전장연 투쟁을 지지하는 해외 연대 성명서 : 전장연 보도자료 (2024)

상임공동대표 : 권달주, 박경석, 윤종술, 최용기, 최진영(직무대행)

1. 공정 보도를 위해 노력하시는 귀 언론사의 건승을 기원합니다.

2. 전국장애인차별철폐연대(상임공동대표 권달주 / 이하 ‘전장연’)는 장애인에 대한 차별을 철폐하고, 장애인의 기본적 권리를 쟁취하기 위하여 전국규모의 장애인단체와 지역 장애인·시민사회·노동·인권·문화예술단체 그리고 장애인과 비장애인이 함께 회원(장비회원)으로 구성된 연대체입니다.

   See Also

   Declaring the Major | Department of StatisticsMajor requirements | English

3. 18개국 장애학, 여성학, 한국학 학자들과 국제인권법 전문가, 장애인권운동가들을 포함한 254명이 전장연의 투쟁을 지지하는 성명을 발표했습니다. 한국, 미국과 캐나다의 학자들과 활동가 뿐만 아니라 인도, 일본, 싱가포르, 케냐, 대만, 영국, 독일, 호주, 세인트 토마스, 덴마크, 뉴질랜드, 네덜란드, 스웨덴, 파키스탄, 아일랜드에서도 지지를 보내왔습니다. 이들은 성명을 통해 전 세계의 장애인들이 안전하고 접근 가능한 대중교통, 탈시설과 사회보장을 위해 투쟁하고 있으며, 각국 정부가 국제 인권법에 따르지 않고 전 세계적인 장애인 억압의 현실을 핑계로 인권을 부정하고 이를 정당화할 수 없도록 초국적인 연대가 필요하다고 밝혔습니다.

4. 또 이들은 전장연의 집회는 정당하고 평화적인 불복종 투쟁이며, 이런 투쟁은 세계적으로 인권을 요구하기 위한 정당한 방법으로 역사를 발전시키는 힘이었다고 주장합니다. 한국 정부가 장애인을 적대시하는 행위를 멈춰야 하며 탈시설의 의미를 선택과 자기결정권이라는 말로 왜곡하는 대신 유엔의 장애인권헌장을 지킬 의무가 있다고 강조했습니다. 세계가 한국의 장애인권의 현실과 정부의 대처에 대해 세계가 주목하고 있다고 밝히며 국민 및 영문 성명서와 연대자의 명단을 보내왔습니다.

5. 전장연의 활동을 지지하는 해외 연대자들의 목소리가 많이 알려질 수 있도록 언론사의 보도를 요청합니다.

전장연 투쟁을 지지하는 해외 연대 성명서(국문)

저희는 전 세계의 학자와 운동가들로서 한국에서 장애인들의 존엄성과 이동권, 교육권, 사회보장권, 노동권, 시설 밖 지역 사회에서 살 권리가 지속적으로 위반되고 있는 상황에 큰 우려를 표합니다. 160여개의 장애인 단체들의 연합체인 전국장애인차별철폐연대(이하, 전장연)은 2021년 12월부터 서울 지하철 역에서 자신들의 안전의 위협을 감수하며 장애인들에게 적대적인 대중들 앞에서 연속적인 직접행동을 재개했습니다.

장애활동가들과 지지자들은 서울시와 중앙 정부에 예산 책정과 광범위한 장애인권법을 제정할 것과, 반차별법과 교통편의 보장, 탈시설 등 장애인의 권리를 보장하는 법의 시행을 요구해 왔습니다. 기존의 법과 과거의 약속을 시행하지 않아 온 것에 대한 잘못을 인정하는 대신 정부 관료와 정치가들은 집회 참여자들에 대한 악의적인 정보를 유포하고 장애인권의 의미를 왜곡하여 대중의 적대감을 부추기며 있으며, 활동가들을 소송으로 위협하고 경찰병력을 동원하여 장애인 농성 참여자들이 지하철을 탈 수 없도록 막았습니다. 활동가들이 지적한 것처럼 서울시는 유엔 장애인권헌장이 시설을 개인의 선택과 자기 결정권의 사안이라는 부정의하고 잘못된 주장을 하고 있습니다. 저희는 지역사회의 모든 생활에 장애인이 참여할 권리에 대한 침해를 정당화하는 방식으로 탈시설의 원칙이 타협되거나 왜곡될 수 없다는 것을 강조하고자 합니다.

