Submitted by crinadmin on
Disability: Special event on the adoption of the new Convention [GENEVA, 26 March 2007] - Sheikha Hessa Khalifa bin Ahmed al-Thani, Special Rapporteur on Disability, today warned countries that merely signing the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was not enough to safeguard the welfare of disabled people. Speaking at a Human Rights Council special event on the Convention, which was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 13 December 2006, Mme. Sheikha Hessa Al-Thani said persons with disabilities should be on both the social and human rights agenda. The responsibility, she said, falls on countries to educate their people on disability issues. Mr Monthian Buntan, President of the Thailand Association of the Blind, added more education and training in “accessible formats” is needed to teach people about disabilities. Meanwhile, Mr Lex Grandia, Representative of the International Disability Caucus, said the rights of persons with disabilities should become a regular item on the council agenda, and should feature on the peer review mechanism. He said: “We don’t feel like vulnerable groups, we feel like persons with capacities.” UNICEF made a statement emphasising the vulnerability of disabled children, and argued that the new convention reinforces the Convention on the Rights of the Child [Article 23 of the CRC]. They encouraged NGOs to take part in the reporting process, and added that the Convention provides an additional framework for efficacy and planning. Save the Children also made a statement identifying the despair experienced by children with disabilities. They quoted one child as saying: “If families have a negative view of us, how can we have help?” They praised initiatives such as the Convention, which provide children with the chance to “have a chance.” The statement added that children with disabilities must be provided with appropriate assistance, and stressed that the right to be heard must be effectively implemented. “Only by listening to the children themselves, can we get things right”, it concluded. Further information Fourth Session of the Human Rights Council The 4th session of the Human Rights Council is taking place in Geneva from 12 to 30 March 2007. More information about the 4th session of the Human Rights Council here. News related to the HRC sessions are posted on the CRIN news page here. Read also the update from the International Service for Human Rights on the event. CRIN has also been producing daily updates on child rights at the Human Rights Council, you can read the updates online here or download them in Word format here: