Newsletter from IDA Secretariat | 11 September 2017

By IDA

 - September 11, 2017

Logos of all IDA Members

IN THIS EDITION:

1. Activities over the past week
2. Activities next weeks
3. Upcoming activities
4. IDA (or sponsored) intellectual production


 1. ACTIVITIES OVER THE PAST WEEK

  • CRPD/INDIGENOUS: Secretary General of Indigenous Persons with Disabilities Global Network (IPWDGN) and focal person of Asia, Pratima Gurung, from Nepal, participated at the 8th CRPD Committee pre-session from the 04th to the 08th September 2017 in Geneva. Ms Gurung was representing the Nepal Indigenous Disabled Association and National Indigenous Disabled women, of which she is the President. She made a presentation during the discussion on Nepal, which took place on the 4th of September 2017. The participation of Ms. Gurung was supported by the UN Voluntary Fund, with substantive support from IDA. More information is available on IDA’s website.
  • CRPD: The 8th Pre-Session of the CRPD was held from the 4 September to 8 September 2017 in Palais des Nations, Geneva. The Pre-Session immediately followed the 18th session of the CRPD, which closed on 31 August.  The List of Issues (LOI) have been adopted for Bulgaria, Nepal, Oman, the Russian Federation, Seychelles, Slovenia and Sudan. IDA provided technical support to DPOs from Sudan, Slovenia and Nepal, as well as financial support to representatives of the Sudanese DPO. More details will be available in the next Activity Report to the Board and on IDA’s website.

2. ACTIVITIES NEXT WEEKS

  • HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL: The permanent mission of Bulgaria to the United Nations in Geneva will organise a side-event in parallel of the 36th Session of the Human Rights Council on 27 of September 2017. The side-event is entitled “Empowering Children with Disabilities through Inclusive Education: Building on Diversity” and is co-sponsored by IDA. The side-event aims to continue the discussion on the right to inclusive education in the Human Right Council. It will lead to a Joint Statement, to be released in September 2018, on the right to inclusive education and its impact on children with disabilities.

3. UPCOMING ACTIVITIES

  • IDA MISSION TO BEIJING: Klaus Lachwitz, IDA Board Member representing Inclusion International and IDA Executive Director will be attending the Belt and Road Disability Cooperation High-Level Event, which will be held in Beijing, 13 – 15 September 2017. The Event, organized by the China Disabled Persons’ Federation is being convened as a follow-up of the consensus reached at The Belt and Road Forum on International Cooperation. This prior Forum was held in Beijing from 14 - 15 May 2017, and 29 heads of state and government issued a Joint Communique calling upon endeavors to expand people-to-people exchanges, to be more responsive to all the needs of those in vulnerable situations such as, children, persons with disabilities and the elderly and ensure equal access by all to development opportunities. This mission is an opportunity for IDA to explore the situation of persons with disabilities in the region, with the aim of creating partnerships for the region that has the largest population of persons with disabilities. More information here. 
  • UNIVERSAL PERIODIC REVIEWS: In the lead-up of the 28th Session of the Universal Periodic Reviews (UPR), which will take place from 6 to 17 November 2017, IDA is providing support to DPOs from Guatemala and Japan in engaging in the pre-session of the UPR of their country, by organizing meetings and providing technical support in advocating with Member States who will provide recommendations during the UPR review. IDA has also been providing full substantive support in the drafting of the report of the Japanese DPO.
  • Human Rights Council: On 21 and 22 September, an expert workshop will be held on Witchcraft and Human Rights. The objective of the meeting is to enable greater understanding of witchcraft related beliefs and practices, and their impact on the enjoyment of human rights, in order to prevent further abuses from taking place. A representative from the African Disability Forum, with Albinism, has been invited by the Special Rapporteur to take part in the event. IDA and ADF will jointly be supporting his participation.
  • IDDC: On 26 and 27 September 2017, in London, United Kingdom, there will be an informal meeting to enhance the coordination for CRPD compliant SDG monitoring. The meeting, co-hosted by IDDC members and IDA, and co-financed by IDDC members, Leonard Cheshire Disability, Handicap International and Sightsavers, will be attended by representatives of ADF, PDF, RIADIS, WNUSP and II, as well as DRAF. The purpose of the 2-day event is to share existing or upcoming initiatives and plans with regards to CRPD-compliant SDG monitoring at country and regional levels, as well as learnings from the High-Level Political Forum so far. Synergies and complementarities in coverage, methods, knowledge-sharing and/or any relevant area will be identified to optimize efforts and resources. The meeting will be attended by SDG Liaison Officer and the BRIDGE coordinator.

4. IDA (OR SPONSORED) INTELLECTUAL PRODUCTION