Today was the last day of the Human Rights Council's Social Forum 2016. IDA members were active throughout the panels and side events, covering a wide range of themes and debates.
Technical cooperation and capacity-building in monitoring the rights of persons with disabilities
We began the day with two morning side events. One was a discussion on 'Technical cooperation and capacity-building in monitoring the rights of persons with disabilities'. The event was co-organised by African Disability Forum (ADF), Pacific Disability Forum (PDF), Latin American Network of Non-Governmental Organisations of Persons with Disabilities and their Families (RIADIS), European Disability Forum (EDF) and Arab Organisation of Persons with Disabilities (AOPD), co-sponsored by the Permanent Missions of Thailand and Peru, with support from IDA and the International Disability and Development Consortium (IDDC). Read more here...
Participation of women with disabilities in decision-making processes
The other side event addressed 'Participation of women with disabilities in decision-making processes' was was organised by the IDA, the International Disability and Development Consortium (IDDC), the WorldYWCA and the Permenent Mission of Chile Read more here...
The first official session of the day was a roundtable discussion on "Informing Policy", moderated by Ms. María Soledad Cisternas, Chairperson of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Panelists were Ms. Bhargavi Davar, Transforming communities for Inclusion, Mr. Alberto Vázquez Encalada, Research coordinator, Office of the Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities, Ms. Yvette Maker, Disability Research Initiative, Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne. Read more here...
Realizing the Human Rights of Persons with Disabilities
The second session was about 'Realizing the Human Rights of Persons with Disabilities'. The moderator was Mr. Vladimir Cuk, Executive Director, International Disability Alliance. Panelists were Ms. Theresia Degener, Member of the CRPD Committee, H.E. Ms. Roseane Cavalcante de Freitas Estrela, National Secretary for the Promotion of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities of Brazil, Ms. Yeni Rosa Damayanti, Chairperson, Indonesia Mental Health Association. Read more here...
Two side events were hosted at lunch time. the first was a discussion on 'Human Rights and Sustainable Development Goals – Monitoring and mutual reinforcement' was held. It was organised by the IDA, the International Disability and Development Consortium (IDDC), the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the Permanent Missions of Colombia, Chile, Italy, Indonesia, Mexico and Slovenia. Read more here...
Toward Inclusive Education for Children with Disabilities
At the same time, a side event on 'Toward Inclusive Education for Children with Disabilities' was organised by IDA, UNICEF and OHCHR, with panelists from Inclusion International, Down Syndrome International, the World Federation of the Deaf, among others. Read more here...
In the afternoon, the discussion was about 'Implementation of Agenda 2030 under the CRPD: The Future We Want' and it was moderated by Mr. Facundo Chávez Penillas, Human Rights and Disability Advisor, OHCHR. Panelists were divided as follows: for the NHRI perspective, Ms. Nomasonto Mazibuko, Commissioner, Commission for Gender Equality of South Africa; for the Media perspective: Ms. Patricia Almeida, Founder of the Global Alliance for Disability in Media and Entertainment; for the International Organization perspective: Ms. Kirstin Lange, Chair of the Inter-Agency Support Group to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; and for the private sector perspective: Mr. Stefan Trömel, Senior Disability Specialist, ILO. Read more here...
This discussion continued into the second part of the afternoon, moderated Mr. Bat-Erdene Ayush, Chief, Right to Development Section, OHCHR. The panelists were representing various perspectives: from the Academia perspective: Ms. Abia Akram, Chief Executive Officer, National Forum of Women with Disabilities of Pakistan; from the State perspective: H.E. Ms. María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative of Ecuador to the United Nations in Geneva; from the Donor institution perspective: Ms. Eppu Mikkonen-Jeanneret, Senior Adviser for Global Social Policy, Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland; and from the Organization of Persons with Disability’s perspective: Mr. Alzouma Maiga Idriss, President of the West African Federation of Organisations of Persons with Disabilities. Read more here...
"Persons with disabilities are not a homogenous group. We all - persons with disabilities from around of the world - in our rich diversity - we all want to meaningfully participate and be included in our societies. We want to have and to exercise the same rights as any other person - and benefit from development on an equal basis with any other person."- Mr. Alzouma Maiga Idriss, African Disability Forum
The concluding session of the Forum included statements from Ms. Kate Gilmore, Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, H.E. Mr. Jorge Lomónaco, Permanent Representative of Mexico, Co-Chairperson-Rapporteur of the Social Forum and Mr. Carl Allan Reaich, Deputy Permanent Representative and Chargé d’affaires a.i of New Zealand, Co-Chairperson-Rapporteur of the Social Forum.
A huge thank you to all of those who particiapted, in person and remotely, in the SForum 2016!