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From: "Dspd Enable" <[log in to unmask]>
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Sent: Saturday, December 19, 2009 11:52 AM
Subject: United Nations Enable Newsletter, December 2009
ENABLE NEWSLETTER
December 2009
The Enable Newsletter is prepared by the United Nations Secretariat for the
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) with input
from UN offices, agencies, funds and programmes. It can also be read
on-line at: http://www.un.org/disabilities.
In this issue:
- End of year message from SCRPD
- Update on the Convention
- Commemorating the International Day of Persons with Disabilities 2009
- Highlights from the UN system
- Upcoming events
- Other news
_______________________________________________________________
End of year message from the Secretariat for the Convention on the Rights
of Persons with Disabilities
(Attached or view on line at: http://www.un.org/disabilities)
_______________________________________________________________
UPDATE ON THE CONVENTION
- 143 signatories to the Convention
- 87 signatories to the Optional Protocol
- 76 ratifications of the Convention
- 48 ratifications of the Optional Protocol
Recent news:
Bolivia and Tanzania ratified the CRPD and the Optional Protocol. Last
month, on 26 November, The European Union Council of Ministers approved a
decision for the EU to accede to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons
with Disabilities. The Convention was signed by the EU in March 2007 and is
the first UN human rights convention that allows regional organizations to
accede.
_____________________________________________________________
Commemorating the International Day of Persons with Disabilities 2009
a. UN Headquarters
The Secretary-General opened the International Day of Persons with
Disabilities (IDPD) and announced the newest United Nations Messenger of
Peace, Mr. Stevie Wonder, an international celebrity and blind person who
will advocate for the rights of persons with disabilities. The World Bank
was connected via a live video conference and the statement from the
President of the World Bank, Mr. Robert B. Zoellick, was read. The Day’s
event continued with a panel discussion on the theme of the Day “Making the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) disability-inclusive: Empowerment of
persons with disabilities and their communities around the world”. During
the afternoon, presentations by the Disability Commissioner of the Office
of the Mayor of the City of New York and a representative of the New York
State Bar Association were followed by a disability film festival in which
four disability-related films were screened. More information:
http://www.un.org/disabilities/default.asp?id=1484.
b. World Bank’s Headquarters
A series of events were held at the World Bank throughout the day that
included a panel presentation to discuss how persons with disabilities have
been included in the work of the Bank, the lessons learned and the impact
on achieving the MDGs. Also included in the panel was a guest speaker, Ms.
Kathleen Martinez, head of the Office of Disability Employment Policy of
the United States Department of Labor. The event included a performance by
Raul Midón, a celebrated singer and musician and the launching of a
“Transit Access Training Toolkit”. More information:
http://go.worldbank.org/EPQBB6E7L0.
c. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
The High Commissioner for Human Rights made a special presentation at the
event at UN Headquarters. In her remarks (
http://www.un.org/disabilities/documents/events/idpd09_unhchr.pdf), the
High Commissioner highlighted the vital relation between human rights and
the MDGs and stressed the usefulness of adopting a human rights-based
approach for the effective achievement of these goals. For reference, see
OHCHR publication “Claiming the MDGs: a human rights approach" at:
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/PublicationsResources/Pages/SpecialIssues.aspx
d. World Health Organization
The World Health Organization’s Disability and Rehabilitation (DAR) Team
marked the Day by issuing a fact sheet on disability and the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs), as well as a photo story on the internet and
intranet web sites. The Team also contributed to a special issue of “The
Lancet”, the first ever disability-themed issue in its 186-year history.
The issue included articles on the CRPD, the MDGs, community-based
rehabilitation, disability in emergencies and assistive technologies in the
developing world. This historic event for the international medical journal
will pave the way for the World Report on Disability and Rehabilitation,
forthcoming in 2010. Alana Officer and Tom Shakespeare of DAR, Shekhar
Saxena of the WHO Mental Health Evidence and Research Team, and Professor
Nora Groce of University College London were on the editorial committee of
the special issue. More information: The Lancet, Vol. 374, No. 9704, Nov
28, 2009 at
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/issue/current?tab=past#.
e. Commemorations around the world
For information on how IDPD 2009 was commemorated in many areas around the
world, please visit: http://www.un.org/disabilities/default.asp?id=1484.
_______________________________________________________________
HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE UN SYSTEM
SCRPD/DESA
General Assembly adopts resolutions on disability
The General Assembly plenary adopted the draft resolutions “Realizing the
Millennium Development Goals for Persons with Disabilities” (A/C.3/64/L.5)
and “Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Optional
Protocol thereto” (A/C.3/64/L.24) during its morning session on 18
December. More information: http://www.un.org/disabilities.
