Key Messages ‘Loud and Clear’ during States Parties Conference on Disabilities Convention, President Says as Session Closes amid Calls to Spotlight Issues
The Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities closed its eighth session today, adopting three decisions that laid out the terms for its ninth session, and exploring ways to overcome pervasive discrimination in the provision of everything from health care and education to employment and disaster relief.
“I believe we have achieved significant progress over a relatively short history of the Conference of States Parties,” said President Oh Joon (Republic of Korea) in closing remarks. A record 98 speakers had spoken of their strong international commitment to advancing the rights of persons with disabilities. A few key messages had come through loud and clear, he said, noting that incorporating disability perspectives into the post-2015 agenda was an imperative.
In such work, he said, the United Nations should lead by example. Over the three days, delegates had underlined the need to improve the accessibility of facilities and services in order to create a non-discriminatory environment. States could consider a General Assembly resolution requesting a comprehensive report from the Secretary-General on the issue. With the Conference bringing together more than 1,000 participants, it was logical that it deserved more resources and support.
By its three decisions, the Conference, respectively, decided that its ninth session would be held in New York from 14 to 16 June 2016, reiterated its recommendation for the Secretary-General to support six meetings over three days at future sessions and requested him to transmit the report of the eighth session to all States parties and observers.
The day also featured a morning panel on “Addressing the vulnerability and exclusion of persons with disabilities: situations of women and girls, children’s right to education, disasters and humanitarian crises”. Persons with disabilities deserved to enjoy the same rights as everyone, speakers said, which could only happen if the institutional framework was “sound and solid”. That was especially true for disabled women, who faced “double discrimination”, disabled children, who were more likely to drop out of school than any other vulnerable group, and for disabled people who, because they had been excluded from disaster planning, were much less likely to survive a humanitarian crisis.
In the afternoon, an interactive dialogue with the heads of United Nations entities examined ways to mainstream disability perspectives into all aspects of the Organization’s work. Six panellists described ongoing efforts to better reflect the rights of persons with disabilities in key programmes and strategies. A second interactive dialogue with three special mandate holders highlighted joint work with the Geneva-based Human Rights Council to harmonize the promotion and protection of rights. In that context, the Chair of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities stressed: “We are not an island, but an integrated body for the promotion and protection of human rights.”
Also today, the Conference wrapped up its debate on the theme “Mainstreaming disability in the reduction of poverty and inequality”, with delegates outlining ways their Governments were domesticating the Convention, work which Vanuatu’s delegate said was being carried out at national, local and community levels especially in the areas education, mental health and infrastructure. Twelve per cent of the island’s 260,000 people had disabilities, according to data collected in 2009, which was then used by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to help the Government allocate resources and serve remote communities.
Finland’s representative said her country was in its final stages of ratifying the Convention and aimed to deposit the instrument by year-end. While Antigua and Barbuda was also “ready to ratify”, said that country’s speaker, the new Government was not waiting for that to happen in order to give meaning to disabled peoples’ rights. It had opened opportunities to work in public service, with the most senior official in the diplomatic corps a person with disabilities.
Representatives of non-governmental organizations reiterated the call for persons with disabilities to be explicitly mentioned in the new global development agenda. “It is important to be visible, and therefore, the data must be disaggregated,” said the representative of the World Blind Union, appealing to States to ratify the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled, which would improve access to education.
“Without statistics and data, we have no way to understand how the Convention is progressing,” added the representative of the European Disability Forum, a point also stressed by the speaker from the Arab Organization of Disabled People, who said the Convention must meet the needs of refugees with disabilities.
Also speaking in the debate were the representatives of Bolivia and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
Panel
A panel on “Addressing the vulnerability and exclusion of persons with disabilities: situations of women and girls, children’s right to education, disasters and humanitarian crises” included presentations by Rachel Kachaje, Disabled Peoples International; Rangita de Silva de Alwis, Deputy Dean, University of Pennsylvania Law School; Diane Kingston, Expert, Committee for the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, United Kingdom; Walton Alfonso Webson (Antigua and Barbuda); and Mary Crock, University of Sydney Faculty of Law.
