Committee on the Rights of Persons with disabilities opens its fifteenth session

Committee on the Rights of Persons
  with Disabilities

29 March 2016

The Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities this morning opened its fifteenth session, hearing an address by a representative of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.  The Committee adopted its agenda and programme of work for the session, which includes the consideration of seven reports: Portugal, Thailand, Chile, Slovakia, Serbia, Lithuania and Uganda.

Opening the session, Orest Nowosad, Chief of the Groups in Focus Section, Human Rights Treaties Division of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said that as disability was reference in various parts of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities should be considered the key guiding document to achieve the 2030 Agenda for persons with disabilities.  He referred to the ninth Conference of States parties to the Convention, to be held in June 2016 in New York, and which would focus on “implementing the 2030 Agenda for all persons with disabilities”, and presented the Office’s activities in relation to the promotion and protection of the rights of persons with disabilities. 

Maria Soledad Cisternas Reyes, Chairperson of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, said the Committee had been preparing a draft General Comment on women with disabilities.  It had engaged in interactive dialogues at the Human Rights Council in relation to Article 11 on humanitarian emergencies, and would hopefully engage in the forthcoming Humanitarian Summit in Turkey.  She stressed the need for the independence, impartiality and transparency of the Committee’s work. 

Catalina Devandas Aguilar, Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities, valued the important cooperation between her mandate and the Committee, as well as with other United Nations agencies.  She underlined the fundamental importance of collecting disaggregated data and better statistical information to inform policies that addressed the needs of persons with disabilities. 

The Committee heard statements from other United Nations bodies, specialized agencies, non-governmental organizations and organizations representing persons with disabilities.  The discussion focused largely on the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and the need for data collection and indicators, on the forthcoming World Humanitarian Summit and the vulnerability of persons with disabilities in the event of natural disasters, and on the tenth anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. 

Representatives of the following United Nations organizations and bodies made statements: Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, United Nations Inter Agency Support Group for persons with disabilities, UN Women, United Nations Children’s Fund, World Intellectual Property Organization, World Health Organization, International Telecom Union, and United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction. 

The following non-governmental organizations also took the floor: International Disability Alliance, Centre for the Human Rights of Users and Survivors of Psychiatry, and International Disability and Development Consortium.

The Committee will next meet in public at 3 p.m. this afternoon, to begin its review of the initial report of Portugal (CRPD/C/PRT/1).

A background release which includes the programme of work for the session and links to country reports and other documentation can be found here.  The Committee’s public meetings will be webcast live in English and Spanish, with closed captioning and International Sign Language, here: http://www.treatybodywebcast.org/.   

Opening Statement

OREST NOWOSAD, Chief, Groups in Focus Section, Human Rights Treaties Division of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, in his opening statement, said that the negotiation process of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was inclusive of States, civil society, business community, and organizations of persons with disabilities.  Disability was referenced in various parts of this new Agenda, including in Goal 4 on education, Goal 8 on access to employment, Goal 10 on inclusive participation, Goal 11 on transportation, and Goal 17 on data and accountability.  The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities should be considered the key guiding document to achieve the new Agenda for persons with disabilities.  During its fifty-fourth session in February 2016, the Commission for Social Development held a multi-stakeholder panel discussion on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda in light of the Convention, and decided to create an annual panel to share good practices in that regard.  Indicators were important to measure the progress of implementation of the new Agenda for persons with disabilities and to make sure that no one was left behind.  The global indicator framework developed by the Inter Agency Expert Group on Sustainable Development Goal Indicators was recently agreed upon and should be put for adoption by the Economic and Social Council and the General Assembly. 

Mr. Nowosad referred to the ninth Conference of States parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, to be held in June 2016 in New York, and which would focus on “implementing the 2030 Agenda for all persons with disabilities”, including eliminating poverty and inequality, promoting the rights of persons with mental and intellectual disability, enhancing accessibility to information and technology, and celebrating the tenth anniversary of the adoption of the Convention.  The session would also include elections for nine members of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.  Continuing, he recalled that the United Nations Third Committee had adopted in November 2015 a resolution calling on the United Nations Secretary-General to take all measures to create an inclusive and accessible United Nations for all persons with disabilities, a resolution inviting the President of the General Assembly to convene a high-level panel in late 2016 to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and calling on the Secretary-General to submit in 2017 a report on the situation of women with disabilities.  The Third Committee had also adopted a resolution expressing concern over the current situation of persons with albinism in society. 