서울시장 오세훈은 장애인들이 이용가능한 대중교통시스템을 정부의 책임으로 인정하지 않고, 전장연의 시위를 일반 시민의 행보를 막는 이기적 행위로 공격하고, 전장연을 공공의 적으로 호명하며 그들의 시위를 용납불가한 행위로 간주했습니다. 오 시장은 “전장연은 사회적 약자가 아니다. 지하철 운행 지연으로 예측할 수 없는 손해와 손실을 보는 시민이 사회적 약자”라고 주장했습니다. 이와 관련해 정부 관계자들은 다른 나라들도 장애인들의 교통권이 완벽하지 않다는 구실로 서울시의 대중교통시설이 장애인을 차별하는 것을 정당화하고 있습니다.

서울시와 중앙정부는 신자유주의 논리에 따라 재정이 부족하다는 이유를 들어 장애인의 기본권 보장을 회피해왔습니다. 이런 태도는 재원이 더욱 부족한 다른 지방정부에도 상당히 안 좋은 영향을 끼친다는 점에서도 문제가 있습니다. 기획재정부는 특히 장애인이 접근할 수 있는 대중교통 체계 실행을 부차적인 항목으로 여기며 반드시 필요한 예산을 책정하지 않고 있습니다.

우리는 한국 정부가 국내법의 효력이 있는 장애인권헌장을 실행하지 않고 장애인의 이동권, 교육권, 지역사회생활을 보장할 의무를 다하지 않는 것에 대해 강하게 비판합니다. 한국정부는 장애인들이 견뎌온 극심한 차별, 국가 폭력과 억압을 외면하고 있을 뿐 아니라, 장애인들에 대한 혐오를 조장하고 있습니다. 한국 정부는 장애인들의 권리가 공익과 국가 재정에 손실이라는 해악적 언설의 유포를 당장 멈춰야 합니다. 지방정부와 중앙정부는 장애인들의 민권, 정치권, 경제권, 사회권, 문화권을 포함하는 인권을 보장하는 국가의무를 완전히 이행하기 위해 필요한 예산을 지체없이 책정하고 집행해야 합니다.

전 세계의 장애인들이 안전하고 접근 가능한 대중교통, 탈시설과 사회보장을 위해 투쟁하고 있습니다. 각국 정부가 국제 인권법을 따르지 않고 오히려 전 세계적인 장애인 억압의 현실을 이용해 부정의를 정당화할 수 없도록 초국적인 연대가 필요합니다. 장애인권운동가들의 직접행동과 시민 불복종은 차별이 일상화 된 비장애중심적 구조에 문제제기 하는 정당하고 평화적인 투쟁수단입니다. 법적으로 보장된 권리가 위반된 것에 대해 문제제기하기 위한 모든 행정적 법적 수단이 소진됐을 때 직접행동은 전 세계에서 중요한 역할을 해 왔고 역사를 만들어 왔습니다.

해외의 장애인, 비장애인 학자들과 운동가들은 전장연과 연대하여 감금과 다를 바 없는 시설을 철폐할 의무를 실행할 것을 촉구합니다. 저희는 전장연의 노력을 지지하며 다음의 사항을 요구합니다.

• 장애인 활동가들을 적대시하고 장애인의 생활지원에 드는 비용을 강조하며 혐오를 조장하는 것을 멈출 것.
• 모든 사람의 이동권을 보장할 것
• **유엔장애인권리협약 제19조와 그에 관한 일반논평 5호에 근거하여 탈시설을 실행할 것.**
• 이동권과 지역사회생활에 필요한 서비스 등 장애인권을 보장하기 위한 충분한 예산을 지정할 것

전장연 투쟁을 지지하는 해외 연대 성명서(영문)

