In this edition
1. Activities in the past week
2. Upcoming activities
3. In other news
Activities in the past week
- BRIDGE CRPD-SDGs ToT: On the 5 October 2017 ended the IDA-IDDC BRIDGE CRPD-SDGs Training of Trainers Module B in Brighton, United Kingdom. The Training was co-organised by IDA and Sightsavers and financed by DFID, Sightsavers, Handicap International (HI), CBM and DRF. The trainees include 16 leaders with disabilities from Africa, Latin America, Asia and the Pacific, including deaf people and persons with psychosocial disabilities. In addition, 13 invited experts and partners attended some of the sessions, including representatives from IDDC (Sense International, Sightsavers, Leonard Cheshire, Light For The World, CBM), UCL, the International Centre for Evidence in Disability-LSHTM, Big Lottery Fund, and UK Department for International Development and Development Pathways. Through interactive discussions and practical exercises, sessions covered topics such as public policy, data and indicators for the planning implementation and monitoring of the SDGs in line with the CRPD, social protection and engagement with the DPO movement. The training was also an opportunity for trainees to exchange with visitors such as Penny Innes of the UK Department for International Development, Dominic Haslam and Hannah Loryman from Sightsavers, Asayya Imaya from the Big Lottery and Steve Besford, from the Leprosy Mission Fund. More information is available on IDA’s website.
- ARTICLE 11: On 3 October, UNHCR and IDA organized an online and in-person briefing on the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework and the Global Compact for Refugees in Geneva. Briefing was given by the Deputy Director of the UNHCR on the future Global Compact for Refugees. Following the meeting, a group of stakeholders including IDA, CBM, Handicap International (HI), UNICEF, United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner (OHCHR) and International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) proposed to develop a joint statement to call for general principles. The statement should be finalized next week and will be circulated to IDA board members.
- GQUAL CONFERENCE: From 3 to 5 October 2017, the GQUAL Conference took place in the Hague. The aim of the conference was to approve an Action Plan that will build upon the strategies found in the GQUAL Declaration and effectively increase the participation of women in international tribunals and monitoring bodies. Participants included Ambassadors, CRPD Committee
Chair, former Committee experts, United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner (OHCHR), representatives of International Criminal Court (ICC) and International Court of Justice (ICJ) and many international NGOs. IDA was represented by IDA’s Treaty Body Unit. Three workshops were organized during this Conference. Juan Ignacio Perez Bello attended workshop 1 on ¨How to achieve Gender Parity at the Special Procedures¨ and Silvia Quan attended and delivered a short introduction to the workshop 2 on ¨ How to achieve Gender Parity at the Treaty Bodies¨. More information available on IDA’s website.
Upcoming activities
- International Labour Organisation: The 4th Annual Meeting of the International Labour Office (ILO) Global Business and Disability Network will take place on the 23October 2017, at the ILO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. This year’s annual meeting will highlight the importance of digital accessibility for business success, showcase how skills gaps can be addressed by promoting disability-inclusive practices and provide a rare opportunity to exchange experiences and network among disability champions from the private sector. Ruth Warick, President of the International Federation of Hard of Hearing People, will be attending the event.
- European Disability Forum, CRPD workshop: A technical workshop on strengthening engagement with the CRPD Committee will be held in Brussels, Belgium, from 17-18 October 2018. The event is organized by the European Disability Forum (EDF) and the United Nations Human Rights Regional Office for Europe (OHCHR), and it is co-financed by IDA. Participants include rights-holders and DPOs. The objectives of the workshop are to increase understanding of the treaty body system and other international human rights mechanisms and to increase awareness of how rights holders, DPOs and CSOs can engage with the CRPD Committee, including drafting alternative reports and replies to list of issues, monitoring the implementation of Concluding Observations and filing individual complaints. IDA’s Treaty Body Unit will be co-facilitating the workshop and providing the closing remarks. Download the concept note and programme of the event. Please also refer to the partnership section at the end of this newsletter.
