-----Original Message----- From: Dspd Enable [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Wednesday, February 02, 2011 3:31 AM To: [email protected] Subject: United Nations Enable Newsletter, January 2011
ENABLE NEWSLETTER January 2011 The Enable Newsletter is prepared by the Secretariat for the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (SCRPD) at the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) with input from UN offices, agencies, funds and programmes, as well as from civil society. It is also available on-line at: http://www.un.org/disabilities. In this issue: - Status of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) - Highlights - Upcoming events - Other news STATUS OF THE CONVENTION (CRPD) 97 ratifications of the Convention 147 signatories to the Convention Optional Protocol to the Convention 60 ratifications of the Optional Protocol 90 signatories to the Optional Protocol On EU ratification of the Convention On 23 December, the European Union (EU) ratified the CRPD, becoming the first intergovernmental organization to join a United Nations human rights treaty. The EU ratification (or "confirmation" in the wording of the CRPD) is based on article 42 of the CRPD, which states that the Convention is also open for signature by regional integration organizations. The EU first committed to joining the CRPD by signing it in March 2007. The ratification of the CRPD by the EU represents a significant commitment to raising awareness on the rights of persons with disabilities, mainstreaming disability rights across all areas of EU competency and taking concrete steps towards ensuring that the rights of persons with disabilities in society and development are respected, protected and fulfilled. HIGHLIGHTS Commission for Social Development meets from 9-18 February The 49th Session of the Commission will be held at UN Headquarters from 9-18 February 2011. This session will have before it the Report of the Special Rapporteur on Disability on monitoring of the implementation of the Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities. DESA and the Special Rapporteur on Disability, in collaboration with the Governments of Finland, Japan and Norway, the World Bank and Global Partnership on Disability and Development (GPDD) will hold a Panel Discussion on “Mainstreaming Disability in Development for Poverty Eradication” on 10 February. The Panel will discuss key issues concerning the inclusion of disability in development, particularly in the context of ongoing global efforts towards poverty eradication with reference to policy framework on disability and development. Good practice examples of including disability in development with a view to contributing to successful poverty reduction and development for all will be shared. More information: http://www.un.org/disabilities/default.asp?navid=47&pid=1550. 5th session of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities The CRPD Committee will hold its 5th session in Geneva from 11 to 15 April 2011. This is the first meeting with the extended membership of 18 Committee members. In addition, the Committee will begin its review of the first two State reports on the implementation of the Convention: Adoption of Concluding Observations of Tunisia, and Adoption of List of issues of Spain. More information at: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/CRPD/Pages/Session5.aspx. Human Rights Council Panel on international cooperation On 4 March 2011, the Human Rights Council will host a panel on “The role of international cooperation in support of national efforts for the realization of the rights of persons with disabilities” in Geneva. Five panelists, including the Special Rapporteur on Disabilities, a representative of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, as well as representatives of civil society and development partnerships will lead the discussions. Their presentations will highlight international cooperation under the CRPD, mainstreaming disability rights in development cooperation and disability in humanitarian assistance. An interactive debate will follow the presentations of the panelists involving Member States, international organizations, civil society organizations and national human rights institutions. More information on the HRC: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil. Thematic study on international cooperation In January 2011, OHCHR (the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights) released its thematic study on “The role of international cooperation in support of national efforts for the realization of the rights of persons with disabilities”, prepared upon request by the UN Human Rights Council. The study examines the legal foundations of international cooperation to support disability rights, and examines cooperation among Member States in the field, as well as partnerships with international and regional organizations and civil society organizations. The study identifies growing practice in the area, but also notes challenges including: an overwhelming focus of international cooperation on disability-specific cooperation, but less on mainstreaming disability rights into general development programmes, such as the MDGs; a lack of consistency between development cooperation programmes and the CRPD standards (for example, through maintaining a charity approach in development projects); a lack of coordination among States and other international and national actors, as well as civil society actors; a focus on certain disabilities over others which in turn can deny the diversity of disability; and finally, a general lack of information on international cooperation initiatives in the area of disability rights promotion and humanitarian assistance. The study is available on the OHCHR website at: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/disability/index.htm. Advance text of the report of Third Conference of States Parties available The advance unedited text of the Report of the Third Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is now available. The report contains as an annex, the President’s summary of the meetings of the Third session. The session was held on 1-3 September 2010 under the theme “Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities through the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities”. The official report will available, shortly. More information: http://www.un.org/disabilities/default.asp?id=1532. Seminar on disability mainstreaming in development cooperation The Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) in collaboration with the UN Special Rapporteur on Disability will hold a seminar to examine the challenges of mainstreaming disability in both official development programmes and projects, as well as in civil society projects. The seminar aims to increase the awareness of including persons with disabilities in all levels