GENEVA, 25 SEPTEMBER 2014 - The global meeting between
the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD
Committee), national human rights institutions (NHRIs) and national monitoring
mechanisms (NMM) concluded on 25 September with a roadmap on how to strengthen
cooperation in monitoring implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities worldwide.
Over 100 participants from all regions took part in
the one-day event organised organised by the International Coordinating
Committee of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human
Rights (ICC) and the CRPD Committee with the co-sponsorship of the United
Nations Office in Geneva, the International Telecommunication Union,
the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and with the International
Disability Alliance.
CRPD Committee members, NHRIs and NMM from all regions
as well as UN experts and civil society and DPOs participated in the meeting,
to discuss cooperation opportunities and strategies for the monitoring of the
implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Opening the meeting, Director General of the United
Nations Office in Geneva (UNOG) Michael Møller said this “is the first time
that the international and national monitoring mechanisms of the Convention are
meeting, an important step forward in the process of promotion and protection
of the rights of person with disabilities in line with the Convention of
persons with Disabilities. Our meeting shows clearly that we are making
progress towards that goal but it also shows the importance and value of
working together at all levels including independent national human rights
institutions and civil society stakeholders who are critical players across the
UN agenda”.
CRPD
Chairpreson Maria Cisternas Reyes underlined that “A
partnership with NHRIs and monitoring mechanisms at the national level is a
catalytic step in order to effectively implement in different regions of the world
the model of human rights for people with disabilities in the spirit of
promoting, protecting and ensuring a full and equal enjoyment of all human
rights and fundamental freedoms by persons with disabilities and respect for
their inherent dignity. This meeting is a historic milestone in a procedural
and substantive manner (…)”. 
Director of the Human Rights Treaties Division at the
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Ibrahim Salama, the
Chief of Information Services Department of International Telecommunication
Union (ITU), Anders Nosker, and ICC Secretary and Deputy Chair Alan Miller also
attended the opening session.
Meeting participants discussed the roles of NHRIs and
NMMs at all stages of the work of the CRPD Committee and cooperation
opportunities for monitoring activities at the national level.
Participants also considered the CRPD Committee's role
as a capacity-building agent under article 37.2 of the Convention.
Participants
resolved to:
- Cooperate in the development of CRPD Committee
Guidelines on the participation of NHRIs and NMMs in the work of the CRPD
Committee;
- Consider the development of a CRPD Committee's
General Comment on article 33 of the Convention;
- Consider making use of the capacity-building
mandate of the CRPD Committee under article 37 CRPD;
- Continue developing partnerships and cooperation
with civil society and DPOs.
The ICC and the CRPD Committee are exploring
opportunities to advance in their joint work and implementing the outcomes of
the meeting.
“Today’s
meeting is a milestone in the history of national human rights treaty
monitoring. It brings together the UN Committee, NHRIs and civil society from
all regions of the globe in sprit of partnership and cooperation in the common
aspiration that we all share to ensure that persons with disabilities can all
fully and equally enjoy all human rights and fundamental freedoms on the same
bases as everyone else”, stated Alan Miller who represented the International
Coordinating Committee of National Institutions for the Promotion and
Protection of Human Rights (ICC) at the meeting.
The meeting was co-organised by the Committee on the
Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the ICC, with the co-sponsorship of the
OHCHR, the ITU, the Secretary General's Special Envoy on Disabilities and the
UNOG. In addition, it served form the support of the International Disability
Alliance.
Joint efforts with the mentioned partners ensured an
unprecedented event which included remote participation, using web-based video
technology, of NHRIs and NMMs from around the globe, including from Australia,
Canada, Georgia, Greece, India, Japan, Korea. Accessibility measures, such as
sign language, captioning, interpretation and webcasting, were also made
available.
Picture: Participants present at the meeting and trough remote
participation benefiting from accessibility measures such as sign language,
captioning and interpretation.
Information for the participants:
