16 April 1996

Press Release
HR/4295

16 April 1996

Press Release
HR/CN/737

A report issued by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon paints a disturbing picture of sexual violence used against civilians in armed conflicts and their aftermath.

Following a recent mission to Bolivia and Paraguay, the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues released two reports today expressing grave concern over forced labour suffered by indigenous peoples in the Chaco regions of those two countries.

Countries bound by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities will meet in New York on 24 September to explore practical means of strengthening efforts to protect the rights of the 650 million persons with disabilities worldwide, as disability rights have gained new ground since the Convention’s 2006 entry into force.

United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro urged Member States this morning to without delay sign, ratify and implement the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities -- a landmark document that provided a solid norm for advancing the human rights of the 650 million people worldwide with disabilities -- as well as its Optional Protocol.

While giving people with disabilities the same legal rights and access to justice as the non-disabled was a formidable challenge, it was crucial to implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, speakers said today as the Conference of States Parties to the treaty continued its second session.

Representatives of United Nations agencies, programmes and offices shed light today on their respective strategies and action plans to implement the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, as the Conference of States Parties to the treaty concluded its second session.

The United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues will meet at Headquarters from 18 to 29 May to discuss ways to further implement the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which gained momentum last month, when Australia officially endorsed it after previously having voted against it.

The Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues this morning opened its eighth annual session aimed at finding ways to further implement the landmark 2007 United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People, which gained momentum last month when the Australian Government officially endorsed the accord after previously voting against it.