Disability Rights Landscape in South Sudan
South Sudan ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2015, pledging to end discrimination and improve access.
Eight years on, activists say progress is visible in public rhetoric but patchy in everyday life, where jobs for qualified graduates with disabilities remain scarce.
Employment Gap Numbers Tell a Story
A 2023 Ministry of Labour survey found only 2 percent of formal positions in Juba filled by persons with disabilities, despite World Bank estimates that they form at least 7 percent of the labour force.
Advocates argue the mismatch signals untapped potential worth millions of dollars in productivity that the young nation can ill afford to waste.
Voices from the Visually Impaired
“We are engineers, accountants, teachers,” says Rebecca Thom, chair of the Association of Women with Visual Impairments. “What stops us is not capability but locked doors.”
Thom uses screen-reader software to audit financial statements, an image that counters preconceived ideas about blindness and technology.
Policy Commitments and Practical Steps
Officials note that drafting guidelines is only part of the journey; enforcement budgets and private-sector incentives must follow.
Labour Under-Secretary Simon Lueth confirms a planned inspectorate to monitor workplace accessibility and levy fines, describing it as “a smart investment in human capital.”
Activists welcome the move but warn that reporting mechanisms need to be anonymous and easy, so fear of retaliation does not silence complaints.
Youth Allies Fighting Stigma
University clubs in Juba and Wau now run disability inclusion hackathons, pairing tech students with peers who have impairments to design low-cost assistive tools.
Psychology lecturer Atong Arop says such peer contact “reshapes attitudes faster than any billboard campaign” and builds a generation less inclined to view disability through a lens of charity.
Rebecca Thom believes momentum is growing: “Once you work beside us, you learn the only adaptation needed is an open mind.”