Guatemala’s record on rights of persons with disabilities faces review by UN Committee

GENEVA (17 August 2016) – The UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) will review Guatemala on 22 and 23 August in sessions that will be webcast live. Guatemala is one of the 166 States that have ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and so is required to submit regular reports to the Committee on how it is implementing the Convention. 

The CRPD, which is composed of 18 international independent experts, will engage in a dialogue with a delegation from the Guatemalan Government and also hear from disabled persons organisations (DPOs), NGOs and other organisations representing disabled persons.

Venue: Palais Wilson, Geneva
Time: 22 August 15:00 – 18:00 (07:00 – 10:00 in Guatemala ) and 23 August 10:00 – 13:00 (02:00 – 05:00). The sessions will be webcast here at http://webtv.un.org/

More information about Guatemala and the other countries being reviewed – Uruguay, Ethiopia, Bolivia, United Arab Emirates, Colombia and Italy here: http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/SessionDetails1.aspx?SessionID=1052&Lang=en The Committee will publish its findings on these States at this link on 2 September.

CRPD members are also set to publish two General Comments on 26 August, giving their authoritative interpretation of the Convention regarding two key issues: the situation of women and girls with disabilities (Article 6) and the right to inclusive education (Article 24).

ENDS

For more information and media requests, please contact Liz Throssell (+41 22 917 94 66 / ethrossell@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/treaty-bodies/crpd

Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities – 10th anniversary

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.

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