Promoting Rights and Opportunities for People with Disabilities - Equality through Legislation

PROPEL-China will improve better work and employment opportunities created for men and women with disabilities, especailly the intellectual disabilities, through the creation of an enabling legal and policy environment, the promotion of skills and entrepreneurship development opportunities and measures to eliminate discrimination.

Background

People with disabilities comprise an estimated 6.2 per cent of the population of China, or 85 million people. While there have been significant improvements in their living conditions and social status in recent years, they remain a largely excluded group, with lower participation rates in education, training and employment than the population at large.

During the past 5 years, especially in the recent Phase 3 of the first ILO/Irish Aid Partnership Programme (ILO/IA PP) in China, the project Promoting the employability and employment of people with disabilities through Legislation (PEPDEL) supported the China Disabled Persons’ Federation (CDPF) in improving the legal and policy environment for the employment of persons with disabilities, through support provided to information gathering and situation analysis as a first step in developing several new policies to promote employment opportunities and to reduce poverty among persons with disabilities in rural areas.

In addition, partnerships were formed with the China Enterprise Confederation, the All China Federation of Trade Unions, the law faculty of Peking University, Beijing One Plus One Cultural Exchange Centre (OPO) and Communication University of China (CUC).

Project objective

Based on the works have done in all the three phases of the ILO/IA PP, the second ILO/IA PP, under the name of PROPEL-China, will strive together with other stakeholders to improve better work and employment opportunities created for men and women with disabilities, through the creation of an enabling legal and policy environment, the promotion of skills and entrepreneurship development opportunities and measures to eliminate discrimination.


Strategies

  • A capacity-building plan for government, employers’ and workers’ organizations and civil society on the enforcement and/or promotion of non-discrimination laws and policies is implemented;
  • Capacity building conducted for key stakeholders (government, social partners, project partners including the media) on laws, policies, programmes and services to promote the labour market inclusion of persons with intellectual disabilities (in collaboration with a selected university);
  • Support provided in the planning and initiation of a demonstration ‘supported employment’ initiative involving people with intellectual disabilities in two selected Provinces, in collaboration with the employers’ organization.;
  • Capacity building conducted for key stakeholders, including the media, in implementing an awareness raising campaign concerning the rights and working capacity of persons with intellectual disabilities; and
  • Initiatives planned or undertaken by key stakeholders to improve training and employment opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities.

Project beneficiaries

The direct beneficiaries of PROPEL-China will be CDPF staff, other government officials, social partners, project partners including the media, and service provider. The ultimate beneficiaries will be disabled male and female workers with disabilities in informal and formal economies, and especially those with intellectual disabilities who will be able to benefit from improved training and employment opportunities.

For further information please contact:

Mr Zhou Haibin
National Programme Coordinator
ILO Country Office for China and Mongolia
Tel: +86 10 6532 5091