COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES OPENS TWELTH SESSSION

The Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities opened this morning its twelfth session. The Committee adopted its agenda and heard a presentation by a representative of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on the latest developments relating to the work of the Committee.

Antti Korkeakivi, Chief of Indigenous and Minorities Section Rules of Law, Equality and Non-Discrimination Branch of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, welcomed the election of nine new Committee members on June 10 in New York, as well as the re-election of four current members. The new members would join the Committee in January 2015. Mr. Korkeakivi highlighted that the General Assembly’s Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals had produced a draft proposal of goals for the post-2015 agenda, one of which dealt with the reduction of inequality and another with inclusive and quality education. Mr. Korkeakivi also referred to the Human Rights Council decision to appoint a Special Rapporteur on the human rights of persons with disabilities, and to hold its next interactive debate on the rights of disabled people in March 2015, focusing on independent living and inclusion in the community.

The Chairperson of the Committee, María Soledad Cisternas Reyes, wished success to the new High Commissioner for Human Rights and expressed the hope that the Committee and the new High Commissioner would maintain constructive cooperation. She briefed the Committee on the inter-sessional activities of its members, and on the advance of the treaty body strengthening process. Ms. Reyes welcomed the recent 150th ratification of the Convention, which she said demonstrated the effectiveness of outreach efforts led by the Committee. To salute the efforts of the Committee in that context, a meeting with the 11 countries that had ratified the Convention in 2014 was scheduled for the last day of the session, Friday 3 October at 3 p.m.

During the morning session, the Committee also heard statements from representatives of the Council of Europe, International Labour Organization, United Nations Children’s Fund, the International Coordinating Committee of National Human Rights Institutions, a representative of the supporting body for the Ottawa Convention on anti-personnel mines and the focal point for people with disabilities of Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights. The following civil society organizations also took the floor: International Disability Alliance, World Network of Users and Survivors of Psychiatry, World Federation of the Deaf and Disability Council International.

The Committee would next meet in public at 3 p.m. today to begin its review of the initial report of New Zealand (CRPD/C/NZL/1).

Opening Statement

Antti Korkeakivi, Chief of Indigenous and Minorities Section Rules of Law, Equality and Non-Discrimination Branch of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, welcomed the election of nine new Committee members on June 10 in New York, as well as the re-election of four current members. The new members would join the Committee in January 2015. Mr. Korkeakivi highlighted that the General Assembly’s Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals had produced a draft proposal of goals for the post-2015 agenda, one of which dealt with the reduction of inequality and another with inclusive and quality education. Regarding the adoption of Resolution 68/268 on the strengthening and enhancing of the effective functioning of the human rights treaty body system, Mr. Korkeakivi said that discussions on implementing the resolution had shown progress, but that follow-up was required by each of the nine treaty bodies. Committees should consider making the Simplified Reporting Procedure available after 1 January 2015.

Mr. Korkeakivi also referred to the Human Rights Council decision to appoint a Special Rapporteur on the human rights of persons with disabilities, and to hold its next interactive debate on the rights of disabled people in March 2015, focusing on independent living and inclusion in the community. The Council also requested the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to prepare its annual study on Article 19 in consultation with stakeholders. The appointment process of the new mandate holder was ongoing, he noted. Mr. Korkeakivi briefed the Committee on a landmark bulletin issues by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on 19 June 2014 on the subject of employment and accessibility for staff members with disabilities. The policy document committed the United Nations Secretariat to improve accessibility and full inclusion of staff with disabilities. It fostered a workplace culture and conditions inclusive to persons with disabilities through awareness raising and training activities. It also established a monitoring mechanism through the appointment of a United Nations focal point on disability and accessibility in workplace.

Speaking about the nexus between the Convention on the Rights of Persons of Disabilities and the work on indigenous peoples and minorities, Mr. Korkeakivi said that the Committee had issued valuable observations on the situation of indigenous persons with disabilities in Argentina, Australia, El Salvador, Paraguay and Peru, as well as on Roma and other minorities. The Office had facilitated the participation of indigenous peoples in the sessions of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities through the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Peoples. With the support of the Fund, five indigenous peoples with disabilities attended the ninth and eleventh sessions of the Committee and contributed to the pending general comment on women and girls with disabilities. The Fund would also bring two indigenous women with disabilities to the High-Level Meeting of the General Assembly known as the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples in New York in from 22 to 23 September 2014. Mr. Korkeakivi also noted that the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples had paid increased attention to persons with disabilities, and this week it would present to the Human Rights Council a study on access to justice in the promotion and protection of the rights of indigenous peoples, with a focus on the issues and needs of indigenous persons with disabilities in the area of education, employment, housing, health and social security.

