HRC Regular Sessions
The Human Rights Council holds three regular sessions per year, including a main session, for a total duration of no less than ten weeks.
IDA monitors each regular session of the Human Rights Council and advocates for the integration of the rights of persons with disabilities into each of its relevant resolutions and decisions.
Here below you can find information about references to persons with disabilities in the reports of the recent regular session of the Human Rights Council as well as information related to relevant resolutions and decisions. For detailed information on past Human Rights Council regular sessions, please click the link "View All Sessions" at the bottom of this page.
19th Session (March 2012)
The 19th Session of the Human Rights Council took place from 27 February to 23 March 2012, in Geneva.
More information on this session.
Resolutions:
Resolution on the rights of persons with disabilities
The Council adopted a resolution on the right of persons with disabilities to participate in political and public life, led by the traditional main co-sponsors of the annual disability resolution, Mexico and New Zealand. Copy of the resolution (still only available in draft form). The resolution recalls that exclusion and restriction of political rights on the basis of disability constitutes discrimination under the CRPD, and calls for a series of measures to ensure enjoyment of the right to participate in political and public life, including recognizing legal capacity on an equal basis with others and providing the support that persons may require to exercise it. Next year, the resolution linked to the rights of persons with disabilities will be focused on work and employment.
Other Resolutions
The following draft resolutions adopted at the session also refer to persons with disabilities: Adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living in the context of disaster settings; Mandate of Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights; The right to food; Birth registration and the right of everyone to recognition everywhere as a person before the law; Situation of human rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea; Human rights, democracy and the rule of law and; Rights of the child. Disability analysis of the resolutions adopted by the Council during this session.
Oral Statements made by IDA:
Statement on Sport, Development and Persons with Disabilities (27 February 2012)
Annual Debate on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities:
On 1 March, the Human Rights Council held a debate on the rights of persons with disabilities, which was focused on the right of persons with disabilities to participate in political and public life (article 29 of the CRPD). To support the debate, the Office of High Commissioner produced a thematic study on this topic. Mr. Pat Clarke, President of Down Syndrome International represented IDA on this panel. Please click the following links to see Mr. Pat Clarke’s Statement and the report prepared by IDA on the Panel, as well as the concept note for this debate, the UN meeting summary, and the webcast of the panel.
On the same day (1 March), there was a short concert at the UN by the Finnish rap artist, Signmark, who is deaf, sponsored by Finland in cooperation with the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG) and IDA.
Universal Periodic Review (UPR):
The Reports of the 12th session of the UPR Working Group were adopted during the HRC nineteenth session. List showing the pending recommendations that were accepted during the session.
IDA has prepared a disability analysis of reports presented to the 19th Session of the Council:
Special Procedures
The following Special Procedures reports include references to persons with disabilities: SR on adequate housing; IE on minority issues; WG on enforced or involuntary disappearances; SR on right to food: SR on torture, and SR on sale children.
Detailed information on the references to persons with disabilities in these reports.
UPR
All UPR Working Group reports, which were prepared at the 12th session of the UPR (October 2011) and will be presented to this session of the HRC, included recommendations related to persons with disabilities.
More information on these recommendations.
Other Reports
IDA has undertaken an analysis of other reports that have also been prepared for the 19th session of the HRC.
