COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES CONCLUDES ITS SECOND SESSION

The Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities today concluded its second session, during which it adopted its Reporting Guidelines and held a day of general discussion on Article 12 of the Convention on the right to equal recognition before the law.

During the session, which was held from 19 to 23 October at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, the Committee largely concentrated on procedural issues. It discussed ways and means of expediting its work and worked on its draft Rules of Procedure and draft Working Methods.

On 21 October, the Committee held a day of general discussion on Article 12 of the Convention on the right to equal recognition before the law, during which it addressed the legal contents of the right to equal recognition before the law; and the practical measures necessary to implement the obligation to promote the right to equal recognition before the law. The discussion will serve for the future formulation and adoption of a general comment on Article 12.

During the session, the Committee also decided to conduct further elections so as to adjust its Bureau according to Article 14 of the rules of procedure. From the third session on and throughout 2010, the membership of the Committee will be as follow: Mr. McCallum, Chairperson; Mr. Al-Tarawneh, Ms. Peláez Narváez, Ms. Yang will be the Vice-Chairpersons; Ms. Maina will be the Rapporteur.

Ronald McCallum, member of the Committee, said that the Committee was composed of 12 independent persons and when he would take the Presidency of the Committee next year he wanted to follow in the steps of his predecessor, continue his work and continue the collaboration with the civil society. He looked forward to work with those that had participated in the drafting of the Convention. Reporting to the Committee could only be successful if civil society was involved in the drafting of reports of States parties and in the submission of a shadow report to the Committee. The discussions in the Committee were a tripartite discussion.

Mohammed Al-Tarawneh, Chairman of the Committee, in closing remarks, said that it had been the intention of all of them to adopt the working methods and rules of procedure but due to time limits they had not been able to move to this stage. It always took a while to harmonize oneself. He also echoed the comments of his colleague. He was grateful and thanked everyone for their wonderful job. He hoped that the momentum in the Committee would continue to increase.

The next session of the Committee will be held from 22 to 26 February 2010 at the Palais des Nations.

Committee Membership

The members of the Committee are: Amna Ali Al Suweidi (Qatar); Mohammed Al-Tarawneh (Jordan); Lotfi Ben Lallohom (Tunisia); Monsur Ahmed Choudhuri (Bangladesh); María Soledad Cisternas Reyes (Chile); György Könczei (Hungary); Edah Wangechi Maina (Kenya); Ronald McCallum AO (Australia); Ana Peláez Narváez (Spain); Germán Xavier Torres Correa (Ecuador); Cveto Uršiè (Slovenia); and Jia Yang (China).


For use of the information media; not an official record

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