Jordan: UN expert to assess human rights of persons with disabilities

GENEVA (5 September 2022) – The UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities, Gerard Quinn, will conduct an official visit to Jordan from 5 to 15 September 2022.

“The visit provides an important opportunity to assess the implementation of human rights standards in place to protect the rights of persons with disabilities in the country,” Quinn said.

“During my visit I will assess, in the spirit of cooperation and dialogue, the enjoyment of the rights of persons with disabilities in Jordan, the measures taken for their successful realisation, good practices, and the obstacles encountered,” the expert said.

Gerard Quinn, mandated by the Human Rights Council, is visiting the country at the invitation of the Government. He will travel to Amman, El Karak Governorate and other areas to meet with Government authorities, civil society organisations, persons with disabilities and their representative organisations, UN agencies, and others.

The UN independent expert will also visit establishments providing services for persons with disabilities, including those for children, women and refugees with disabilities.

At the end of his mission, the Special Rapporteur will hold a press conference to share his preliminary observations. It will take place on Thursday 15 September at 4 p.m. local time at the InterContinental Amman Hotel, Islamic College Street, Amman 11180. Access to the press conference will be strictly limited to journalists.

The Special Rapporteur will submit a comprehensive report on his visit to the Human Rights Council in March 2023.
ENDS

Gerard Quinn (Ireland) is the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities, appointed by the Human Rights Council in October 2020. Mr Quinn holds two research chairs at the Raoul Wallenberg Institute on Human Rights in the University of Lund (Sweden) and Leeds University (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland). He was the lead focal point for the global network of National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) during the negotiations leading to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and was head of delegation for Rehabilitation International during the UN Working Group (2004). He previously held a chair at the National University of Ireland where he founded and directed the Centre on Disability Law and Policy.

Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.