New report on mainstreaming disability in development
A Report of the Secretary-General entitled, "Mainstreaming disability in
the development agenda" will be presented before the 48th session of the
Commission for Social Development that will meet from 3-12 February 2010.
The advance unedited text of the report will be posted on the SCRPD website
shortly. The Commission will discuss issues under the priority theme
"Social Integration". The Provisional Agenda and documentation for the
session is available at: Visit http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/csd/2010.html.
Fourth meeting of the Inter-Agency Support Group
The Inter-Agency Support Group (IASG) for the CRPD met at UNHCHR
Headquarters in Geneva on 18-19 November. The meeting discussed good
practices, challenges and opportunities to support the implementation of
the Convention, as well as shared experiences on mainstreaming disability
issues in displacement. The group discussed their work to develop guiding
principles to include disability in the work of UN country teams and
finalized their Strategy document and Plan of Action. Civil society
organizations also participated in the meeting. More information at:
http://www.un.org/disabilities/default.asp?id=448.
OHCHR – Preparing a study for the Human Rights Council
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is preparing a
study for the Human Rights Council on the structure and role of national
implementation and monitoring mechanisms in the Convention on the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities. The study is being prepared for the 13th session
of the Council that will take place in Geneva in March 2010. An unedited
draft will be posted on the OHCHR website shortly. More information:
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/disability/.
OHCHR - Torture and persons with disabilities
At their annual joint meeting, on 17 November, the Committee against
Torture and the Sub-Committee on the Prevention of Torture held a
discussion on persons with disabilities and torture. Experts discussed how
the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities helps to clarify
how the torture legal framework applies to persons with disabilities, and
to identify acts or omissions to which persons with disabilities are
exposed that might amount to torture. The recent report of Ms. Manfred
Nowak was referred to as a basis for discussion. More information:
http://www.unhchr.ch/huricane/huricane.nsf/0/1A234DEC5846DDE1C12575DF004DD29A?opendocument
.
UNDP - New training tool for HR to support CRPD
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in support of the CRPD is
raising awareness of its staff on issues related to persons with
disabilities via a new online training tool to facilitate their integration
into the workforce. The on-line training course by UNDP Office of Human
Resources is called “Persons with DisAbilities: Ability. CapAbility.
EmployAbility”. The training tool is the premier initiative of this type
for the UN common system, not only in its content, but also in its ability
to accommodate individuals with functional limitations. The training is
unique in that it has built-in accessibility features for people with
visual, hearing, motor and cognitive impairments. UNDP has uploaded a
sample demo of the on-line training onto their public internet site and is
making the full version of the training available in a generic or custom
format. More information: http://www.undp.org/disability-course-demo/.
WHO - Personal Mobility: facilitating access to quality assistive
technologies
The World Health Organization (WHO), in line with World Health Assembly
Resolution WHA58.23 and their action plan for 2006-2011, promotes the
development, production, distribution and servicing of assistive
technologies. On 28-29 October, WHO organized a stakeholders meeting on
access to mobility devices at its Headquarters in support of implementing
the CRPD. The meeting was attended by experts from WHO Collaborating
Centres, partners and other key organizations working to enhance the
mobility of people with disabilities. Participants agreed to work towards a
global action plan and form an alliance to support Member States in
implementing the Convention Articles 20 and 26 as they relate to mobility
devices. Participants also agreed to develop a joint position paper
highlighting the importance of personal mobility, the role of mobility
devices and other assistive technologies, and requirements for the
implementation of the Articles. More information: please contact Ms. Alana
Officer ([log in to unmask]).
UNAIDS - New report calls for policy changes on HIV and disability
A new report by Health Canada’s International Affairs Directorate has
called for a greater focus on rights of people with disabilities in HIV
policy. The report makes recommendations for policy change and follows an
International Policy Dialogue held between UNAIDS, Health Canada and the
Public Health Agency of Canada in Ottawa in March 2009. For more details,
see
http://www.unaids.org/en/KnowledgeCentre/Resources/FeatureStories/archive/2009/20091111_Disability_Report.asp
. To access the report, go to
http://data.unaids.org/pub/Report/2009/20091111_hiv_and_disability_en.pdf
UNESCAP - Promotes accessibility through a successful city
The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
(UNESCAP) Takayama 2009 Congress on the Creation of an Inclusive and
Accessible Community in Asia and the Pacific was held from 24 to 26
November 2009 in Takayama, Gifu Prefecture, Japan. The meeting focused on
improving accessibility for persons with disabilities in the Asia-Pacific
region by using the success story of the city of Takayama as an example.
