The delegation of the European Union (EU) to Bangladesh organized an information session for visually impaired students of the Institute of Hazrat Mohammad (SAW) at the institute’s premises in Banani, Dhaka on Monday.
The program was a part of the observation of the 70th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The objective of the session was to apprise visually impaired students, the importance the EU attaches to human rights and the rights of the disabled persons in particular, says a press release forwarded by the EU on Tuesday.
The information session also gave the participants an opportunity to share their views with the students, who have taken the challenge to empower themselves, on the situation of rights with special focus on people of special needs and what can be done to improve the existing situation in Bangladesh.
European Union Ambassador Rensje Teerink was present at the event to meet the students and listen to the stories of their endeavors to empowerment.
The European Union promotes active inclusion and full participation of disabled people in society, in line with the European Union’s human rights approach to disability issues. Disability is a right and not a matter of discretion, Rensje said.
The approach is also the core of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), to which the European Union is a party. The European Commission's European Disability Strategy 2010-2020, adopted in 2010, builds on the UNCRPD.
The European Union is based on a strong commitment to promoting and protecting human rights, democracy and the rule of law worldwide. All agreements on trade or cooperation with non-European Union countries (over 120 now) include a human rights clause stipulating that human rights are central to relations with the European Union.