of development and in international cooperation. It will also highlight the obstacles to disability mainstreaming within official Governmental practice, grass-root advocacy and within international cooperation. The discussions and analysis will be used to develop a foundation for concrete action. More information: http://www.norad.no/en/About+Norad/Seminars/Disability+Mainstreaming. Advocacy for the CRPD in Central African Region From 23-25 November 2010, the OHCHR Central African Regional Office held a Sub-regional Central African advocacy seminar on the CRPD. The seminar sought to promote understanding and awareness of the CRPD in a sub-region with a lower rate of CRPD ratification in comparison to other parts of Africa. The seminar covered diverse topics from myths and misconceptions of disability in the region, to introduction of the CPRD, discussion of thematic areas including non-discrimination, legal capacity and inclusive education, public participation and accessibility as well as procedural issues such as ratification and monitoring. Further country-based seminars are planned in the region for 2011. UNESCO: Step-by-Step guidelines to Accessible Office Documents UNESCO in partnership with the Inclusive Design Research Centre (IDRC) and the Government of Ontario, Canada have developed consolidated and publicly-reviewed guidance on how to create accessible office documents using many of the more popular office programmes and suites. The guidance takes the form of step-by-step guides, with plenty of illustrations and helpful hints. The effort also included a workshop “Creating Accessible Digital Office Documents” in November 2010. UNESCO thus aims to improve its online presence, preparation of internal and external documents and publications respecting accessibility standards and to make those available in fully accessible formats for persons with disabilities. More information: http://adod.idrc.ocad.ca and http://www.unesco.org/webworld/icts/disabilities. UPCOMING EVENTS (We welcome information on key international disability events for inclusion, below) 9 - 18 February: 49th Session of the Commission for Social Development (See above for details) 4 March: Panel Discussion on International Cooperation in Rights Protection of Persons with Disabilities (See above for details) 8 March: International Women's Day In 1975, during International Women's Year, the United Nations began celebrating 8 March as International Women's Day. The theme for 2011 is "Equal access to education, training and science and technology: Pathway to decent work for women". More information: http://www.un.org/womenwatch/feature/iwd. For more information on Women and Girls with Disabilities: http://www.un.org/disabilities/default.asp?navid=13&pid=1514. 11 - 15 April: 5th session of Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (See above for details) 18 - 19 April: Pacific Rim International Conference on Disabilities Entitled, “Humanity: Advancing Inclusion, Equality and Diversity”, the Conference has sixteen topic areas, pre and post conference forums, including the International Forum on the Rights of People with Disabilities. The Conference will provide an opportunity for dialogue and an exchange of best practices, research, methodology, and advocacy initiatives in disability. A call for academic proposals has also been issued. More information: http://www.pacrim.hawaii.edu/emailtemplate. 5 - 8 June: Conferences on Caregiving, Disability, Ageing and Technology The Festival of International Conferences on Caregiving, Disability, Ageing and Technology will explore new and exciting strategies to help support our increasingly diverse population. It will bring together professionals and experts from around the world to address critical issues and questions about universal design in a format supporting dialogue and discussion. The goal of Universal Design is to make the environment more usable for a broader range of people in more situations. More information: https://www.confmanager.com/main.cfm?cid=1559. 8 - 10 June: High-level meeting on HIV/AIDS The high-level meeting will conduct a comprehensive review of the progress achieved in realizing the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS and the Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS. Representatives of non-governmental organizations in Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council, civil society organizations and the private sector, may also be included in the list of speakers for the plenary meetings of the high-level meeting. More information: http://www.unaids.org/en/aboutunaids/unitednationsdeclarationsandgoals/2011highlevelmeetingonaids/ . 3 - 8 July 2011: 5th IDP Africa Forum: Access Africa The 5th IDP-Institutional Development Forum will focus on how the power of technology can advance equality and rights of persons who are blind and partially sighted. Participants will include Government ministries, international organizations, parents, persons who are blind and partially sighted, representatives from organizations of and for the blind, universities and vendors, and sponsors of assistive technology. More information: http://www.perkins.org/international-programs/localexpertise/idp.html#Access_Africa_The_5th_IDP_Africa_Forum . 18 - 24 July: XVI World Congress of the World Federation of the Deaf This first ever WFD Congress in Africa will held in Durban, South Africa. The Congress will bring together activists, professionals, interest groups to share their experiences, knowledge and expertise to be used for welfare and improving human rights of Deaf people in Africa and around the world. It will also be a time to review achievements through the implementation of the CRPD. More information: http://www.wfd2011.com/information/letter.html. 7 - 9 September: Fourth Conference of States Parties to the CRPD The next Conference of States Parties will be held at UN Headquarters in New York from 7-9 September 2011. Information will shortly be posted on the Enable website at http://www.un.org/disabilities/default.asp?id=1535. 