI (Thailand, Bangkok) and create a preparatory committee with 10 committee members considering disability type and region. And they selected the following persons as the five committee members in each sub-region: Kim Hyo-jin (Korea), Rajiv Rajan (India), Josephine De Vera (Philippines), Asipa Musaeva (Kyrgyzstan) and Villaney Remengesau (Palau). AP DPI as Secretariat will process the selection of other five committee members by considering disability type and region.

The preparatory committee of AP DPO United will share its opinion on a statute through on-line conference and will hold an off-line meeting (1st preparatory meeting) in conjunction with ESCAP Stakeholder meeting in December, 2011 to discuss broad issues including official launching schedule and the way of gathering together organizations of persons with disabilities in Asia and Pacific region.

Now the AP DPO United will be a mechanism for the 3rd Asian and Pacific Decade of Persons with Disabilities through more activated action and more systematic alliance. Persons with disabilities, will implement, evaluate and monitor the implementation of the new Asia Pacific Decade of Persons with Disabilities and call for implementing the CRPD, and will exercise our rights for the decision openly in the implementation process of the 3rd Decade of Persons with disabilities in Asia and the Pacific!!