FYI.

ENABLE DAILY BULLETIN FROM THE CONFERENCE

Sixth session of the Conference of States Parties to the
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (COSP6)
17-19 July 2013, UN Headquarters, New York

17 July, Opening of COSP6 and Round Table 1

TODAY’S SUMMARY: Thursday, 17 July

The sixth session of the Conference of States Parties was opened by Ms. Daniela Bas, representing UN Secretary General, who proceeded with the election of the President and other officers of the Conference. Kenya was elected as President, and Bulgaria, Bangladesh, El Salvador and Israel as Vice-Presidents, by acclamation.

The Permanent Representative of the Mission of Kenya to the UN, H.E. Amb. Mr. Macharia Kamau then took his place as Chair of the meeting. The provisional agenda was adopted. All NGO applications for accreditation were approved by consensus.

The Chair made an opening statement and noted that there remained a need to build further partnerships among Governments, NGOs, international organizations, and persons with disabilities. Other speakers at the opening included Ms. Daniela Bas, representing the United Nations Secretary-General and Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Mr. Ivan Simonovic, Assistant Secretary General of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Representatives of civil society organizations were also seated at the podium and included Mr. Javid Abidi (Disabled People’s International) and Ms. Venus Ilagan (Rehabilitation International), as well as Mr. Yannis Vardakastanis (International Disability Alliance) who made a statement.

The Chairperson opened the General Debate (item 5a). Representatives from Barbados, Nigeria, Honduras, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Ghana, South Africa , Kenya , Germany, Argentina, Malta, Tunisia, Dominican Republic, Panama, Iran, Qatar, European Union, Thailand , Australia, Colombia, Norway, Chile, El Salvador, Austria, Spain, Sweden, Israel, Denmark, Mexico, India, Guatemala,. Bangladesh, Lithuania and New Zealand made statements. All delegations highlighted efforts made by their Governments to implement the Convention, including efforts to advance inclusive education and equal access to employment, as well as through the adoption or amendment of national action plans or state-level legislation to promote inclusive policies for persons with disabilities. A number of delegations made reference to the forthcoming General Assembly High-level Meeting on Disability and to disability inclusion in the post-2015 development agenda. The representative of the International Coordinating Committee for National Human Rights Institutions also made a statement.

The afternoon session opened with the continuation of the General Debate. Representatives from Denmark, India, Sweden, and Lithuania described their States’ efforts to align the CRPD with national legislation. Representatives from Israel and Guatemala spoke about their efforts to ensure that all public education was accessible and inclusive of all persons with disabilities. State efforts to ensure adequate standards of living for all citizens and to create enabling environments were discussed by the representatives from Spain, Bangladesh, and New Zealand.

Roundtable 1 began with a statement by the Chair of the Roundtable, H.E. Mr. A.K. Abdul Momen, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the UN, who stressed that of access to education, healthcare, and employment was needed to promote inclusive societies and economic empowerment.

Ms. Silvia Bersanelli (CONADIS, Argentina) used Argentina’s “Decade of Change” to illustrate how policies can be utilized as a transformational tool. Ms. Josephta Mukobe (Ministry of Devolution and Planning, Kenya) highlighted the linkage between poverty and disability and stated that the foundation of economic empowerment lies at the intersection of education, health, employment, and accessibility.

Ms. Barbara Murray (International Labour Organization, ILO) presented a framework for promoting enabling environments on the national level that began with a systematic review of the economic situation of persons with disabilities at the State level. She further noted that in recent years, the ILO has seen an increase in job training/supported training, which they stress as a positive factor in promoting economic empowerment of persons with disabilities.

Mr. Javed Abidi (Disabled People International) highlighted the problematic issue the lack of accurate data. He noted that the lack of data was problematic, since data are used to shape policy, which in turn leads to the development of social programmes. Mr. Abidi stressed that skill development, and accessibility, not just education, is key to economic empowerment. Finally, he highlighted the importance of self-employment in the scheme of economic empowerment.

Mr. Joshua Goldstein (ACCION) spoke about the role of microfinance in economic empowerment and poverty reduction strategies. Mr. Goldstein stressed the important role that social programmes play on economic independence.

The session ended with a Q & A segment.

Statements are posted on the CRPD PaperSmart Portal at: http://papersmart.unmeetings.org/en/treaty/crpd/COSP-CRPD/6th-session/.  