We are scholars and activists from around the world who are deeply concerned about the ongoing violations of disabled people’s dignity, right to move, right to education, right to social assistance, right to work, and right to live in community outside institutions in South Korea. Since December 2021, Solidarity against Disability Discrimination (SADD), an alliance of over 160 disability organizations, resumed a series of direct action protests at several subway stations in Seoul, putting their safety on the line before a hostile public. Instead of addressing their ongoing failure to implement existing laws and fulfill past promises, government officials and politicians have spread misleading and harmful information about the protesters, distorted the meaning of disability rights, invoked public hostility, threatened the activists with lawsuits, and deployed riot police units to block disabled protesters from riding subway trains. As the activists have pointed out, the City of Seoul has made an unjust and incorrect claim that the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities justifies institutionalization as a matter of individual choice in the name of self-determination. Following the Convention, we emphasize that the principle of deinstitutionalization cannot be compromised or distorted in order to justify ongoing violations of disabled people’s right to participate in every aspect of community living. Rather than working toward universal access as a legal obligation and acknowledging its delay as a serious injustice, the mayor of Seoul, Oh Se Hoon, criticizes the direct action as a selfish obstruction of citizens’ routines and paints SADD as an enemy to the public under “zero tolerance” policy. In January 2023 he remarked, “I don’t think the SADD [members] are socially underprivileged. Rather, citizens who suffer irreversible losses due to unexpected subway operation delays are the vulnerable ones” (see media source). Officials refer to other countries’ lack of access as an excuse for the failure of Korea’s public transportation systems. Both the Seoul metropolitan government and the Central government evade their accountability and rely on neoliberal logics of scarcity by stating that they have insufficient budget to ensure the basic rights of people with disabilities. Their evasion sets a fatal model for less affluent municipalities’s similar policies. The Ministry of Economy and Finance wields their discretionary power to render universal accessibility and basic rights as “auxiliary” and refuses to allocate necessary expenses. We strongly condemn the South Korean government’s failure to uphold the UN CRPD, which has an effect of domestic law, and to fulfill its obligation to ensure the rights of disabled people to move, access education, work and live in the community. The government not only ignores the history of severe discrimination, state violence, and oppression that disabled people have endured, but also encourages continued social enmity and discrimination against them. We urge the government to stop circulating the harmful rhetoric that the rights of people with disabilities are an obstruction of public interest and lead to the drainage of national coffers. Municipal and Central governments need to allocate significant budgets without delay to fulfill their duty to ensure civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of and justice for disabled people. Safe and accessible public transportation, deinstitutionalization, and social assistance are ongoing struggles of people with disabilities around the world. Transnational solidarity is vital and necessary, so that governments do not use the international status quo as an excuse for perpetuating injustice while refusing to comply with international human rights laws. Direct action and civil disobedience by disabled activists to disrupt the ordinary ableist operations of everyday life is a just and nonviolent means of protest. Around the world, when people’s petitions for legally protected entitlements have been denied through bureaucratic and legal channels, such actions have played an important role in creating changes and rewriting histories.

Scholars and activists with and without disabilities overseas are in solidarity with SADD to urge the state carry out its obligation to close all institutions which effectively serve as incarceration. We support the efforts of SADD and demand the South Korean government do the following.

• Stop antagonizing disabled activists and instigating hatred by emphasizing the cost of the care of disabled people in the community.
• Ensure mobility rights for all.
• Implement deinstitutionalization according toArticle 19 UN CRPDandGeneral Comment No. 5made by the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Ensure access to education and continuing education.
• Allocate sufficient funding for implementing disability rights, including mobility rights, and all services necessary for living in the community.

전장연 투쟁을 지지하는 연대자(254명)