Over the three-day meeting, policy makers, tourism professionals, experts
on accessibility and persons with different types of disabilities from 15
countries in the region met to learn lessons from the successful
initiatives of the city. As a part of the meeting, approximately 200
participants made field visits and observed the local citizens’ familiarity
of the various needs of persons with disabilities, appropriate and
respectful attitudes towards them, as well as various accessible
facilities. At the end of the meeting, the “Takayama Declaration on
Development of Community for All” was adopted, laying out approximately 20
recommendations on regional networking, advocacy, policy development,
research and data collection, capacity building and resource mobilization
on improving accessibility. More information:
http://www.escaptakayama.com/index.html.
WIPO – Collaborates with other UN Agencies on visually impaired persons
A meeting hosted by WIPO on 7 December with a number of UN specialized
agencies in Geneva concluded with agreement on the need for closer
inter-agency collaboration in favour of visually impaired persons (VIPs).
During the meeting, WIPO Director General Francis Gurry outlined the
Organization’s VIP Initiative, which aims to facilitate and enhance access
to literary, artistic and scientific works for the blind, visually impaired
and other reading-disabled persons. He further stressed the importance of
common activities in this area. More information:
http://www.wipo.int/pressroom/en/articles/2009/article_0055.html.
World Bank – Workshop on innovation in accessible transportation
A one-day workshop entitled “Innovation in Accessible Transport for All”
will be held at World Bank Headquarters on 14 January 2010. The workshop,
sponsored by the International Transport Forum/OECD and the World Bank,
will focus on the role of innovation in promoting effective solutions to
meeting the mobility and transport needs of disabled and older people in
both developed and less developed economies. Topics for discussion include
areas under policy & governance, planning, design and technology.
Discussions will also focus on practical routes to the implementation of
innovative approaches and how to tackle barriers to progress, whether
political, fiscal or attitudinal. More information:
http://go.worldbank.org/D3T2FH54K0.
UNESCO - Follow up on the International Conference on Education
A Conference on Inclusion for Latin America was organised by UNESCO
Headquarters, International Bureau for Education (IBE), UNESCO Santiago and
the EFA Flagship on the Right to Education for Persons with Disabilities:
Towards Inclusion. This joint activity was held from 18 to 20 November in
Santiago, Chile to follow up on the 48th session of the International
Conference on Education (ICE) held in November 2008. Over 60 participants
from most Latin American and the Caribbean countries participated including
representatives of Governments, UN agencies and civil society, as well as
representatives of organizations for persons with disabilities. A DVD
entitled “A world for Inclusion” was screened with a view to raise
awareness and highlight the needs of children with disabilities who often
are neglected or referred to special institutions without being offered the
choice of inclusion. More information:
http://www.ibe.unesco.org/en/global-news-archive/single-news/news/inclusive-education-in-latin-america-identifying-and-analyzing-progress-and-pending-challenges/106.html
or http://www.inclusionflagship.net.
UNESCO - Policy Guidelines on Inclusion in Education
UNESCO published Policy Guidelines on Inclusion in Education in 2009 with
the aim to assist countries in strengthening the focus on inclusion in
their strategies and plans for education, to introduce the broadened
concept of inclusive education and to highlight the areas that need
particular attention to promote inclusive education and strengthen policy
development. The document provides a discussion of and rationale for
inclusive education and then considers how educational policy can be moved
forward (see more below).
UNESCO - Inclusion in Action Project
This project was started in December 2009 and it is based on the UNESCO
Policy Guidelines on Inclusion in Education, which considers in detail how
the ‘policy cycle’ for inclusive education can be supported. The Inclusive
Education in Action is based on a unique collaboration between a number of
international organisations working in the field of inclusive education:
UNESCO Headquarters, the EFA Flagship, UNESCO–IBE, the European Agency for
Development in Special Needs Education and GPDD, the Global Partnership for
Disability and Development. The project will draw upon existing knowledge
and expertise from these organisations and their well established
international networks of policy makers and practitioners. : More
information: http://www.unesco.org/education/inclusive.