Statement by the Chairperson of the Committee
MARÍA SOLEDAD CISTERNAS REYES, Chairperson of the Committee, wished success to the new High Commissioner for Human Rights and expressed the hope that the Committee and the new High Commissioner would maintain constructive cooperation. She briefed the Committee on the inter-sessional activities of its members, and on the advance of the treaty body strengthening process. Ms. Reyes welcomed the recent 150th ratification of the Convention, which she said demonstrated the effectiveness of outreach efforts led by the Committee. To salute the efforts of the Committee in that context, a meeting with the 11 countries that had ratified the Convention in 2014 was scheduled for the last day of the session, Friday 3 October at 3 p.m.

Since the Committee's last session in April, seven new States had signed or ratified the Convention: State of Palestine, Switzerland, Angola, Burundi, Grenada, Republic of Congo and Guyana. Thus, the number of ratifications of the Convention had now reached 150. In addition, since the last session four new States had ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention, bringing a total of 84 ratifications of the Optional Protocol: they were Angola, Burundi, Gabon and the Republic of Congo. Finally, initial reports had been received from Latvia, the European Union, Panama, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Nepal, Oman and Sudan, bringing the total number of initial reports received to date since the creation of the Committee to 67, of which so far 13 had been examined.

Ms. Cisternas said that the Committee had been active in the number of fields, and had contact with other treaty bodies and sister organizations within the United Nations in a bid to ensure that the rights of persons with disabilities were upheld across many sectors. She said that the Committee should not work in isolation and that it should make sure that its work was cross-sectoral. The Committee participated in panels with State parties, and organized parallel events, which gave the Committee an unprecedented visibility. With respect to Article 37 of the Convention the Committee had been open to requests for technical cooperation, which was being developed with States parties such as Peru and Ukraine.

Statements by other stakeholders

PETRU DIMITRIU, Permanent Observer of the Council of Europe, expressed support for the Committee’s work. He said that in April 2006 the Council of Europe adopted an action plan to promote the rights and full participation of persons with disabilities in society. The action plan recommended to the Governments of Member States that they integrate proposals of the action plan in their policy, legislation and practice. The action plan was based on two premises: a shift from the concept of disability, which was a medical matter, to one of ability, referring to each individual’s talents and aptitudes. Mr. Dimitriu said that societies had to reduce the effect of disability to the minimum and that persons with disabilities were citizens like any others.

MABEDLE LOURENCE MUSHAWANA, Chairperson of the Coordinating Committee of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (ICC), said that the ICC recognized the work and value of treaty bodies in promoting and monitoring the effective implementation of universal human rights standards at national level. He said that national human rights institutions could be important partners in the Committee’s work to monitor the implementation of the Convention at the domestic level. The first meeting of the Committee and the national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights would take place on 25 September 2014. That would be the first time that the Committee would meet national monitoring mechanism from all regions in order to share their experiences, lessons learned and opportunities for strengthening cooperation in the implementation of the Convention.

FACUNDO CHAVEZ PENILLAS, human rights and disability focal point for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, said that together with United Nations Children’s Fund and other parties, the team impacted negotiations towards an inclusive quality education goal in the outcome document of the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals. Many of the proposed goals and targets had a disability-specific or disability-inclusive approach. The current aim was to keep disability-inclusive language and to ensure that indicators with a disability-inclusive approach were adequately disaggregated, concrete and measurable. Pursuant to the Human Rights Council Resolution 25/20, the team was currently drafting a study on the right to live independently and to be included in the community. A discussion on the study would take place on 19 September 2014 and the input of the Committee members would be appreciated. The United Nations Partnership on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities continued to provide support for persons with disabilities had identified additional countries to receive support: Armenia, Bolivia, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Mexico, Sudan, Tajikistan and Uganda.