Jesook Song, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada Eunjung Kim, Syracuse University, Syracuse, USA Yasmin Yoon, Northwestern University, Bundanggu, South Korea Mike Gill, Syracuse University, Syracuse, USA Mette A. E. Kim-Larsen, University of California Irvine, Irvine, USA Luanjiao Hu, Brandeis University, Waltham, USA Mahvish Nazar, Chicago, IL, USA Soyi Kim, Cornell University, Ithaca, USA Chandra Talpade Mohanty, Syracuse University, Syracuse, USA Jung Joon Lee, Rhode Island School of Design, USA and Korea Christine Ashby, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, USA Jung Soo Lee, University of California - Irvine, Seoul, Korea Mel Y. Chen, University of California, Berkeley, USA Julia Chang, Cornell U, Ihtaca, NY USA Andrew Campana, Cornell University, Ithaca, United States Hyun-Chul Kim, University of Toronto, Toronto So-Rim Lee, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, U.S.A. Yewon Lee, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany Kathleen P Long, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY USA Sandie Yi, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago Pamela Block, Western University, London, ON, Canada Dr. Nicole Jacobs, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA USA Dr. Michael S. Jeffress, Disability Studies Scholar & Professor, Nashville, TN, USA Anna Vittinghoff, University of Sheffield, Edinburgh, United Kingdom Lydia Xīnzhèn Zhǎngsūn Brown, Georgetown University, Disability Studies Program, Washington DC, United States Dr. Aimi Hamraie, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN Kari Turner, Disability Community in the US, Twentynine Palms, CA, USA Jodi Carr, Syracuse, NY USA Katherine Sherwood, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Ca. USA Phillandra Smith, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA Julia Havard, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH USA Emily Burns, Virginia Tech, Christiansburg, VA, United States Dr. Victoria Lewis, Professor Emerita University of Redlands Distinguished Scholar in Disability Studies Miami University Ohio, Redlands CA UASA Julie Minich, Disability Scholar, Austin, TX Anne Finger, Oakland, California, USA Nicole Sims, University of Illinois, Chicago disability community, Chicago, IL Cara Wieland, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA Sandra McClennen, Ph.D., Society for Disability Studies, Oberlin, Ohio, USA Emily Katharine Langenberg, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago Saili Kulkarni, SJSU, San Jose CA USA Elizabeth Adan, San Luis Obispo, CA, USA Ai Binh T. Ho, Oro Valley, Arizona, USA Shivani Bhalla, Member of SDS and artist, scholar and researcher with disabilities, Urbana Champaign Fady Shanouda, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada Kristin Lindgren, Haverford College, Haverford, Pennsylvania, US Joan M. Ostrove, PhD, Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA Thuy Nguyen, Carleton University, Canada Theresa Devine, Phoenix, Arizona USA Irina Troconis, Cornell University, USA Nathan Blackwell, Columbia University, New York, United States Tiffany-Ashton Gatsby, University of Washington, Seattle, WA USA Mathura Uamchandran, University of Exeter, London Lin Li, University of St. Thomas Dr Devva Kasnitz, Eureka, USA Stephanie Kerschbaum, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA Lennard Davis, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL USA Keith Rosenthal, City University of New York, New York City, USA luke fischbeck, university of southern california, los angeles, USA Dr. Jessica A. Cooley, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, Minneapolis, USA Alison Kafer, University of Texas, Austin, Austin TX USA Kun Huang, Cornell University, Ithaca, United States Brianna Dickens, Syracuse University, Syracuse, United States Youjeong Oh, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA Samuel R Friedman, People's CDC, Highland Park, NJ, USA Nicole Eugene, Assistant Professor, University of Houston-Victoria, Richmond, United States Njahira Wangari, Woman with disability, Kenya Dana Kim, AUCD, Washington, DC, USA Akemi Nishida, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, USA Dana Cloud, California State University, Fullerton and Tempest Collective, Rancho Cucamonga, CA Nina lozano, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles Yoonkyung Lee, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada Cheehyung Harrison Kim, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu Violet Cuene, SAIC, Chicaho Tae-Ung Baik, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI, USA Feras Namouz, People's CDC, New York City, NY Young-a Park, Univeristy of Hawaii, Manoa, Honolulu, USA Keyun Tian, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States Geoff Guy, rank and file union worker, Chicago IL USA Yunkyung Lee, School of the Art Of Chicago, Chicago, USA Yosung Song, Independent scholar, Seoul Hosu Kim, City University of New York, New York, NY Kaja Tally-Schumacher, Cornell University, Ithaca, USA Paul Reynolds, UK Myungji Yang, University of Hawaii-Manoa, Honolulu Minenhle Nomalungelo Khumalo, South Orange, NJ, USA