UNMAS – Promoting action to benefit persons with disabilities
The United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) participated in the Second
Review Conference of the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Treaty in Cartagena,
Colombia (30 November to 4 December) where it coordinated United Nations
statements on assistance to landmine and ERW survivors and other persons
with disabilities. The UNMAS website http://ww.mineaction.org is now
accessible to persons with visual disabilities. More information:
[log in to unmask]
ILO - New videos advocating for persons with disabilities
Marlee Matlin, the youngest winner of an Academy Award for Best Actress and
an advocate for persons with disabilities, was the special guest headlining
a panel discussion on the impact of the global economic crisis on women and
men with disabilities. ILO Director-General Juan Somavia, Employment Sector
Executive Director José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, and other experts also
spoke on the issue and the importance of including people with disabilities
in the measures to tackle the crisis. More information:
http://www.youtube.com/ilotv#p/u/3/aX63rZPdn-Q and
http://www.ilo.org/global/About_the_ILO/Media_and_public_information/Broadcast_materials/B-rolls/lang--en/docName--WCMS_117404/index.htm
.
_____________________________________________________________
UPCOMING EVENTS
7 - 8 January 2010: Expert seminar on monitoring human rights
IDA, the International Disability Alliance will hold an expert seminar on
the use of UN human rights monitoring mechanisms. The seminar to be held
in Geneva, Switzerland, will focus on building the capacity of
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) of persons with disabilities. The key
goals of the seminar are an increased participation in reporting processes,
national and international monitoring efforts and the mainstreaming of the
rights of persons with disabilities in the work of human rights treaty
bodies. The seminar will also discuss the Special Procedures, the UPR
process and the monitoring and implementation of the CRPD. The programme
of speakers will include representatives of UN agencies, States parties to
the CRPD and treaty body committees, as well as independent experts from
the human rights and NGO communities. More information:
http://www.internationaldisabilityalliance.org/.
14 January: Workshop on innovation in accessible transportation
(See above: World Bank)
2 - 5 February: Web accessibility workshop
In a joint effort to promote accessibility, the World Intellectual Property
Organization (WIPO) and the International Telecommunications Union (ITU)
are organizing an accessibility workshop at WIPO Headquarters, in Geneva
for staff of the UN system and other international organizations. The
objective of this workshop is to promote awareness on accessibility and
encourage webmasters within the UN system and other international
organizations to implement accessibility in their daily work. More
information: http://www.wipo.int/meetings/en/2010/wipo_itu_wai/
3 - 12 February: 48th session of the Commission for Social Development
The Commission will meet at UNHQ in New York to discuss issues under the
priority theme "Social Integration". The Provisional Agenda and
documentation for the session is available at: Visit
http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/csd/2010.html.
3 - 5 March: Second Continental Congress on CBR
The Pan-American Health Organization and the World Health Organization in
coordination with the CBR (community-based rehabilitation) Network of the
Americas and the Caribbean will organize this event on CBR in Oaxaca,
Mexico. The Congress will be sponsored by the Government of Mexico. More
information: http://www.riadis.net/a-world-for-all/
28 - 30 March: Fifth South Asian CBR Network Conference
The South Asian CBR Network will organize its fifth conference from 28-30
March in Kabul, Afghanistan. The conference provides an active forum to
discuss global trends and local applications of policies, legislation,
programmes and technology, as well a focus on grassroots-level issues. More
information: http://www.cbrnetwork.af or contact: [log in to unmask]
or [log in to unmask]
12 - 13 April: 26th Annual Pacific Rim International Conference
The Conference will explore new directions through scholarship, best
practice, and international networking, as well as include an International
Forum on the Rights of People with Disabilities, an international film
festival and more. More information: http://www.pacrim.hawaii.edu.
21 - 22 April: Human Rights and Persons with Intellectual Disabilities
Conference
The 3Rs CURA (Community University Research Alliance) is organizing a
Conference at Niagara Falls, Canada, to explore the challenges that
families, agencies, and advocates face in increasing the awareness of the
abuse faced by persons with intellectual disabilities. The Conference is
geared to educators, health professionals, justice officials, policy
analysts, researchers, advocates, and self-advocates in a common purpose:
to expand the awareness of rights education, and implementation for persons
with intellectual disabilities. More information:
http://www.3rshumanrights.com
7 - 9 September: Third meeting of the Conference of States Parties to the
CRPD
(More details forthcoming) IS THIS DATE CONFIRMED
3 - 14 October: Commonwealth Games – Para Sports
The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) has officially released the
Para-Sports Medal Events Programme for the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games
following consultation with the International Paralympic Committee. The
Games will take place from 3-14 October 2010 in Delhi, India, and will
showcase world-class sporting opportunities for elite athletes with a
disability. More information:
http://www.paralympic.org/Media_Centre/News/General_News/2008_11_26_a.html.
