Advocates insist on leading change
Cheryl Adams, president of the Voice of the Disabled in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, called for people with disabilities to drive change themselves. “We have a lot of barriers that need to be broken,” she said. Participants also raised employment quotas and access to training. [1]
Rights span everyday services
CARICOM disability rapporteur Floyd Morris linked the UN disability convention with shelter, food, healthcare and independent living. The discussion brought disability organisations into direct contact with public institutions and UN agencies. The UN human rights office later described it as its first regional disability consultation with people with disabilities in the Caribbean. [1][2]
Consultation informs further work
The human rights office’s 2023 report said the meeting identified areas for cooperation in 2024–2025. A subsequent Barbados situation analysis drew on the consultation and a July 2024 focus group involving ten people with disabilities, creating a basis for jointly designed programmes. [2][3]