Ruth Barraclough, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia Sid Madison, USA - progressive, Piscataway NJ USA Eunseon Kim, AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, Canberra, Australia Manuel Herrero-Puertas, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan Philip Gasper, Professor Emeritus, Notre Dame De Namur University, USA Mary Gen Davies, Chicago, IL Joel Michael Reynolds, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA Rose M. KIm, Ph.D., City University of New York/BMCC, New York, NY Sumi Colligan, Professr Emerita, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, Alameda, CA Mary McGowan, Special Education Teacher, Chicago Public Schools, USA; Voting delegate, Chicago Teachers Union. Chicago, IL Victor Zhuang, Princeton University, USA Seymour Otterman, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, USA Jessie Male, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA Minwoo Jung, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, USA Yvonne Wechuli, University of Kassel, Kassel, Germany Hannah Klassen, Tübingen, Germany Myunghee Lee, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark Salvatore Giusto, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Kyle Gibson, Yale-NUS College, Singapore Kiran Mirchandani, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada Jieun Kim, University of Leed, Leeds, United Kingdom Namhee Lee, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA Albert L. Park, Claremont McKenna College (The Claremont Colleges), Claremont, USA Helen C. Scott, Professor of English, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, USA Youngju Ryu, University of Michigan, Michigan, USA Karen Nakamura, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, USA Vera Kubenz, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK Jess Wilcox Cowing, College of Wooster, Ohio, U.S. Taehyun Nam, Salisbury University, Salisbury, MD, USA Eliza Williamson, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, USA Jinsook Kim, Emory University, Atlanta, USA Jessie Taieun Yoon, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA Sooyoung Kim, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA Yoon Won Chang, Emory, Atlanta, US Anat Schwartz, CSULB, Long Beach, CA Ji Yoon (Guava) Rhee, Penn State University, State College, PA Krista Maxwell, University of Toronto, Canada Deborah Cowen, University of Toronto, Toronto Shilpaa Anand, BITS-Pilani Hyderabad Campus, Hyderabad, India Hyun Bang Shin, London School of Economics and Political Science, London, United Kingdom Caroline Jackson, Emory University, Atlanta, GA USA Michelle Cho, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada Suzanne Stolz, University of San Diego, San Diego, USA Alyssa Hillary Zisk, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI Emma Cohen, Northwestern University, Evanston, USA Merose Hwang, Hiram College, Hiram, USA Jiyeon Kang, University of Iowa, Iowa City, USA Christine Hong, UC Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, USA Nami Kim, Spelman College, Atlanta, USA Sung Eun Kim, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA Koohan Paik-Mander, Just Transition Hawaii Coalition, Honokaa Dr. Catherine Vrtis, PhD, Disability, Theatre, and Performance, Society for Disability Studies, Mid-America Theatre Conference, Washington, DC Gregory Elich, Korea Policy Institute associate, Columbus, Ohio, USA Susan Burch, Middlebury College, Middlebury, Vermont, USA Minjung Noh, Drew University, Madison Dahye Kim, Northwestern University, Evanston Laura Ha Reizman, Johns Hopkins Universit, Baltimore, USA Jiyoung Lee, University of Hawaii Manoa, Honolulu, USA Preston Johnson, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, United States Ishan Mehandru, Northwestern University, Chicago Emily Jackson, Northwestern University, Evanston, USA Simeon Man, University of California, San DiegoSan Diego, US Min-Ah Cho, Georgetown University, Washington DC Bianca Dahl, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada K. Christine Pae, Denison University, Granville, Ohio, USA Cassandra L. Hall, Portland State University, Portland, USA Jeong Eun Annabel We, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA Simon Sohn, Individual, D.C USA Kate Shim, NAKA, Arlington Ki Woong Park, Citizens Academy for Korean American in Washington D.C, Owingsmills, USA Amanda L. Miller, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, USA Martin Hart-Landsberg, Professor Emeritus, Lewis and Clark College, Portland, Oregon, USA Ka-eul Yoo, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, USA Dongkyu Kim, Affiliarion, Fairfax, VA Paul Liem, Korea Policy Institute, Berkeley, CA, USA Clara Lee, Korean American Rainbow Parents, Brooklyn, USA Soojin Jeong, East Asian Studies UCI, Irvine Jiyon Byun, University of California, Irvine, USA Trevor Quintero, Northwestern University, Evanston, USA Boyeong Kim, UC Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, USA and South Korea Jackie Chong, Springfield, Springfield, VA, USA Jamie Lerner-Brecher, City University of New York, San Diego, United States of America Ioana Cerasella