Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities concludes thirteenth session

ROUNDUP RELEASE

17 April 2015

Adopts Concluding Recommendations on Cook Islands, Croatia, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Germany, Mongolia and Turkmenistan

The Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities today concluded its thirteenth session after adopting its concluding observations and recommendations on the reports of Cook Islands, Croatia, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Germany, Mongolia and Turkmenistan on how those States parties implement the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The Committee also heard brief statements from its Chairperson and members of civil society organizations.

Summarizing the highlights of the session, María Soledad Cisternas Reyes, Chairperson of the Committee, said the Committee had worked vigorously during the session as it was greatly aware of the mandate entrusted to it. The Committee’s day of general discussion on the right to education, which took place on Wednesday, 15 April, was a landmark event in which experts from the United Nations, self-advocates, representatives of States and non-governmental organizations, and members of academia, discussed the challenges of implementing an inclusive education system. Proposals were made for a draft General Comment on the subject, and 82 submissions were received for consideration. (A detailed summary of the day of general discussion can be read here and a video recording will soon be available here).

During the session the Committee adopted concluding observations and recommendations on the seven country reports reviewed, views on communication Number 9 and an inadmissibility decision on communication Number 12, its biennial reports to the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council, and its report of the session, said the Chairperson.

On the treaty body strengthening process, the Committee had appointed two members to contribute to the preparation of draft guidelines on the simplified reporting procedure, said the Chairperson, noting that it had also decided that English and Spanish would be its working languages, and that Chinese, Arabic, French would be its additional working languages only if required by a Committee Member in their role as country rapporteur. That decision would be reviewed in April 2016, she noted. The Chairperson also highlighted the Committee’s continuing work on its draft general comment on Article 6 on women and girls, and its consideration of matters related to its inquiry procedure pursuant to Articles 6 and 7 of the Optional Protocol to the Convention.

A representative of International Disability Alliance congratulated the Committee on a very productive session. The Alliance noted with pleasure that the live webcast of the Committee’s public meetings was viewed by 2,000 viewers from 69 countries across the world, the majority located in Germany, Mongolia, United States, Argentina, Czech Republic and Croatia. Viewers from 52 countries watched the webcast of the day of general discussion, she said. The Alliance hoped to realize its goal of a global conference on women and girls with disabilities in 2015 and would update the Committee accordingly, concluded the representative.

A representative of International Disability Council said it was pleased to have participated in the session by submitting shadow reports and by working with representatives of partner non-governmental organizations in countries under review. The Council hoped that the combination of its advocacy work in Geneva and work with grassroots disability organizations in countries around the world would continue to assist the Committee in meeting its goals.

A representative of World Network of Users and Survivors of Psychiatry thanked the Committee for its valuable work in support of persons with psycho-social disabilities, in particular its general comment on legal capacity and ongoing work on Articles 14 and 15 of the Convention.

The concluding observations and recommendations for six of the seven countries are now available on the Committee’s webpage; the Committee’s recommendations for the report of the Cook Islands will be online from Tuesday, 21 April. Detailed summaries of the public meetings of the Committee, including all seven country reviews, are available here.

The fourteenth session of the Committee will be held from 17 August to 4 September 2015, during which the Committee will consider the reports of Brazil, European Union, Gabon, Kenya, Mauritius, Qatar and Ukraine.

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

More information on the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities:
http://www.ohchr.org/en/treaty-bodies/crpd

Article 24: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/CRPD/Pages/ConventionRightsPersonsWithDisabilities.aspx#2

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For use of the information media; not an official record