The 24th session of the Human Rights Council (HRC) took place from 9-27 September 2013 in Geneva. Representatives of organisations of persons with disabilities from Mexico, Australia, Mauritius, the World Federation of the Deaf, and of a network of indigenous persons with disabilities participated at the session.
More information on this session.
Resolutions:
IDA has elaborated a disability analysis of resolutions adopted during this session of the HRC. The Council reaffirmed, among other things, that disability is a prohibited ground of discrimination in relation to political participation. It also called for a panel and OHCHR study in June 2014 on “Technical cooperation and capacity-building in advancing the rights of persons with disabilities through legal and institutional frameworks, including public-private partnerships". In so doing, the Council also encouraged States Parties to the CRPD to consider requesting technical cooperation and capacity building from the OHCHR and from the CRPD Committee for the harmonisation of domestic legislation, and encouraged OHCHR and the CRPD Committee to respond favourably to such requests. It requested the High Commissioner to hold a workshop in 2014 on regional arrangements for the promotion and protection of human rights, with a thematic focus on, among others, the economic, social and cultural rights of persons with disabilities. It decided to convene, at its twenty-seventh session (September 2014), a panel discussion on the protection of the human rights of persons deprived of their liberty.
Indigenous Peoples:
The Council held its annual half-day discussion on the rights of indigenous peoples, and this was made accessible to persons with disabilities. Click the link for a full report on this meeting, which benefited from the participation of Ms Olga Montúfar, who made a statement speaking on behalf of indigenous persons with disabilities. The Council also held an interactive dialogue with the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and with the Special Rapporteur on indigenous peoples. Statement delivered by Ms Montúfar in that discussion.
Universal Periodic Review:
The Council also adopted the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) outcomes for countries reviewed in the UPR 16th session. Bangladesh and Cape Verde accepted to ratify the Optional Protocol to the CRPD, but Canada, Cameroon, Colombia and the Russian Federation all rejected recommendations to do so. IDA delivered a statement on behalf of the German BRK-Allianz upon the adoption of Germany's UPR outcome. Disability analysis of UPR16 adopted outcomes to see accepted and rejected recommendations on the rights of persons with disabilities.
Accessibility of the Human Rights Council:
A new conference registration form was made available to HRC24 Council participants, which permitted indication of disability-related accommodation needs.