Moving on to activities undertaken by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, he referred to a thematic study on the rights of persons with disabilities under article 11 of the Convention, which had been presented by the High Commissioner before the Human Rights Council.  The Office had supported the mandates of the Special Rapporteur on persons with disabilities and of the Independent Expert on persons with albinism.  It had also been involved in the preparatory process of the Word Humanitarian Summit, which would be held in Istanbul in May 2016.  Noting that the 2016 annual meeting of the Social Forum would focus on the human rights of persons with disabilities, he explained that the Office of the High Commissioner had engaged in broad consultations in the planning process. 

Statement by the Chairperson of the Committee

MARIA SOLEDAD CISTERNAS REYES, Chairperson of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, said that the work of the Committee was difficult and intensive.  She welcomed all participants to this session, particularly representatives of organizations of persons with disabilities.  The main outcome of the celebration of the tenth anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was the call for the universal ratification of the Convention.  A high-level meeting with all States, including those which had not ratified the Convention, would seek to clarify any issue regarding the implementation of the Convention.  The Committee would also join events at the regional level in Latin America, Africa and Asia.  She welcomed the adoption by the General Assembly of a resolution calling for the universal ratification of the Convention and for the withdrawal of reservations made to it. 

The Chair said the Committee had been actively participating in meetings of treaty body Chairpersons, and had been flexible in implementing improvements seeking to optimize its work.  The Committee had been preparing a draft General Comment on women with disabilities, its sixth General Comment.  It continued its work regarding a draft General Comment on inclusive education.  The Committee had also carried out its work on inquiry procedures, and had participated in various side events for the celebration of the tenth anniversary of the Convention.  It had engaged in interactive dialogues at the Human Rights Council in relation to Article 11 on humanitarian emergencies, and would hopefully engage in the forthcoming Humanitarian Summit in Turkey.  Moving to the composition of the Committee, she underlined the importance of geographical, disability and gender balance.  The gender aspect was extremely important.  She also underlined the Committee’s commitment to respect the Addis Ababa Guidelines, and stressed the need for the independence, impartiality and transparency of its work. 

CAROLINE HARVEY of the Secretariat of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities said that since the creation of the Committee, the Secretariat had received 94 State party reports, including the following reports since August 2015: Kuwait, India, Venezuela, Myanmar, Estonia, Bahrain and Djibouti.  So far the Committee had considered 33 reports, and 18 States had accepted the simplified reporting procedure.  Sixty-one reports were pending consideration. 

The Committee then adopted its agenda and programme of work for its fifteenth session. 

Statement by the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

CATALINA DEVANDAS AGUILAR, Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities, said that she had carried out country visits to the Republic of Moldova and Paraguay, and had followed up on Committee recommendations and shared her conclusions with it.  She had also published a thematic report on social protection, which was closely linked with article 19 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.  She had presented a report on the participation of persons with disabilities in public decision making to the Human Rights Council, and had taken part in the annual debate on the rights of persons with disabilities, which focused on Article 11 of the Convention.  She echoed the calls for the rights of persons with disabilities to be taken into account during the World Humanitarian Summit.  She insisted on the importance for the Special Rapporteur and the Committee to be included in the work of other United Nations agencies, including for the implementation of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.  She underlined the fundamental importance of collecting disaggregated data and better statistical information to inform policies that addressed the needs of persons with disabilities.  The Special Rapporteur noted also the need for better cooperation among Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council, particularly the Independent Expert on persons with albinism.  The Special Rapporteur said that she would work together with the Committee for the preparation of the commemoration of the tenth anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.  She noted the importance of inputs from civil society representatives, and thanked the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the United Nations Secretariat for the support they provided to her. 

Statements by Representatives of United Nations agencies

KRISTIN LANGE, United Nations Inter Agency Support Group for Persons with Disabilities, said that the task of the Support Group was to advance the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its implementation, and to increase the scale and effectiveness of the United Nations’ involvement in disability issues.  It was made up of over 30 United Nations agencies, and had been working collaboratively on issues relating to the 2030 Agenda and humanitarian efforts.  It was working in collaboration with civil society organizations for the adoption of a charter on the rights of persons with disabilities in situations of risk and humanitarian emergencies.  It was also working on the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, including through the development of statistical tools to improve quantitative and qualitative data collection to inform and support disaggregation of data by disability.  The Group would engage in celebrations of the tenth anniversary of the Convention, and promote its universal ratification.  

