Human Rights Watch Gives Recommendations to INEGI
Home > Health > Article

Human Rights Watch Gives Recommendations to INEGI

Photo by:   Nguyen Minh on Unsplash
Share it!
By Rodrigo Brugada | Journalist & Industry Analyst - Fri, 07/16/2021 - 19:20

Mexico's National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) is developing a new policy for surveying people living with disabilities. INEGI has consulted disability rights organizations in Mexico to design and implement the new policy. This week, Human Rights Watch sent a letter to the president of the institute asking that the process be meaningful and accessible.

The inclusion of people living with disabilities in data collection will help the government develop and implement effective policies that impact millions of people. This new policy aims to establish conceptual and methodological guidelines for capturing, integrating and reporting results for the population with disabilities in censuses, surveys and administrative records.

Human Rights Watch has noted that many INEGI surveys have left out disability categories. For example, its periodic survey on violence against women does not track disabilities, despite the prevalence of violence among this population group.

Human Rights Watch’s letter explains that the proposed policy could provide essential tools for obtaining disaggregated data on disability and other related issues covered by the institute's work. However, the NGO expressed concern that the institute's current consultation process has not considered certain existing standards, such as those established by international human rights law to consult with organizations of persons with disabilities. 

The NGO mentioned that the process should be improved to incorporate the perspectives of persons living with disabilities and ensure that all information about the project and the consultation process is accessible. Human Rights Watch also urged that there be easily accessible feedback mechanisms for people with different types of disabilities and that sufficient time be allowed for a genuine participatory process.

The NGO provided certain specific proposals aimed at the inclusion of persons with disabilities in the draft:

  1. Extend consultation time beyond the current deadline of July 30 to allow people with disabilities to provide comments.
  2. Ensure accessible information about the project and the consultation process, including digital formats and information in an easy-to-read format and clear language, as well as Braille and tactile communication.
  3. Ensure the effective participation of persons living with disabilities by taking all possible actions to contact organizations of persons with disabilities in Mexico and provide them with relevant information about the project and the consultation process. This includes ensuring that the mechanisms for providing feedback are accessible to people with different disabilities, bearing in mind that many people with disabilities in Mexico do not have access to the internet.
  4. Consult children and adolescents, respecting the principles of progressive autonomy and the best interest of the child.
  5. Consult with people under guardianship or confined in institutions, again through accessible mechanisms that make it easier for these people to express their opinions.
  6. Provide information on the results of the consultation, conclusions, considerations and criteria for decisions. These should be conveyed clearly, in understandable and easy-to-read formats, clarifying how their opinions were taken into account and why.
Photo by:   Nguyen Minh on Unsplash

You May Like

Most popular

Newsletter