SECOND MEETING OF THE INTER-AGENCY SUPPORT GROUP OF THE CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES - OPENING REMARKS BY THE DEPUTY HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

19 JUNE 2007 – 10:00 - ROOM 11, PALAIS DES NATIONS

Ladies and gentlemen,

I would like to welcome you all to Geneva and the second inter-agency meeting on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. OHCHR is delighted to host this gathering, and I am heartened to see such a significant engagement from agencies. A coordinated and effective UN response to the Convention is highly relevant, particularly now at the crucial stage of making this Convention meaningful to people at the country level. Cooperation has been at the heart of work on this Convention from the very beginning and in this spirit, I would like to acknowledge the excellent cooperation with our co-chair, the Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

As you are all undoubtedly aware, much has happened since the first meeting of the IASG in New York last December. Most significantly, last month, the Convention and Optional Protocol came into force. We now have some 27 ratifications of the Convention and 16 of the Optional Protocol and I understand that numerous countries have set the end of 2008 as their target for ratification. The first Conference of States Parties will take place in New York sometime in the autumn. We will have a new treaty body – the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities – which will meet early in 2009.

These events make our task all the more urgent. I am pleased to see the progress you have made in your work since December. The joint Statement of Commitment is an important step forward towards joint UN action on the Convention. This provides a framework for our future work. Now is the time to identify the practical steps to ensure that Commitment moves to action.

The programme of work before you sets out a full agenda to develop a practical strategy and plan of action, to which all IASG member organizations should share the ownership. Consequently, we are not providing any draft as such. The intention is to ensure that the elements identified in the discussions provide the basis for the preparation of a draft strategy and plan of action.

Another key element of the programme of work is the development of Guidelines on the Convention for UN Country Teams. Providing these guidelines will be an important step to ensure that UN work at the country level reaches persons with disabilities. There is a rich source of material and networks available to help with this task. The 2003 Common Understanding on a human rights-based approach to development cooperation (Stamford consensus); the inter-agency plan of action on strengthening human rights-related UN action at country level – the Action 2 programme; the development of guidelines on the integration of human rights into CCA/UNDAF; and the recent Policy Committee decision regarding the role of Resident Coordinators in integrating human rights into operational and programmatic activities at the country level. All provide a basis for our work. It will be important that the work on this Convention complements these other initiatives.

This year, the International Day of Persons with Disabilities has the theme of the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration. Thus, I hope that there will also be time to plan for these celebrations over the next two days. The theme of the 60th anniversary - “Dignity and Justice for all” - closely parallels the imperatives of the Convention. Respect for the inherent dignity, autonomy, freedom and independence of persons with disability is a general principle of the Convention. “Justice for all”, a fundamental goal of human rights treaties, is particularly fitting given that persons with disabilities are so often denied justice.

Making this link between the Universal Declaration and this Convention sends a powerful message. It underlines the shift towards a rights-based approach that had permeated the efforts of all who worked together to create the Convention. Human rights are about individual dignity and freedoms, about entitlements and government obligations, not charity, about mandatory and enforceable measures not voluntary giving. The human rights approach moves from arbitrariness to universality, and is built upon international recognized standards.

In short, human rights are about empowerment, and the focus of our strategy must be on the empowerment of persons with disabilities, and not on disability itself. While as entities of international organizations, we must work with all stakeholders, including governments, it is important to remember that it was this call for empowerment that motivated so many in the negotiation of this new addition to the body of international human rights law. Our work together is to spell out the concrete steps to materialize the Convention to its fullest promises, including by persons with disabilities to claim their rights and by empowering, helping States to fulfill their obligations.

I wish you much progress over the next two days.