FACUNDO CHAVEZ PENILLAS, Human Rights and Disability Advisor, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, welcomed the adoption by the Human Rights Council of a resolution on the rights of persons with disability.  The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights would produce reports on equality and on access to justice for persons with disability.  The Office was working on the agenda of the Social Forum, and requested that the Chair of the Committee participate in this event.  The Office was also working on the elaboration of guidelines and indicators for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals for persons with disabilities.  The Office of the High Commissioner would participate in efforts to improve the accessibility of the United Nations. 

ANN BLOMBERG, UN Women, said that most of the targets of the 2030 Agenda included a reference to women.  UN Women had participated in international events relating to the rights of persons with disabilities.  It had promoted the empowerment of women and girls with disabilities and their participation in the World Humanitarian Summit.  She explained that all UN Women activities contained a specific focus on women and girls with disabilities.  This included its “Safe Cities” global initiative, which promoted the creation of inclusive infrastructures, its initiatives in the field of women, peace and security, its initiatives for gender equality and for combatting violence against women, and its efforts to support the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. 

MARILENA VIVIANI, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), said that in 2015, more than 100 UNICEF local offices had implemented projects focusing explicitly on children with disabilities.  UNICEF was working with partners for the mainstreaming of issues relating to children with disabilities during emergencies, through policies, guidance, capacity building and supplies.  For example, accessibility adjustments had been made in several emergency kits sent to the field.  Efforts had also been made to ensure that UNICEF’s offices were more inclusive. 

HAIDY LOON, World Intellectual Property Organization, said that with the recent ratification by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Peru, only four ratifications were missing for the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind to enter into force.  She welcomed the work undertaken by the Committee and its collaboration with the World Intellectual Property Organization.  

ALARCOS CIEZA, World Health Organization (WHO), said that its Disability Action Plan had been endorsed by all its Member States.  Its goals were to improve access to general health services for persons with disabilities, to strengthen access to assistive technology and to strengthen the collection of relevant and comparable data.  WHO was working on guidance documents on how to implement disability inclusive public health and how to implement the disability inclusive universal health coverage.  It was also drafting a roadmap document in the field of rehabilitation for the next 15 years.  The collection of disability data was a key element in the work of the Organization, and was promoted through projects at the national level.  

SUZANE SHORR, International Telecom Union, spoke about access to information and communications technologies for persons with disabilities, and presented her organization’s activities in that regard, including the elaboration of several guidelines and reports on accessibility.  She presented initiatives undertaken at the regional level, including in Europe, Africa and Latin America.  She called on the Committee to support dissemination of its report on accessibility. 

NUMAYR CHOWDHURY, United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, said that persons with disabilities were greatly affected by disasters, and underlined the need for more disaggregated data on the impact of disasters.  Preliminary surveys had shown that only 20 per cent of persons with disabilities could evacuate without obstacles in the event of disasters.  It was important to empower persons with disabilities to publically lead and advocate for universal and accessible risk-reduction measures.  Preventing and reducing disaster risk meant to protect and promote human rights.  He underlined the importance of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030. 

Statements by Other Stakeholders

PATRICIA ALMEIDA, International Disability Alliance, said that the implementation of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda represented an opportunity as well as a responsibility for persons with disabilities to engage and fulfil their role as agents of change.  The International Disability Alliance had prepared materials, including a comprehensive guide and toolkit on the participation of persons with disability in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, and to ensure that the Goals served to advance the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.  She presented her organization’s activities at regional and national levels, including for encouraging the implementation of recommendations made by the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. 

TINA MINKOWITZ, Centre for the Human Rights of Users and Survivors of Psychiatry, presented the results of a campaign conducted over the past two months to demonstrate civil society support for the absolute prohibition of commitment and forced treatment of persons with disabilities.  She paid tribute to persons who had died in psychiatry in France, Denmark and Mexico, and noted that this system, including solitary confinement, restraints, injections, forced nakedness, brutality and authoritarianism, characterized as torture.  Women’s forced psychiatry was sexualized and gendered, and should be recognized as both disability-based and gender-based violence.  She hoped that the results of the campaign would encourage the Committee to persist in its leadership for advocating the full, equal and uncompromised rights of people with disabilities. 

VICTORIA LEE, International Disability and Development Consortium, said that it had participated in the creation of an advocacy toolkit on the 2030 Agenda and persons with disabilities, which had been disseminated widely.  The organization had also organized a side event during the last session of the Human Rights Council on the need to align international human rights instruments with the 2030 Agenda.  It had conducted advocacy activities to encourage the European Union to take a lead role in championing the rights of persons with disabilities.
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