CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.0. Introduction

The chapter comprises of information from various sources like textbooks, reports, dissertations, magazines and other literatures from the broaden studies regarding the role of NGOS in the advocacy of rights of persons with disability ,problems faced by the NGOS solutions and the possible recommendations to combat the challenges faced.

2.1. Role of NGOS towards advocating human rights of disabled people

Clark (1991), highlights the role that the voluntary sector plays in the mainstream development, as follows; encouraging official aid and the government ministries to adopt successful approaches to development, educating and sensitizing the public, as to their rights and entitlements, attuning official programs to the public needs through acting as a conduit for public opinion and local experience, influencing local development policies of national and international institutions, provider of alternative services and development projects.

Local NGOS have endeavored to fill up gaps left by governments in promoting participation of the identified stakeholders; to redress issues of access to the community based rehabilitation services for people with disabilities, through various strategies that may include: Resource mobilization, Community mobilization and sensitization, Community education and training, Attitude and behavior change, Capacity building, Mechanisms for social economic empowerment, Research and information dissemination, Networking, lobbying and advocating(WHO, 2004).

Experience shows that NGOS have made a great contribution in poverty alleviation, redressing gender balance, combating environmental degradation and involving the poor and PWDs, in participatory development (Save The Children Fund, 1997). NGOS have also developed a reputation for their ability to elicit participation from the communities they serve (Carroll, 1992).

In line with CRPD, the DPOsand NGOS aimed at capacity building of mainstream development organization to include PWDs. Through the adoption of existing training activities and the development of new ones, the organization supported this capacity building process. The NGOS like NUDIPU in Uganda maintained the focus on delivery of inclusive services for PWD. However, they paid specific attention to sharing their experiences with other stake holders. (Light for the World, 2010).

NGOS have aimed at promoting the social model of disability which help in overcoming barriers of exclusion, fear, ignorance and prejudice that contribute to discriminatory practices including for example an inferior complex and sense of isolation on the part of PWDs and exclusionary attitudes on the part of the general public. However thanks to the advocacy of NGOS and also the new governmental initiatives, these barriers are therefore addresses. (Advocacy, 2006).

Children Defense Fund (CDF); is a child advocacy organization that works to ensure a level playing field for all children. CDF champions policies and programs that lift children out of poverty, protect them from abuse and neglect and ensure their right to equal care and education. (www.childrensfund.org)

Human Rights Action Center is anon profit organization. The center works on issues of the UDHR and uses the arts and technologies to innovate, create and develop new strategies to stop human rights abuses against persons with disability. They also support growing human rights groups all over the world that advocate for PWDs. (Healey, 2013).

In some cases, NGOS become spoke persons or ombudsmen for the PWDs and attempt to influence government policies and programs on their behalf. This may be done through a variety of means ranging from demonstration and pilot projects to participation in public forums and plans, to publishing research results and case studies of the PWDs. Thus NGOS play roles from advocates for the PWDs to implementers of government programs and advisors, from sponsors of pilot projects to mediators. (Williams, 1991).

The Human Rights watch is dedicated to protecting the rights of the people around the world. They investigate and expose human rights violators, hold abusers accountable, and challenge governments and those who hold power to end abusive practices and respect international human rights law in favor of the PWDs which have attained respect of their rights. (Gorres, 1997.)

2.2.Problems faced by NGOS

The major problem noted in CBR programs implemented in Uganda at the moment, was lack of cohesion. As mentioned already, local NGOS seemed to duplicate CBR programme activities rather than filling in important gaps left by others in a complimentary way. To some extent, local NGOS failed to realize and articulate issues affecting disabled persons. History showed that these organizations were not effective in addressing needs of their clientele in many respects such as health, income and society security, education, legal rights and social participation. These issues are poorly coordinated by the local NGOS (Tauris, 1996).

