UN disability rights committee to review Portugal, Thailand, Chile, Slovakia, Serbia, Lithuania, Uganda

GENEVA (21 March 2016) – The UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is meeting in Geneva from 29 March to 21 April to review the following countries:  Portugal (29-30 Mar); Thailand (30-31 Mar); Chile (31Mar – 1 Apr); Slovakia (4 -5 Apr); Serbia (5-6 Apr); Lithuania (6-7 Apr); Uganda (7-8 Apr).

The above are among the 162 States that have ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and so are required to submit regular reports to the Committee, which is composed of 18 international independent experts.

During the meetings in Geneva, Committee members conduct dialogues with the respective State delegation. They will also hear from organisations representing disabled persons, NGOs and national human rights institutions.

Venue: Palais Wilson, Geneva
Time: Each review begins at 15:00 -18:00 Geneva time and continues the following day from 10:00 – 13:00.  The public sessions will be webcast and can be viewed here:  http://www.treatybodywebcast.org/

The issues likely to be discussed, the States’ reports, plus information from civil society organisations can be found here: http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/SessionDetails1.aspx?SessionID=1050&Lang=en The Committee will publish its findings here on 21 April.

10 years of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

This year is the 10th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 13 December 2006 and came into force on 3 May 2008. To mark the anniversary, the CRPD will hold an event on 19 April in Room XIX at the Palais des Nations from 10:00-11:00 to call for universal ratification of the Convention and for the sustainable development goals to be implemented in relation to people with disabilities.

Right to independent living
From 11:00-1800 on 19 April, also in Room XIX, the Committee will hold a day of general discussion on Article 19: the right of persons with disabilities to independent living and inclusion in the community.

ENDS

For more information and media requests, please contact Liz Throssell – 41 22 917 9466 / 41 79 752 0488 / ethrosell@ohchr.org

CRPD is composed of 18 independent human rights experts drawn from around the world. They serve in their personal capacity and not as representatives of States parties. The Committee’s concluding observations are an independent assessment of States’ compliance with their human rights obligations under the treaty. More information on the CRPD:
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/CRPD/Pages/CRPDIndex.aspx

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