Opening the panel, Conference Vice-President SEBASTIANO CARDI (Italy) said persons with disabilities could enjoy their rights only when the institutional framework was “sound and solid”. The panel would focus on women, as sex and disability, when combined in one person, reinforced prejudice. The second focus was on the 93 million to 150 million disabled children who were more likely to drop out of school than any other vulnerable group. Poverty, malnutrition, illiteracy and a lack of access to sanitation and clean water exacerbated their situation. A third focus would be on the need to include persons with disabilities in each stage of disaster risk planning. Many institutions failed to do that, leading to sharp inequities.
Mr. WEBSON said 12.5 per cent of the Caribbean population — more than 60 million people — were disabled and among the poorest. Women with disabilities were among the most exploited and abused. His recent visit with a young mother who had four children with disability helped him understand the impact of their situation. Risk was not only associated with natural disaster. “The disaster is the day-to-day life that they face,” he said. During the Ebola crisis, he wondered how blind people or those with balance problems cared for themselves at a time when guidelines recommended that people not touch one another, for fear of transmitting the disease. Getting them into the risk picture was vital in disaster-risk planning. In scrambling for higher ground, disabled persons had to be found and transported, which could only be done through better data collection.
Ms. KACHAJE said the plight of women and girls with disabilities was not just a sum of the barriers they faced. Rather, it was a combination of their disability and the generally inferior status of women. A solution must be found to the issue of exclusion. As a woman with a disability, she realized the importance of disaggregated data in influencing policy. Education was the most important aspect to solving the issue of exclusion. “It is a master key for a girl child and woman with disability,” as without education, they would remain disempowered. “Do we have a voice for her when we meet to discuss global issues?”, she asked. She suggested a twin track to empower the girl child and woman with disability by ensuring education, health care and social activities. To address exclusion, she recommended mainstreaming disability in all line ministries.
Ms. DE SILVA DE ALWIS said the 2015 Incheon Declaration called for a target that embraced inclusive education. However, she stressed, “no target should be considered met unless met by all”, which forced the commitment to change education policies. Examining how the right to education was being defined, she said that, in South Africa, in a case challenging education policies, the High Court had defined education not just in terms of science, math and language, but in “civic participation” terms. Advancing social integration was integral to education. Citizenship rights advanced by inclusive education were a value that must be embraced by all. The Constitutional Court of Colombia in 2010 defined education rights for children with disabilities in way that linked with the right to health. In Spain, the Supreme Court stated that education that was inclusive and met learners’ diverse needs was enriching. It was important to see children with disabilities as leaders in the classroom.
Mr. KINGSTON said “we are still talking about persons with disability as weak, fragile and dependent”. Discussing them as a vulnerable group predated the Convention and did not demonstrate the necessary paradigm shift. The development discourse was confused between situations and people. Every person was vulnerable in an earthquake, including persons with disabilities. If disaster risk reduction and response mechanisms were in place, disabled persons were no more vulnerable than those without disabilities. Women with intellectual disabilities were vulnerable as they were often deprived legal rights. But, if the Convention’s article 12 was upheld, they were treated equally. In an emergency, she urged talking about reasonable accommodations to be made in planning for disaster risk response. With women and girls with disabilities, it was important to discuss appropriate safeguards for all situations so that rights were upheld.
Ms. CROCK discussed a six-country study of refugees and displaced persons living in urban and camp settings. Natural disasters were not equal in their impact. In the 2011 Japan tsunami, for example, persons with disabilities were unable to escape the water and significantly more likely to die. Persons with disabilities were more likely to be left behind in evacuation and lack medical services. Cultural attitudes to disability caused discrimination in the allocation of scarce resources. The Convention was the first of the 10 human rights instruments to mention natural disasters. The others had allowed States to suspend their obligations. What made people disabled was not disability, but our inability to make accommodations for their impairment. Agencies’ poor identification methods meant that data was insufficient and not shared. There was also systemic failure to involve persons with disabilities in the design and delivery of aid.