30 October - 3 November: International Conference for Universal Design
The International Association for Universal Design will organize this
conference in Hamamatsu City, Japan. The theme of the third conference will
be “For the People and the Earth of Tomorrow - Towards a Sustainable
Co-existence”. The conference organizers are inviting educators, product
planning and developers, administrators, consultants and civic activists
and students to submit research papers, as well as reports and editorial
articles. More information: http://www.ud2010.net/index.en.html.
__________________________________________________________________
OTHER NEWS
(The information below from the non-governmental disability community is
provided 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 corporation, organization, or individual. The
United Nations bears no responsibility for the accuracy, legality or
content of their statements and opinions.)
New guidelines on rights-based community-based rehabilitation (CBR)
Contact CBR Network (South Asia) for your free copy of “Rights-based CBR
Guidelines” that are inspired by grassroots realities. It provides
guidelines in planning and management of CBR projects. CBR is an effective
vehicle to translate CRPD commitments into action at grassroots-level in
developing countries. More information: http://www.cbrnetworksouthasia.org
or email: [log in to unmask]
Campaign celebrating human diversity launched
Brazilian NGO, MetaSocial Institute launched its campaign "It is Normal to
be Different" at UN Headquarters on 3 December, the International Day of
Persons with Disabilities. The campaign aims to engage citizens worldwide
on a fight against all forms of discrimination while, at the same time,
promoting the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The
campaign consists of an interactive website to promote inclusion by raising
awareness about persons with disabilities. In a light-hearted and fun
approach, it invites the web user to use an electronic tool to transform
her/his photograph to look like a person with Down syndrome, an thus fight
prejudice and celebrate human diversity. More information:
http://www.itsnormaltobedifferent.com/.
Library goes digital for visually impaired
China Digital Library for Visual Impairment (CDLVI) is an online library,
mainly accessible via the Internet. Created by the National Library of
China, China Disabled Persons' Federation and China Braille Publishing
House, the library enables the visually impaired to listen to e-books,
music and online lectures. More information:
http://life.globaltimes.cn/life/2009-12/489837.html.
Monitoring report on the human rights of persons with disabilities
The Disability Rights Promotion International (D.R.P.I.) India report
presents findings of disability rights monitoring focusing on the
individual experiences of persons with disabilities, as well as
disability-related laws, policies and programs. The D.R.P.I. India project
was led by Swadhikaar Center for Disabilities Information, Research and
Resource Development, as well as other partners. People with disabilities
participated fully in all aspects of the project as coordinators, monitors,
data analysts and authors of this final report. Download the report at:
http://www.yorku.ca/drpi/India.html.
A magazine for women with disabilities
Launched last year, Chloe Magazine is a full scale women's magazine for
disabled women, brought to you by disabled women. The coverage includes
women in the world of work to women who are homemakers and raise families.
The magazine also features travel, relationships, entertainment, health and
lifestyles of women with disabilities around the world. More information:
http://www.chloemagazine.com.
FMR to publish issue on Disability and Displacement in June 2010
Refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) with disabilities are some
of the most neglected and socially excluded groups within any population.
With a major feature section on disability and displacement, Forced
Migration Refugees (FMR) issue 35 aims to challenge and help empower the
international community to respond to the needs and rights of disabled
refugees and IDPs. The editors would like to reflect the experiences and
knowledge of communities and individuals directly affected by disability
and are inviting contributions and suggestions. More information:
http://www.fmreview.org/disability/.
Collecting a million signatures for the CRPD in Pakistan
The Children's Museum for Peace and Human Rights (CMPHR) and the Network of
Organizations Working for People with Disabilities, Pakistan, (NOWPDP) and
the organisations they represent have collected the signatures of over 1
million people, calling for the ratification of the UN Convention for the
Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Aside from being the largest number of
signatures collected for a petition in the history of Pakistan, this is a
clear sign that the people of Pakistan believe in building an inclusive
society for all. More information: http://www.nowpdp.org.
________________________________________________________________
CONTACT INFORMATION
The Enable Newsletter a prepared by the Secretariat for the Convention on
the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, of the Division for Social Policy
and Development, within the Department of Economic and Social Affairs
(DESA) at the United Nations Secretariat in New York.
The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional
Protocol are serviced by a joint Secretariat, consisting of staff of both
DESA in New York, and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
(OHCHR) in Geneva.
Mailing address: Secretariat for the Convention on the Rights of Persons
with Disabilities, 2 UN Plaza, DC2-1306, New York, NY 10017.
Website: http://www.un.org/disabilities
Email: [log in to unmask]
(See attached file: 2009 Holiday Newsletter.pdf)
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