A regional meeting of senior officials to mark the mid-point of the Decade was convened by ESCAP in Seoul in September 1997, in close collaboration with the Government of the Republic of Korea, through its Ministry of Health and Welfare, and the Korean Society for Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities. It was convened with the generous support of the Government of the Republic of Korea. The meeting, held in conjunction with Campaign ‘97 on the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons, and as part of the ‘97 Seoul International Conference on Disability, adopted the Seoul Proposals for the Second Half of the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons. There were senior officials from 24 countries and territories of the ESCAP region, as well as representatives of two members of the United Nations system and 35 NGOs, including organizations representing people with diverse disabilities.

The present volume presents the recommendations that emerged from the above-mentioned four regional meetings. Also included are insights and background documentation related to the meetings.

The companion volume to this one contains country perspectives concerning the implementation of the Asian and Pacific Decade Agenda for Action at the mid-point of the Decade. They are drawn from the papers presented to the Meeting of Senior Officials to Mark the Mid-point of the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons held in Seoul from 26 to 29 September 1997.