Leadership qualities of the leaders in NGOS determine the quality and condition of the services rendered by any organization. Especially dedicated leadership, “Leadership for the sake of Leadership” is a most important governing factor in this regard. In the post independence era, unfortunately, the NGOS faced the crisis of leadership as the leaders who pioneered voluntary action and worked for it with spirit of devotion and dedication choose to enter politics to find berths in legislature and parliament thus creating a vacuum for dedication leadership in NGOS (Tauris, 1996).

Due to lack of funds, NGOS are expressing difficulty in funding sufficient appropriate and continuous funding for the work. They find accessing donors as challenging as dealing with their funding conditions. They perceive there to be certain cartels of individuals and NGOS that control access to donor funds. They have limited resource mobilization skills and are often not looking for funds that are available locally, preferring to wait for international donors to match them. There is a high dependency of donors and attendance to shift interventions to match donor’s priorities. There is a lack of financial, project and organizational sustainability (Jairos Jiri Association, 1996).

Imran Soomro (2015) highlights poor governance as it was recognized within the sector as a whole, within the NGO council and within individual NGOS. Knowledge of good governance varied widely, with some regions indicating very little understanding of why NGOS are required to have boards or what their roles and functions should be. Many other participants explained that it is difficult to achieve good governance with founders who wished to own their NGOS for their own purposes. Participants with better understanding of good governance appreciated that this is fundamental to NGO accountability and transparency. Many NGOS mismanage their resources, quite often with the involvement and encouragement of their boards that eat their NGO resources making it difficult to find board members since it can be difficult if you are not willing to pay them or provide allowances.

Poor networking was identified as a major challenge. It is the cause of duplication of efforts, conflicting strategies at community levels, a lack of learning from experience and an inability of NGOS to address local structural causes of poverty, deprivation and under development. Negative competition for effectiveness of NGO activities at community level, as a result there is a great deal of suspicion among NGOS, secrecy and lack of transparency. Many NGOS, large and small, intervene at community level without any community mapping and implementation of projects without due regards to ongoing community initiatives, NGO politics, and one fighting another, one with resources but no community presence and another with presence but no resources (Goins, 2009).

NGOS also recognize that there is very poor communication within the sector. The majority of NGOS have little or no access to reliable email and internet connection; they receive almost no literature of development issues and are generally out of touch with issues of global, regional and national importance. Their lack of understanding of the differences between the board and council is just one example of the knowledge gaps that exist as Panigrahi acknowledged.

NGOS also recognize that many of them have limited technical and organizational capacity. Few NGOS are able or willing to pay for such capacity building. Weak capacity was identified in fundraising, governance, technical areas of development, leadership and management. Some NGOS felt that the existence of quality standards would assist them to develop the required capacities. The speed of technology changes is also a challenge particularly in areas of IT capacity (Kaplan, 1999).

2.3. Recommendations that can be proposed for the discussion of disability inclusion.

In order to realize fully the rights of PWDs in development, systematic effort and commitments need to be made, together with appropriate resource allocation. The international community could consider the following recommendations;

Removal of obstacles and constraints in the international development so that PWDs can be included in international development and those new barriers are not created. A number of barriers limit or exclude the enjoyment of the rights of PWDs and these include policies and standards, attitudes, services, lack of accessibility and participation in decision making, inadequate data and statistics. This is in conformity with the World Program of Action Concerning Disabled Persons and the CRPD, which is a human rights instrument and a development tool, and in the effective and inclusive pursuit of the achievement of the MDGs. In addition, in order to maximize the removal of barriers for PWDs, the “twin-track” approach could be strengthened , programs and services could also be designed accessibly and inclusively so PWDs can participate equally with others in education, employment, health, social protection and all other services.

Article 23 of the CRPD states that “the child’s active participation in the community” must be promoted, enabled and facilitated. To enable meaningful and active participation of different actors with disabilities, capacity development measures need to be planned and supported.  DPOs should be involved in decision making processes and in all stages of programming, and non-discrimination of PWDs should be ensured at all times. The rights of the children with disability should be ensured at all times. The right of children with disability must be heard in all matters concerning them and to have their views given due weight is stated which echoes the language of Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).

