UN disability rights committee to review Panama, Morocco, Montenegro, Latvia, Luxembourg, and the UK

GENEVA (10 August 2017)  – The UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is meeting in Geneva from 14 to 31 August 2017 to review the following countries: Latvia, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Morocco, Panama, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

During the meetings in Geneva, Committee members will hold dialogues with the respective State delegations. These will take place on the following dates: Panama (15-16 August); Morocco (16-17 August); Montenegro (17-18 August); Latvia (21-22 August); Luxembourg (22-23 August); UK (23-24 August).

The Committee will also hear from organisations representing persons with disabilities, NGOs and national human rights institutions.

Venue: Room 17, Palais des Nations, Geneva

Time: Each dialogue runs from 15:00 to 18:00 Geneva time and continues the following day from 10:00 to 13:00.  The public sessions will be webcast at http://webtv.un.org/

The issues likely to be discussed, the States’ reports, plus information from civil society organisations can be found here. The Committee will publish its findings on the respective countries, known officially as concluding observations, at this same link on 31 August 2017. A news conference to discuss the findings is scheduled for 12h30 on 31 August at Palais des Nations in Geneva. 

ENDS

For media requests please contact: Nicoleta Panta,  +41(0) 22 9179310 / npanta@ohchr.org

Media accreditation – please see here

What is the Convention on the Right of Persons with Disabilities and why is it important?

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is a human rights treaty negotiated by representatives of the international community - including persons with disabilities, government officials, representatives of nongovernmental organizations and others – designed to change the way persons with disabilities are viewed and treated in their societies.

Rather than considering disability as an issue of medicine, charity or dependency, the Convention challenges people worldwide to understand disability as a human rights issue. The Convention covers many areas where obstacles can arise, such as physical access to buildings, roads and transportation, and access to information through written and electronic communications. The Convention also aims to reduce stigma and discrimination, which are often reasons why persons with disabilities are excluded from education, employment and health and other services.

There are around 1 billion persons with disabilities in the world. They are often the poorest of the poor. The stigma and discrimination they face are common in all societies. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is an important tool for ensuring that persons with disabilities have access to the same rights and opportunities as everybody else.

The Committee, which has a mandate to promote and protect the rights of persons with disabilities, is the international monitoring body that oversees the implementation of the Convention by those States that have ratified it.

More information on the CRPD: http://www.ohchr.org/en/treaty-bodies/crpd

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