- IAEG- SDGs: On 13-14 November 2017, the 6th Statistical Meeting of the Inter Agency and Expert Group on Sustainable Development Goal Indicators (IAEG-SDGs) will take place in Manama, Bahrain. The event will be hosted by the Bahrain Center for Strategic, International and Energy Study (DERASAT) and the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD). The aim of the meeting is, inter alia, to review the tier statuses of the SDG indicators, based on the documentation submitted by indicator custodian agencies, to discuss the proposed guidelines on data flows and global data reporting and review progress made on the methodological development of tier III indicators. IDA will be represented by Senior Adviser on the 2030 Agenda.
- MENTAL HEALTH: The Trieste Conference on mental health will take place on the 15-18 November 2017 in Trieste. It is organised by the Department of Mental Health of the Italian region of Trieste and supported by World Network of Users and Survivors of Psychiatry (WNUSP), as part of the “No One Left Behind” grant of DFID. Wishing to continue the reflection undertaken during the one-day meeting in Galway held in June 2017, the conference aims to frame a global strategy to promote CRPD complaint policies for inclusion of persons with psychosocial disabilities. To discuss how to deinstitutionalize mental health services in Europe, the conference is bringing together several lead activists members of WNUSP and Beyond.
- 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.
- SPECIAL PROCEDURE: An expert group meeting on older persons with disabilities will take place on 25 - 26 October 2017, at the UN Headquarters in New York. The meeting is jointly convened by the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities and the UN Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons. The aim of the expert group meeting is to discuss the intersectionality between disability and ageing in the exercise of autonomy and independence, and to explore the potential of international and regional human rights instruments to ensure their access to accessible, appropriate and affordable community-based support services. The main findings of the Expert Meeting will inform the next thematic report to the Human Rights Council of the Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities (March 2018), as well as the work of the Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons. Kate Swaffer, Chair, CEO and Co-founder of Dementia Alliance International will attend the meeting on behalf of IDA.
- SDGs IMPLEMETATION: A Partners for Review meeting will be held from 24 – 25 October in Kampala, Uganda, hosted by Uganda’s Office of the Prime Minister. The meeting will bring together government representatives, stakeholders from civil society, the private sector and academia involved in national review and monitoring processes in their countries. The meeting will discuss Sustainable Development Goals implementation review mechanisms, with an intention to foster a new culture of review and to create a transnational multi-stakeholder network for a robust review process. IDA will support the participation of Mr. Anderson Gitonga Kiraithe, from Kenya, representative of ADF and Executive Director of the United Disabled Persons of Kenya, Nairobi.
- SOCIAL PROTECTION FLOOR: A decision has been taken to postpone the annual Global Coalition on Social Protection Floor meeting planned originally on 6-7 November 2017 in Nairobi to the 15-17 January 2018, due to the elections which will take place in Kenya.
In other news
- DRF: Disability Rights Fund (DRF) Seeks Pacific Islands Grants Consultant to help support the grant making of the Disability Rights Fund and the Disability Rights Advocacy Fund in the Pacific Islands region. The position is located in the Pacfic Islands. Applications must be submitted to jobs [at] disabilityrightsfund.org, by November 30, 2017. More information available here.
- HENRY VISCARDI ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS: Nominations for the 2017 Henri Viscardi Achievement Awards are now being accepted. These international Awards recognize exemplary leaders within the disability community and their extraordinary societal contributions, while remembering the spirit and legacy of The Viscardi Center’s founder, Dr. Henry Viscardi, Jr. Nominations must be submitted online by October 20, on the Viscardi Center’s website.
- CEPPS: The Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening (CEPPS) announces grants for non-US organisations working to support democratic network and communities of practice. Qualified applicants include non-US regional and local nongovernmental organisations, professional associations, and relevant special interest associations or coalitions in developing countries. The deadline for submission is 20 October 2017.More information available here.
