 |
 |
Dear Nagase, thanks for this important info! In 2016 the CRPD Committee celebrated the 10th anniversary of the CRPD at the United Nations office in Geneva and we included a short memory oh Kikhia. Here are my notes from then: Speaking notes Theresia Degener @ CRPD+10 celebration on 1st September 2016, OHCHR, Palais Wilson, Geneva Switzerland Excellencies, High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, ambassadors, distinguished members of the Committee and the Secretariat, dear guests! The first milestone in this long journey to equality and freedom for disabled persons was the International Year of Disabled Persons 1981. It was this year that helped the formation of a disability rights movement around the world -The IYDP is now 35 years ago and I wish to remember the father behind this year, Mansur Rashid Kikhia who helped to realize the idea for an IYDP back in the 70s when he was a UN diplomat. Mansur Kikhia disappeared in 1993 and was later found murdered. It so happens that this year we also celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Convention on Enforced Disappearance! Mansur Rashid Kikhia was a Libyan human rights activist, lawyer, and politician. In the 1970's he served as Libyan Minister of Foreign Affairs and Libyan Ambassador to the United Nations. Mansur Kikhia served as Libya's representative to the United Nations until 1980, when he resigned in protest of human rights violations of the Qaddafi regime. During the 1980s and early 1990s, Mr. Kikhia advocated for human rights and multi-party democracy in the Middle East and North Africa. On December 10th, 1993 Mansur Rashid Kikhia disappeared from Cairo, Egypt while attending an Arab Organization for Human Rights meeting, of which he was one of the founders. After 19 years, in September 2012, Mansur Kikhia’s body was found in Tripoli, Libya. Although his fate is finally disclosed, his complex case is still shrouded in mystery. Investigations indicate that he was tortured and killed or left to die in prison either in 1997 or 2001. His daughter Jiji Kikhia who unfortunately cannot be here with us today sends us this message: “Although my father’s fate is tragic, his legacy lives on in his tireless pursuit to advance humanity.” The CRPD Committee is very happy that today, when we celebrate the 10th anniversary we know about Mansur Kikhia's efforts to have the IYDP announced 35 years ago. Without the IYDP there would not have been a CRPD a quarter of a century later! Thank you for your attention! Best regards Theresia Degener Professor of Law and Disability Studies Director of Bochum Center for Disability Studies (BODYS) Protestant University of Applied Studies Immanuel-Kant-Strasse 18 - 20 44803 Bochum Germany tel: + 49 (0)234 - 36901 172 fax: + 49 (0)234 - 36901 110 cell: +49 (0) 1522 5988673 ----- Original-Nachricht ----- Von: 長瀬修 Nagase Osamu ([log in to unmask]) Datum: 26.02.2019 02:49 An: [log in to unmask] Betreff: Documentary film by daughter of murdered “father” of International Year of Disabled Persons Dear All, This is to call your kind attention to the production of a documentary film by Jihan Kikhia who is a daughter of Mansur Rashid Kikhia, "father" of International Year of Disabled Persons (1981), whose work deserves, I believe, more recognition. You may be already aware of this important (partly heart-breaking) part of disability and human rights history and on-going efforts to remember it, but still I wish to reach out to wider community. In 1976 at UN General Assembly, Mansur Rashid Kikhia, Libyan Ambassador to UN, proposed the declaration of International Year of Disabled Persons (IYDP). Of course, this was an important step to the World Programme of Action, Standard Rules and eventually to CRPD. Kikhia left his government in 1980, protesting human rights abuse under the Qaddafi regime and exiled to US with his family. When he visited Cairo in 1993 to attend a human rights conference, he was abducted and killed in Libya. During the Arab spring, in November 2012, his body was found and identified, sadly confirming his death. Jihan Kikhia was 6 years old when her father disappeared. Now Jihan works on the production of a documentary film about her father and family's search for him, "Searching for Kikhia". https://www.mansurkikhia.org/ It was really great the Jihan was invited to speak about her father at the opening part of the 10th Conference of States Parties of CRPD in 2017. This is a belated but important step for the recognition Kikhia and his family deserve. Following is excerpts from her statement. = According to friends who well remember my father, his passion for the rights of people with disabilities stemmed from his experience growing up in Benghazi in the 1930s, when he witnessed a large population of Libyans with war-induced disabilities without access to proper care. Like most countries at the time, Libya's infrastructure lacked both the resources to provide services to people with disabilities and legal protections of their rights. At the 1978 international conference on disability legislation, he stressed that one of the common denominators of all countries was the lack of awareness and education about disability. His leadership helped ensure a successful IYDP, laying solid groundwork in both the legal and advocacy channels, leading eventually to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. When I was 6 years old on December 10, 1993 my father disappeared after attending a human rights meeting which he had helped to organize. December 10 is coincidentally International Human Rights Day. His body was located and identified 19 years later, in 2012. On the 3rd of December 2012, a burial ceremony was held for Amb Kikhia by the government and his local community in his hometown of Benghazi, Libya. I remember seeing young Libyan children with disabilities join together and sing in honor of my father. In that moment I learned that December 3rd is also coincidentally International Day of Persons with Disabilities, which I think is a fitting and profound symbol. When my father was around my family was unaware of his successes in the United Nations. I only discovered this information 3 years ago when a friend shared with me the inner workings of my father's career and his contributions to disability rights in the UN. She provided me with a precious piece of the puzzle of my father's life that I have been relentlessly trying to piece together for over 25 years, making this experience right now even more surreal. It is a wonder to see that the small seed that Ambassador Kikhia helped plant has grown to the giant success it is today. I sincerely want to thank you all for giving me this precious moment and platform to not only honor my father's efforts and contributions to human rights but also to celebrate his life with his family in the very same room he thrived in with his colleagues over 40 years ago. = Her presentation, which had to be low-key as I assume, is available at the following (after 15 minutes); http://webtv.un.org/watch/1st-meeting-10th-session-of-the-conference-of-states-parties-to-the-convention-on-the-rights-of-persons-with-disabilities-13-15-june-2017-cosp10/5469736370001 I would really like to know more about the work of Mansur Rashid Kikhia and his family, including Jihan. I do look forward to the completion of Jihan's project and to watching the documentary soon. Best. Nagase Osamu Professor, Research Center for Ars Vivendi, Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto Chair, Membership Committee, Inclusion International Vice Chair, CRPD Committee, Japan Disability Forum ________________End of message________________ This Disability-Research Discussion list is managed by the Centre for Disability Studies at the University of Leeds (www.leeds.ac.uk/disability-studies). Enquiries about list administration should be sent to [log in to unmask] Archives and tools are located at: www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/disability-research.html You can VIEW, POST, JOIN and LEAVE the list by logging in to this web page. ________________End of message________________ This Disability-Research Discussion list is managed by the Centre for Disability Studies at the University of Leeds (www.leeds.ac.uk/disability-studies). Enquiries about list administration should be sent to [log in to unmask] Archives and tools are located at: www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/disability-research.html You can VIEW, POST, JOIN and LEAVE the list by logging in to this web page.