Resources could be allocated to the collection and analysis of reliable and disaggregated data by sex and disability in national statistical system in order to support the design and the monitoring of better programs, policies and emergency responses and to promote the awareness of PWDs as a heterogeneous and internally differentiated group. Strengthening the statistical capacity can help to produce reliable disaggregated data on PWDs as (article 31) of the CRPD represented a stand-alone provision on data and statistics because its paramount importance is also emphasized on the operative paragraph 3 of General Assembly resolution.

Agenda perspective can be included in the disability work. The right to equality is essential, as well as being a means to achieving inclusive development. The empowerment of all women, the full enjoyment of their human rights and the eradication of poverty are essential to development efforts, including the achievement of the MDGs. Disparities in access experienced by women with disability and their increased exposure to situations of vulnerability were emphasized in the annual ministerial reviews of the Economic Social Council for 2010 and 2011. The establishment of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) can play a crucial role in operationalizing the right of women with disabilities.

Capacity development of the staff involved in the international cooperation and emergency response can be invested in. Awareness-raising and capacity-building related to the rights of PWDs (CRPD, article 4.1.i) and an understanding of the biosocial model of disability can be developed among the different actors and stakeholders working in development communities and emergency situations.

Adaptation of a national disability strategy or action plan can provide the long term vision for the implementation of the CRPD and the fulfillment of the rights of PWDs. Moreover, disability can be part of all the strategies for the development and action plans. (General Assembly resolution, operative paragraph 5) which PWDs need to monitor and participate actively in (CRPD, article 33.3). The United Nations system can contribute greatly to the implementation of the CRPD through actions such as undertaking specific and targeted efforts to mainstream disability internal documents, work plans, for example, the 2012 Quadrennial Comprehensive Policy Review (QCPR) of the general assembly.

Ensuring of disability inclusive responses in situations of risk and humanitarian emergences. The biosocial or bio-psychosocial model adopted by the CRPD in it preamble, whereby disability is an interaction between a physical condition and the social environment can be used in the design and implementation of emergency responses and in other situations of risk, including armed conflict. PWDs, including children have an equal right to be included in emergency preparedness and to benefit from full access to relief services (article 11).

Inamdar, (1987) suggested that young graduates from universities, colleges and schools has  conduct the public seminars, meetings, symposiums and use the local media to advertise the importance of voluntarism, success stories of NGOS and encourage people to participate in voluntarism, this will help them to gain experience in different aspects governing NGOS.

The NGOS should use the latest technologies like internet, websites, for rising of their funds, to have mutual associations, to advertise their products and for the selection of efficient personals to participate in the community (Suresh, 1990).

NGOS have to make strategic choices between confrontational, complementary or collaborative strategic relationship with government. The process of making these strategic choices gives rise to internal tensions concerning expenditure priorities, the conflicting demands of clients and donors, which result in disagreements over an appropriate balance between quality services and meeting fundraising targets. The result can be a split within the organization, which can be resolved by the voluntary organization acting as a mediator or bridge between donor and client (Norrell, 2006).

To develop the organization, individuals have to be able to contribute in the decision making process and they need to learn. All participants need to understand their responsibility to represent their particular stakeholders and to support the implementation activities (Inglis and Minahan, 2006).

NGOS could form voluntary national professional associations, like associations of engineers, accountants, or insurance companies aimed at promoting the sector, partly through self policing of standards. The solution list is likely to include several of issues; employment, recruitment and staff development policies and practices. (Moore and Stewart, 1998).

REC, (1997) suggested that  they should focus on fostering the participation of all sectors of society in environmental decision-making and in supporting regional cooperation through offering  the following services; information exchange, and publications, with an emphasis on facilitating access to information, training and capacity building among others.

Mukasa, (2006) suggested that there should be balancing of the needs of the different stakeholders who each feel they have an equal right to the decision-making process that has created a number of management problems for these organizations. These problems revealed the valves that NGOS espouse and what actually happens in practices.