In the ensuing dialogue, delegates agreed that the language around disability must be changed and the concept of vulnerability refined to meet the human rights approach outlined in the Convention. It was important to get the language right. “We need to understand that it’s not a privilege, it’s a right,” said Pakistan’s representative. Likewise, Zimbabwe’s delegate said the word “disability” suggested inability. She urged refining the concept of ability and offering initiatives that addressed the causes of discrimination.
On that issue, Japan’s delegate shared the story of an autistic boy who had requested bread from an organization after the 2011 tsunami. His request was denied and he was criticized for being “selfish and unreasonable”. Those offering help did not understand the idea of “reasonable accommodation”. The representative of the Inter-Agency Support Group on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities said persons with disabilities must be included as agents and beneficiaries of relief efforts. Speakers noted their endorsement of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 in that context.
Others supported the call to integrate disability in all line ministries. “None of us are beginning to consolidate and put resources toward the issue of disability,” said South Africa’s delegate, stressing that psycho-social programmes should also be built into emergency responses.
Still, others outlined efforts to promote global gender equality, advocating a comprehensive approach to empowering women with disabilities that afforded them access to health, education, economic opportunity and legal services. That was especially needed in tertiary education, said Namibia’s delegate, asking how to include disabled students in university maths and sciences programmes without discrimination.
Also speaking were representatives of South Africa, Mexico, Australia, Belgium Sierra Leone, Liberia, India and Iran.
Interactive Dialogue I
Making presentations ahead of the interactive dialogue with United Nations entities were: Lenni Montiel, Assistant Secretary-General, Department of Economic and Social Affairs; Maarit Kohonen Sheriff, Deputy Head of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR); Gisela Nauk of the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), which is the current rotating chair of the United Nations Inter-Agency Support Group on the Disabilities Convention; Margareta Wahlström, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction; Charles Chauvel, Team Leader for Inclusive Political Processes, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); and Kristin Hetle, Director of the Strategic Partnership Division of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women).
Mr. MONTIEL said the work of the United Nations system with and for persons with disabilities was no small issue, as 15 per cent of the world’s population has disabilities. The persistence and resurgence of conflict was adding to that number. It was essential, as the post-2015 development agenda was devised, that no one was left behind. For the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, that meant focusing on vulnerable groups and situations, such as indigenous peoples with children with disabilities, and building the capacity of stakeholders. The draft goals included references to persons with disabilities.
In 2015, the United Nations system ensured that the new agenda’s attention with regard to disaster risk reduction considered persons with disabilities. Looking ahead, the Department was working with partners to heighten awareness in other emergency situations. It was also exploring the use of new data sources to assist in monitoring disability issues in the sustainable development goals and had undertaken efforts to strengthen the capacity of Governments in that regard.
Ms. KOHONEN SHERIFF said her Office had undertaken a number of activities, including producing a report on the right of persons with disabilities to live independently and be included in the community; it organized a panel discussion on that topic at the Human Rights Council’s twenty-eighth session. Facing the challenge of ensuring that persons with disabilities were included in global indicators required disaggregated data to guarantee their inclusion.
The Convention must be the guiding instrument in the future global, regional and national processes, she said. Poverty reduction and combating inequalities represented important priorities in the United Nations agenda and constituted pillars of an equal and inclusive society. Implementation of the new goals would open new opportunities for inclusion, and underpinned by the Convention, provide a a crucial platform for reducing inequalities that exposed women and girls with disabilities to higher risks of violence and exclusion.
Ms. NAUK noted that the United Nations system had carried out several activities. Leading up to the post-2015 era, it was essential to include persons with disabilities. Current drafts offered significant progress in various goals and targets. Conflict situations required an urgent response from the international community, particularly with regard to persons with disabilities. As such, the United Nations Inter-Agency Support Group on the Disabilities Convention worked with partners to produce guidance on related areas. Turning to the issue of climate change, the Support Group worked with the United Nations Partnership to Promote the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which had projects being implemented in 21 countries.