19 - 24 September: 6th FATO International Seminar African Federation of Orthopaedic Technologists (FATO) International Congress to be held in Arusha, Tanzania on September 2011, will be the first of its kind in English-speaking East Africa. More information: http://fatoafrique.org/en/ or email: [email protected]. OTHER NEWS (The information below is provided by the non-governmental disability community and other entities for informational purposes only; they do not constitute endorsement of, or an approval by, the United Nations of any of the products, services, or opinions of the organization or individual. The United Nations bears no responsibility for the accuracy, legality or content of their statements and opinions.) IDA Expert Seminar on key implementation challenges of the CRPD On 10 December 2010, the International Disability Alliance (IDA) organized a multi-stakeholder seminar in Geneva to help identify the key challenges of the full and effective implementation of the CRPD. The expert seminar brought together IDA members, international NGOs, UN agencies and some representatives from States Parties to examine the challenges in reforming mainstream and disability-specific legislation in compliance with the CRPD. Potential activities from the UN system were also considered, in particular to increase the involvement of DPOs. Besides identifying the challenges, experts spelled out concrete proposals that will soon be published on IDA´s website: http://www.internationaldisabilityalliance.org. Reelabilities film festival in NYC ReelAbilities: NY disabilities film festival is dedicated to promoting awareness and appreciation of the lives, stories and artistic expressions of people with different disabilities. The festival presents award winning films in various locations throughout the NY metropolitan area, as well as discussions and other engaging programs which bring together the community to explore, discuss and celebrate the diversity of our shared human experience. More information: http://www.reelabilities.org. More Accessible cinemas in Australia The Government of Australia will fund the provision of captions for the deaf and audio descriptions for the vision-impaired on at least one screen in cinema complexes by the end of 2014. At present just 0.3 per cent of cinemas screen accessible sessions. More information: http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/movies/disability-groups-hail-film-deal-20100826-13u6o.html . Chair of the Committee named Senior Australian of the Year 2011 Professor Ron McCallum current Chair of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has been named Senior Australian of the Year 2011. Professor McCallum is the first blind person to have been appointed to a full professorship at an Australian university, and was the foundation Professor in Industrial Law at the University of Sydney, and from 2002, he served five years as Dean of Law. He has fervently pursued equal rights for working people across the globe and was the inaugural President of the Australian Labour Law Association from 2001 to 2009. He is currently Chair of Radio for the Print Handicapped of New South Wales Co-operative. More information: http://www.australianoftheyear.org.au/recipients/?m=ron-mccallum-2011. Study on the implementation of the CRPD The findings of the Study on Challenges and Good Practices in the Implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which was carried out by the EFC European Consortium of Foundations on Human Rights and Disability for the European Commission is now available. The report provides an analysis of the obligations set forth in the CRPD and an overview of EU and Member States legislation and policies that needed/needs to be adjusted in order to comply with the CRPD. It also identifies challenges that may hinder the full and effective implementation of the CRPD, and measures that would facilitate the achievement of its objectives. More information: http://www.study-uncrpd.eu/en/documents/show/&tid=51. Haiti one year after – Photos for the Future On the 11th of January 2011, CBM together with Fiona Hall MEP (Member of the European Parliament) hosted a photo exhibition marking the one-year anniversary of the 2010 Haiti earthquake. The aim of the exhibition was to draw attention to the vulnerability of people with disabilities in emergency situations and their ability to overcome the challenges of disasters. All speakers at the launch acknowledged the “positiveness” in the photos and highlighted the importance of the recent EU ratification of the CRPD. More information: Lars Bosselmann ([email protected]) Digital library promoting the right of persons with disabilities The Global Disability Rights Library project announces a call for organizations to apply to receive a free digital Global Disability Rights Library (GDRL). Applications are open to disabled people's organizations (DPOs), universities, and agencies in developing countries. Sixty organizations will be selected to receive the digital library that would allow them to further disseminate disability rights knowledge and toolkits to their communities. The project uses an innovative "internet in a box" technology to deliver digital resources to people beyond the reach of the internet. More information: http://www.usicd.org/index.cfm/global-disability-rights-library. Call for papers on disability rights The Sur-Intenational Journal on Human Rights is calling for papers to be published in their 14th Issue. They are inviting contributions to the debate, and analysis of the main obstacles toward the implementation of the CRPD, as well as its relation to other human rights standards. Articles analyzing issues related to accessibility and mobility, education, work, legal capacity and life in the community are of special interest. They also welcome articles that discuss the rights of persons with disabilities in the context of natural disasters and armed conflicts. More information: http://conectas.org/index.php/Noticias/view?n=817. Travelling together on the main road to development World Vision UK has launched a new publication designed to support the inclusion of disabled children and adults in mainstream development programmes. The book, “Travelling Together – how to include disabled people on the main road of development”, is a free guide for international development workers and includes a unique one-day training course which has been tried and tested across cultural contexts. More than 2,500 people in at least 28 countries have already received this training, and it has been considered as an important catalyst for change wherever it has been delivered. Additional content includes the story and best practices of how World Vision is including persons with disabilities in its work, and a compilation of the best resources available on disability inclusion. Large print, Braille and audio versions are also available on request. To download the free publication: http://www.worldvision.org.uk/travellingtogether. CONTACT INFORMATION Secretariat for the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (SCRPD), Division for Social Policy and Development (DSPD), Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), United Nations. Mailing address: 2 UN Plaza, DC2-1306, New York, NY 10017, USA. Website: http://www.un.org/disabilities Email: [email protected] If you do not wish to receive future newsletters, please reply with "UNSUBSCRIBE" in the subject line. Notice: This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you are not the intended recipient, any dissemination, use, review, distribution, printing or copying of the information contained in this e-mail message and/or attachments to it are strictly prohibited. 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