Dushanbe, Tajikistan, April 21, 2022 – Special Advisor for International Disability Rights Sara Minkara traveled to Tajikistan April 17 through April 20 to advance our shared goal of inclusion of people with disabilities in all areas of society. In her meetings with the Minister of Labor and Deputy Minister of Health, she welcomed Tajikistan’s road map to ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. She underlined that countries cannot reach their full social and economic potential without the robust inclusion of all citizens – including persons with disabilities.
Special Advisor Minkara also met independent disability rights advocates, organizations, business groups, and youth leaders in Dushanbe and Bokhtar, including members of the Bokhtar paralympic girls sports club. She welcomed Tajik and U.S. programs integrating persons with disabilities into all areas of life.
President Biden appointed Sara Minkara as the Special Advisor on International Disability Rights. In this role, Special Advisor Minkara leads the U.S. Department of State’s comprehensive strategy to promote and protect the rights of persons with disabilities internationally. Internationally, Special Advisor Minkara has promoted disability rights, diversity, access, and inclusion in a range of countries including Lebanon, Malaysia, Nicaragua, Rwanda, Thailand, and the United Kingdom. She notes she is proud to be a blind, Muslim-American woman who advocates that the inclusion of all is a value for all.
The U.S. Embassy in Tajikistan is dedicated to advance this goal through programs including publication of braille books for Tajik schools; small grants to organizations that train disabled people for employment; social media training for disabled advocates; increasing the number of American Spaces that are accessible to disabled visitors; and a new mentorship program for disabled youth to learn from Tajik experts employed at Embassy Dushanbe.