Reviewing efforts by United Nations agencies, she said surveys developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) had been conducted in a number of countries. UN-Women included women and girls with disabilities in their programme planning and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) produced a handbook on slum upgrading and social housing, which addressed related concerns.
Ms. WAHLSTRÖM said the Sendai Framework, adopted in March, provided for a major shift in the way countries looked at disasters, from targeting the event to focusing on risk reduction. The Framework introduced several important aspects in consultations and negotiations, particularly the need to amplify attention to persons with disabilities. Highlighting several salient points, she said an inclusive approach had been adopted with respect to the design and implementation of relevant plans. It also called on persons with disabilities to contribute to building back better. The Framework also called for action on disaggregated data and supported “risk-informed” decision-making.
The Framework also called for strengthening investments through the design and construction of structures that were usable by all people, without the need to specialize or adapt them. Regarding implementation, the steps to achieve disaster risk reduction planning must include perspectives of persons with disabilities. That process would only work if it became a reality at the community level.
Mr. CHAUVEL said human rights played a critical role in the work of UNDP. With a new strategic plan, the Programme was focused on inclusion in a range of areas. Persons with disabilities faced discrimination and vulnerability. As such, their rights were mainstreamed by the Programme’s policies and programming. In January, it had been the Organization’s first agency to have set standards on including social development considerations in all its programming, and that included the rights of persons with disabilities.
Citing a number of examples of projects ongoing in Albania, Cambodia and other countries, he said UNDP’s activities focused on areas such as strengthening accountability and recognizing of the rights of persons with disabilities. In closing, he said 2015 was an important year for people, the planet, justice and development, as reflected in the new goals.
Ms. HETLE said the interlinkages between gender inequality and persons with disabilities had long been overlooked. Women were more likely to experience disabilities than men and disabled women were more than likely to be abused than non-disabled women. Those cross-cutting issues needed to be addressed. It was essential to include gender issues in discussions on disabilities and vice versa.
She noted that concerns of persons with disabilities had been included in various instruments. Describing UN-Women’s activities, she said UN-Women had given special consideration to women and girls with disabilities in projects and programmes, including a project in Tajikistan that focused on mainstreaming those issues. Moving forward, she said it was crucial to ensure the women and girls with disabilities had a voice at all levels, particularly in policy-making and to develop a global partnership and build alliances with women facing similar challenges.
In the ensuing dialogue, delegates raised a number of concerns, with the speaker from the Dominican Republic stressing the urgent need for action, stressing that persons with disabilities were awaiting results. South Africa’s delegate asked why, after eight years of meetings, it was so difficult for the issue of persons with disabilities to be integrated into the United Nations system and to become a more integral part of the new development goals. Mexico’s representative asked for additional examples of cooperation with regard to the work of the United Nations bodies.
Panellists then responded to various questions. Ms. KOHONEN SHERIFF drew attention to several interagency projects, including involving accessibility during elections and promoting the implementation of the Disabilities Convention. Turning to the new development agenda, she said “the goals are only as good as their monitoring will be”.
Ms. NAUK noted that the Inter-Agency Support Group was working on, among other projects, national reporting and statistical mechanisms, with a view to harmonizing those processes. Mr. CHAUVEL said his Office was administering 25 programmes in 25 countries. On inclusion, he said that goal 16 focused on governance, noting that an audit was under way to determine the accessibility of voter registration in various countries.
Mr. MONTIEL said that during his work in Turkmenistan, the Government had incorporated the Disabilities Convention into its plans for the first time. He described all efforts as “work in progress”, noting gains made within the United Nations system, including the 2014 opening the Accessibility Centre at Headquarters. Recognizing that much work lay ahead, he said “we will take that message from you. We still need to do more.”
Interactive Dialogue II
The Conference also held an interactive dialogue with Maria Soledad Cisternas Reyes, Chair of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; Lenin Moreno Garcés, the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Disability and Accessibility; and Catalina Devandas Aguilar, Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities.
