By IDA

 - May 18, 2017

The UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities closes its 17th session (20 March - 12 April 2017) 

On 12 April 2017, the CRPD Committee closed its 17th session.  This session has been the first session for the following members whose terms began this year 2017: Mr. Ahmad AL SAIF, Mr. Imed Eddine CHAKER, Mr. Jun ISHIKAWA, Mr. Samuel Njuguna KABUE, Mr Robert George MARTIN and Mr. Valery Nikitich RUKHLEDEV. Other three Committee members, Mr. Monthian BUNTAN, Mr. Laszlo LOVASZY and Mr. Martin MWESIGWA begin new terms of their mandates.

During this session, the Committee held interactive dialogues Armenia (CRPD/C/ARM/CO/1), Bosnia & Herzegovina (CRPD/C/BIH/CO/1), Canada (CRPD/C/CAN/CO/1), Cyprus (CRPD/C/CYP/CO/1), Honduras (CRPD/C/HND/CO/1), Iran (CRPD/C/IRN/CO/1), Jordan (CRPD/C/JOR/CO/1) and Republic of Moldova (CRPD/C/MDA/CO/1),  as well as adopted lists of issues on Panama (CRPD/C/PAN/Q/1).  

All documents adopted during the session are posted on the Committee's website.

During the 17th session, the CRPD Committee also: 

In both cases, the CRPD Committee calls for written submissions from stakeholders. 

At its formal closing, the Committee made the following announcements: 

  1. The Committee adopted concluding observations in relation to the initial reports of the following countries: Armenia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Canada, Cyprus, Honduras, Iran, Jordan and Republic of Moldova (see above).
  2. The Committee adopted a List of Issues on Panama.
  3. The Committee adopted a List of Issues Prior to Reporting, under the Simplified Reporting Procedure, on SpainHungaryPeru and El Salvador.
  4. The Committee considered issues on individual communications and inquiry under the Optional Protocol to the CRPDP.
  5. The Committee approved a Draft General Commenton Article 19 and called for written contributions of all interested stakeholders (deadline 30 June 2017).
  6. The Committee decided to organise a Day of General Discussion on Article 5 on August 25th. It also adopted a draft outline and called for written contributions of all interested stakeholders (deadline 30 June 2017)
  7. The Committee adopted a statement on genderbalance and equitable geographical distribution. It also adopted a statement on persons with disabilities in situations of risk and humanitarian emergencies in Colombia, Peru and Ecuador and a Joint CMW-CRPD statement on "Addressing disabilities in large-scale movements of refugees and migrants".
  8. The Committee decided that all draft documents of the Committee related to the work related to the Convention must be translated in the working languages.
  9. The Committee decided that the working languages for 2017 and 2018 will be English, Spanish and Russian.
  10. With regard to countries to be considered at its 18th session, the Committee decided the country rapporteurs as follows:
  • Latvia – Mr Ruskus
  • Luxembourg – Mr Pyaneandee
  • Montenegro – Mr Lovaszy
  • Morocco – Mr Basharu
  • United Kingdom of Britain and Northern Ireland – Mr Langvad
  • Panama – Mr Parra Dassan

It has also decided that during the 18th session, the Committee will adopt list of issues for Bulgaria, as well as for Ecuador, Tunisia, Argentina and Australia, under the Simplified Reporting Procedure.

This 17th session has been preceded by the CRPD Committee’s 7th pre-session which took place from 13-20 March 2017 during which it adopted the list of issues on Haiti (CRPD/C/HTI/Q/1), Latvia (CRPD/C/LVA/Q/1), Luxembourg (CRPD/C/LUX/Q/1), Montenegro (CRPD/C/MNE/Q/1), Morocco (CRPD/C/MAR/Q/1) and the United Kingdom of Britain and Northern Ireland (CRPD/C/GBR/Q/1).

Archived webcasts
All public meetings of the Committee including the State party reviews were webcast live by UNTV have been archived for subsequent viewing at http://webtv.un.org/meetings-events/ - scroll down to Treaty bodies and then click on CRPD Committee.

For more information on the 17th session, please visit the Committee’s session website.

Contact: jiperezbello [at] ida-secretariat.org 

A selection of photographs

A selection of delegates represented at the 17th Session of the CRPD Committee, including delegates from Jordan, Morocco, Moldova, and Canada.