TOMORROW’S SCHEDULE: 18 JULY

10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Round Table 2: Disability-inclusive development in national, regional and international processes(item 5(c))

Co-chairs:

- H.E. Carlos Enrique García González, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of El Salvador
- H.E. Mr. Ron Prosor, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Israel

Panelists:

3 to 6 p.m.

Informal Panel: Community-based rehabilitation and habilitation for inclusive society (item 5(d)

-  Mr. Per-Anders Sunesson (Ministry of Health and Social Affairs, Sweden)
- Mr. Stefan Culik (Ministry Labour and Social Affairs, Czech Republic)
- Mr. Antonio Jose Ferreira (National Secretary for the Promotion of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Brazil)
- Ms. Diana Alarcon (UN DESA)
- Mr. Setareki Macanawai (Pacific Disability Forum)
- Ms. Anika Rahman Lipy (Centre for Disability in Development)

Co-chairs:

- H.E. Mr. Stephan Tafrov, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Bulgaria
- Mr. Nawaf Kabbara (International Disability Alliance)

Panelists:

- H.E. Ms. Violeta Menjivar (Vice Minister of Health, El Salvador)
- Mr. Taavi Lai (Ministry of Social Affairs, Estonia)
- Ms. Jean Judes (Beit Issie Shapiro Center, Israel)
- Mr. Chapal Khasnabis (WHO)
- Mr. James Lalu ( Global Network of CBR)
- Ms. Venus Ilagan ( Rehabilitation International)

Side-events

The following side-events will be held tomorrow, 17 July:

Mental Disabilities: A Mental Health Perspective(organizer: International Psychoanalytical Association; sponsor: NGO Committee on Mental Health, Weill Cornell Medical College)

The most accessible office building in the world – the UN CRPD as a showcase in the built environment(organizer: Disabled Peoples Organization Denmark and Ministry of Social Affairs and Integration)

Promoting disability-inclusive ICT policies for education(organizer: G3ict – Global Initiative for Inclusive ICTs; sponsors: UNESCO, Disabled People’s International (DPI), Microsoft)

Disability and indigenous peoples: an ongoing challenge(organizer: Government of Chile; sponsors: Permanent Mission of Chile to UN, National Service for Disability; Coordinator Unit for Indigenous Issues (UCAI), Ministry of Social Development; Office of the Presidential Commissioner to Easter Island, Ministry of Interior; National Corporation for Indigenous Development (CONADI)).

Voices of Youth with Disabilities from the Global South(organizer: Disabled People’s International; sponsors: SCRPD/DESA, UNICEF, MphasiS F1 Foundation)

Looking ahead: How can development assistance be more disability inclusive?(organizer: Disability Rights Fund (DRF); sponsors: Government of Australia, Norway, United States and Germany, and the Pacific Disability Forum)

The interface between ageing and disability: Post 2014 development agenda(organizer: Eng. Aja Eze foundation; sponsor: Government of El Salvador)

Strategies for access to education for children and young people with disabilities: The case of China(organizer: Human Rights Watch)

Specific Strategies for the Inclusion of Universal Design and Accessibility in A Post-2015 Disability and Development Agenda(organizer: Global Alliance on Accessible Technologies and Environments (GAATES))

The Right to Decide = true empowerment and participation of people with intellectual disabilities (organizer: Inclusion International)

The Other Film Festival - International Disability Cinema(organizer: Australian Federation of Disability Organisations; sponsor: Arts Access Victoria)

Details of side-events (venue, timing) are posted at: http://www.un.org/disabilities/default.asp?id=1612.

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CONTACT INFORMATION

Secretariat for the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (SCRPD), Division for Social Policy and Development (DSPD), United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), S-2906, New York, NY 10017, USA.

Website: http://www.un.org/disabilities; Email: [log in to unmask]; Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/United-Nations-Enable/196545623691523; Twitter: http://twitter.com/UN_Enable.

Note and disclaimer: The Secretariat is grateful to the volunteers from the Institute on Disability and Public Policy at the American University for their kind assistance in note-taking and summarizing the proceedings of the Conference, some of which is included in this Bulletin. Please note that this Bulletin is not for use as an official document, but for general public information, only. Any errors or omissions are not intentional and corrections should be sent to the Secretariat at [log in to unmask].