Ms. CISTERNAS said that “we are not an inland, but an integrated body”, stressing that the Committee served as a very energetic model interacting with other bodies. She highlighted three pillars of her work: harnessing partnership; helping to strengthen treaty bodies; and capacity-building. The issue of disability was a “multidimensional space” requiring partnerships. The Committee cooperated with various United Nations mechanisms, including the Special Rapporteur and Special Envoy. It also partnered with other United Nations agencies, national and regional monitoring mechanisms. It increased its productivity and was working on 33 concluding observations. It participated in various activities and contributed to drafting documents, including a comment on sexual and reproductive rights. She urged the convening of a panel discussion on disability and education in the next session.
Mr. GARCÉS said the appointment of a Special Envoy reflected the growing effort of the United Nations. Persons with disabilities were most vulnerable; in many places, they did not have to drinking water and sanitation, and were outside the educational system. That invisibility created a vicious cycle. The Secretary-General had pointed out that the Millennium Development Goals adopted in 2000 represented concerted efforts to tackle poverty, but disability was not included in targets and indicators. It was unforgiveable to reach the same conclusion 15 years later. Science and technology should be at the service of persons with disabilities, and policies and programmes should end their exclusion and marginalization. He called for the universal ratification of the Convention, saying that “it will be wonderful for the Conference to have 193 signatory States”. He stressed the need for a comprehensive new world report on disability.
Ms. AGUILAR, noting that she was the first United Nations Special Rapporteur on Disability, said that, since her appointment six months ago, she had met various stakeholders, including national delegations. Her action focused on active citizenry and poverty reduction. In the coming years, the international community must ensure that persons with disabilities benefitted from the post-2015 development agenda. What had been achieved so far was great, but there was a need for indicators that measured the implementation of inclusion of disabled persons and disaggregated data on them. International human rights standards must be translated into indicators. She said she stood ready to provide necessary technical assistance to States, and stressed that it was time to adopt a system-wide plan of action on disability. As Rapporteur, she aimed to ensure that all persons with disabilities were part of the human diversity.
During the ensuing discussion, the representative of Mexico asked the Special Rapporteur about the main challenges in the first six months of her assignment.
The representative of New Future Foundation, a non-governmental organization, noted how the United Nations itself had incorporated contributions of persons with disabilities in its work and mechanisms over the last eight years.
The representative of Chile asked how the Convention could be implemented at local and municipal levels.
The representative of the University of California, Berkley asked how data collection could be better organized.
The representative of the United Kingdom asked the Special Rapporteur to elaborate on her idea of a system-wide action plan on disability.
Ms. CISTERNAS said that incorporating civil society was already a reality, and internationally agreed parameters and guidelines were implementable at the state, federal and municipal levels. Next March, the international community would be working on indicators for the post-2015 development agenda, and it was important that data collection was incorporated.
Mr. GARCÉS said that the agreements in 2006 and 2007 were not just words on paper, but had been converted into laws to enable good behaviours, social inclusion and public policies. There was a need to systematize data collection and standardize statistics. In his country, Ecuador, some data was not properly tabulated, and he had to start all over again.
Ms. AGUILAR said her main challenge stemmed from a broad mandate, which generated broad expectations with limited human and financial resources. Other challenges were lack of coordination and lack of technical capacity. The system-wide plan of action on gender brought about significant progress, and it was inspiring. With the support of all, a similar mechanism could be explored concerning disabilities.
A Secretariat representative favoured the idea of a system-wide plan of action on disability. It already had experience with the one on gender, and was now working on another for indigenous people.
The Conference tentatively decided that the next session would take place from 14 to 16 June 2016. It reiterated its request for the Secretary-General’s support for convening six meetings over three full days in future sessions, and asked him to transmit the Conference’s report to all States parties and observers.
The President of the Conference made concluding remarks, as did the representatives of Italy and Brazil, who served as Vice-Presidents.
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* The 3rd & 4th Meetings were not covered.