Chis, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK Laiba Niaz Paracha, Northwestern University, Lahore, Pakistan Tim Beal, Retired academic, Featherston, New Zealand Sur Ah Hahn, Western Carolina University, NC, USA ANDREW PARK, KOREAN AMERICAN CIVIC EMPOWERMENT, NEW YORK, USA Aparna Menon, University of Toronto, Toronto ManYoung CHUNG, The Society of Jesus, Seoul, Korea Suzanne Bost, Loyola University Chicago, Evanston, IL USA Kendra J. Muller, Disability Researcher and Attorney, San Diego, USA Topher Taylor, UC San Diego, San Diego, USA Jin Young Choi, Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School, Rochester, NY, USA Polly Parkinson, Utah State University, Salt Lake City, USA Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, Disability justice writer and organizer, Holyoke, MA, USA Hazirah Mohamad, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada Joo Ok Kim, UC San Diego, San Diego Naoko Shibusawa, Brown University, Providence, RI USA Kayley Whalen, Autistic Women and Nonbinary Network, United States Laura Nelson, Professor, Berkeley, CA USA Sumayya Kassamali, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada Maria Berghs, De Montfort University, Leicester Patrick Chung, University of Maryland, College Park, MD (USA) Joohyun Grace Jin, KQT, Washington, DC, USA Liye Xie, University of Toronto, Canada Ji-Hyun Ahn, University of Washington Tacoma, Tacoma, USA James Kyung-Jin Lee, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA Sanjukta Mukherjee, DePaul University, Chicago, USA Hana Kim, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada Laura Waite, Liverpool Hope University, Liverpool UK Jasbir Puar, Rutgers University, NYC USA Christine Hanco*ck, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA Susan L. Gabel, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan Julia Bahner, Lund university, Sweden HaeLim Suh, University of North Georgia, USA Woori Han, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA Denise Cresso, Women with Disabilities, Gothenbourg, Sweden Anne Joh, Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary Evanston, Il., U.S.A Jessica LeeUniversity of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA Victor Ultra Omni, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA Dominic Dinh, University of Cologne, Germany Jessica Smaaland, Women with Disabilities, Stockholm, Sweden Jamie Doucette, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK Jungmin Kwon, Portland State University, Portland, USA Jonathan Paul Mitchell, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland Dr. Margaret Oldfield, Disability Scholar, Toronto, Canada Chikako Nagayama, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan Dr Katharine Terrell , University of Glasgow, UK Mercedees Rees, J.D., Neighborhood Legal Services, Inc., Buffalo, NY, US AIan Liujia Tian, University of Toronto, Toronto Michelle Jarman, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, USA Chong Su Kim, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada Marcie Roth, World Institute on Disability, Berkeley, CA, USA Eun Jin Keish Kim, Rutgers University, NY, NY Julia M, White, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, US AIsabel Hodge, United States International Council on Disabilities, USA Allyson Haag, SGI, West Bloomfield, Michigan Sujin Eom, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, USA Nan Kim, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, US Alissa Trotz, University of Toronto, Toronto Min Sook Lee, OCAD University, Toronto Esmat Elhalaby, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada Laura Hyun Yi Kang, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, USA Tanya Titchkosky, University of Toronto, Canada, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Kyoung-yim Kim, Boston College, Boston, U.S.A. Tim McCaskell, author, Toronto Canada Adam Bohnet, King's University College at Western, London, Canada Yayoi Mashimo, Tokyo Union Theological Seminary/Tokyo University of Foreign Studies/Aoyama Gakuin University, Japan Grace Cho, City University of New York, New York City, USA Firat Bozcali, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada Shirley Ceensem Yeung, University of Toronto, Toronto Hyaeweol Choi, University of Iowa, Iowa City, USA Katie Kiloy-Marac, University of Toronto, Toronto Chris Perreira, UCSD, San Diego, USA Travis Workman, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA Kelly Y. Jeong, UC riverside, Riverside Dr. Holly Rubalcava, Missouri Western State University, Weston, USA Carol Tyson, Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund, Washington, DC, USA Jin-Kyung Lee, UC, San Diego, San Diego Christopher Krupa, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada Tyler Zoanni, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany Sharon Tran, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore, USA Zoë Wool, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada Suzy Kim, Rutgers University, New Brunswick NJ, USA Sarom Rho, Migrant Worker Organizer, Toronto, Canada Margaret Price, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH Three supporters who want to remain anonymous.