
ADDIS ABABA- Effective collaboration among stakeholders is required to close the implementation gaps in integrating sign language with official languages, said Ministry of Women and Social Affairs.
Women and Social Affairs, State Minister, Huria Ali told the Ethiopia Press Agency (EPA) that although sign language is acknowledged as a national language in Ethiopia, there are implementation gaps in some areas.
She stated that it is imperative for all parties to work together to guarantee accessibility and address these problems. A sign language interpreter is mandatory for programs where a sign language speaker is present.
When Ethiopia signed international agreements, it recognized sign languages as a national language and is actively working to implement it. This entailed advocating the inclusion of sign language research in national and international policy agendas. It required fostering collaboration between researchers, educators, policymakers and deaf communities, according to Huria.
This initiative celebrates the linguistic and cultural contributions of sign languages, not only within deaf communities but also in boarder global cultures. “We must strengthen legislative frameworks that protect and promote the rights of sign language users. We have to ensure that no one is left behind,” she noted.
Furthermore, Ethiopia is in the process of finalizing the Law on Persons with Disabilities and the National Action Plan for Persons with Disabilities in order to increase the rights and participation of persons with disabilities, including the deaf community.
The State Minister added that making sign language one of the official working languages is a necessary prerequisite for ensuring the right of deaf people to information, increasing their participation in all sectors of society and access to services, and enabling the full and effective realization of their human rights.
Ethiopia ratified and adopted the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities through Proclamation No. 676/2002. Therefore Deaf people have the right to equal access to information, full participation in all aspects of life, and access to basic services, including the right to learn sign language, she noted.
BY ESSEYE MENGISTE
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD SATURDAY 18 JANUARY 2025