STEFAN TROMEL, International Labour Organization, briefed on work to promote the employment and social protection of persons with disabilities. The Organization’s disability team had been updating a handbook on legislation on achieving equal employment opportunities for persons with disabilities. It also continued to provide technical advice to the debate in preparation for the negotiation of the post-2015 development framework, with a focus on persons with disabilities. The International Labour Organization had also started looking at social protection schemes in low and middle income countries, and how those schemes could support the participation of persons with disabilities. The Organization had also commissioned a report to review policy frameworks and practical experience in promoting vocational training and employment for indigenous persons with disabilities.

HEIDI-MARIA HELENIUS, United Nations Children’s Fund, said that the organization continued to play an active role in the United Nations Partnership on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The United Nations Children’s Fund was the leading agency in seven of the 11 identified countries with projects in areas of inclusive education, data and statistics, innovation and technology. In June 2014 together with the Global Partnership on Children with Disabilities it organized a week-long advocacy and learning event in New York. The United Nations Children’s Fund had recently taken steps to enhance the inclusion of children with disabilities in humanitarian action, for example in Iraq. It had also taken part in developing practical how-to notes in inclusion of children with disabilities in humanitarian contexts, such as education, child protection, water and sanitation, health and nutrition. Those tools were expected to be completed in early 2015. Other activities included guidance on child focused victim assistance and a video based module on inclusive communication.

PARAMDEEP MTHARU, Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, said that assistance for victims should be incorporated in broader national policies, plans and legal frameworks related to the rights of persons with disabilities, health, education, employment, development and poverty reduction. With that goal in mind, the Implementation Support Unit held a global conference titled “Bridges between Worlds” in cooperation with the Government of Colombia and the European Union. The conference addressed the place of landmine victims in areas such as disability rights, health care, education, employment, development, poverty reduction and human rights. This year “Bridges between Worlds” conferences were also held in Geneva and Maputo.

MARYANNE DIAMOND, Chair of the International Disability Alliance, welcomed the establishment of the Special Rapporteur on Disability in June 2014 and thanked New Zealand and Mexico for having led that initiative. She also welcomed the outcome document of the Open Working Group on the Sustainable Development Goals, which include several references to persons with disabilities. Ms. Diamond shared concern about certain development that diverged from the work of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The Alliance called for a greater exchange among treaty bodies because there was a gap in understanding of the Convention across treaty bodies and other human rights expert bodies.

TINA MINKOWITZ, World Network of Users and Survivors of Psychiatry, asked the Committee to elaborate a general comment on Article 14 to establish that Article 14 prohibited detention in any kind of mental health facility, including detention based on criteria such as a prediction of harm to the person or others. She urged the Committee to work immediately on the general comment and to make a public announcement of the scope and guiding principles, including the prohibition of mental health detention. She said the Committee should address the question of criminal responsibility, building on the right to equal guarantees in criminal proceedings. The Network also asked the Committee to address the shift from a medial model to a social model of psychosocial disability through its elaboration of a general comment on Article 19. She said that the shift needed to incorporate a critique of false and corrupt scientific practice which perpetuated misinformation and created barriers to full inclusion of persons with psychosocial disabilities in society.

EEVA TUPI, Chairperson of the World Federation of the Deaf, said that deaf persons needed accessibility to the Committee in order to be able to advance the human rights of deaf persons worldwide. To date, only fifteen countries had ensured the accessibility of deaf communities to the Committee. She said the Federation was concerned about the insufficient awareness of State parties on the variety of sign languages in implementing the Convention Article 21. She urged that the work of the Committee should be accessible in various sign languages. She said that Governments needed to ensure that deaf persons could express themselves in a variety of sign languages, and that different sign language dictionaries should contain different signs and variations in a community or area use. She also said that the Federation did not support any formal standardization of any sign language, but that it supported qualified linguistic research into and the documentation of all sign language.

ANNA LACHOWSKA, Chairperson of the International Disability Council, said that the Council organized a number of seminars on disability in former Soviet republics on the implementation of the Convention. She said the Council contributes parallel reports on countries under review, which could offer assistance to the Committee.


For use of the information media; not an official record

CRPD14/006E