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A special event was organised at the Human Rights Council to celebrate the entry into force of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and its Optional Protocol on 3 May 2008. This initiative was organised by the delegations of New Zealand and Mexico. The meeting began with a statement by the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms Louise Arbour. This was followed by statements by four panellists and a video-message, after which designated States from each regional group and two NGOs spoke. Before giving the floor to the speakers, the President of the Council said that, since the adoption of the CRPD by the General Assembly in 2006, all interested parties had worked tirelessly for its entry into force. He pointed out that not only was this the first comprehensive human rights treaty with a very strong development dimension, it also had been negotiated and entered into force âin record timeâ. The President also underscored that the CRPD does not establish new rights, but rather ensures that the rights of disabled persons will be respected in all fields. Ms Arbour stressed that a major gap had been closed by the entry into force of the CRPD, as it moved attitudes towards disabilities from a charity or medical approach to a human rights approach centred on participation. She pointed out that the Convention envisages a fully active role for persons with disabilities and accords them legal capacity on an equal basis with others. Furthermore, she stressed that the Council is âperfectly positionedâ to advance the goals of the Convention and its vision of affirmative change. She urged the Council to foster universal ratification of the Convention, an âachievable goalâ. Ms Arbour ended her statement by describing the CRPD as âa roadmap for all to correct the unacceptable situation [currently faced by disabled persons]â. Thematic focus Each of the four panellists focused on a different dimension of the rights of disabled persons. The first speaker, Ms Theresia Degener spoke specifically of women with disabilities. She noted that the Convention had taken a âtwin trackâ to the issue of gender and disability. She commended the Convention for acknowledging the multi- dimensional discrimination against women, but at the same time, cautioned that âthe difficult work [of implementation] begins nowâ. Next, Mr Louis Fernando Astorga Gatjens spoke of the âdual, complex divideâ faced by disabled persons in terms of access to information and services. He drew attention to the passive discrimination faced by those with motor and sensory disabilities, and urged urgent actions and polices aimed at reducing the digital divide. Mr Astorga remarked, âwithout accessibility, there cannot be full rights for disabled personsâ. Ms Charlotte McClain-Nhlapo explained how poverty and disability create a vicious circle, and the consequent need to involve disabled persons in development programmes. She also made a number of suggestions for action, including the mainstreaming of a disability perspective in the future work of the Council, poverty- eduction, and collection of reliable statistics. The final panellist, Mr Lex Grandis listed âthe visions and dreams [of persons with disabilities] of how the Convention will create an inclusive worldâ. He stressed that persons with disabilities are persons with capacities, and implored, ânothing about us without usâ. After the panel, a video-message from the Vice-President of Ecuador was shown. His intervention focused largely on the measures under way in his country to implement the CRPD. He explained that the single goal of the âEcuador without Barriersâ programme is the defence of persons with disabilities through the 13 The following States made statements: New Zealand, Mexico, Egypt, China, Russian Federation, Slovenia (on behalf of the EU), South Africa, India, Spain. There were additional statements made by two NGOs. These supported earlier observations that the Convention moves the treatment of persons with disabilities from a social issue to a human rights issue, and that the Convention introduces a âfundamental shift in thinkingâ. In closing the celebration, the President singled out the common element running through all the statements â the desire to speed up the process of signing and ratifying the CRPD âso that it really turns into a universal documentâ.