The CRPD Committee closed its 31st session on Thursday 5th, September, which which included nine States reviews. The Committee will soon publish its Concluding Observations on the countries under review, namely, Belarus, Belgium, Benin, Burkina Faso, Denmark, Ghana, Mauritius, Netherlands and Ukraine. You will find here.
At the closing, the CRPD Committee communicated its main decisions of the session, including to:
- Adopt Concluding Observations on Belarus, Belgium, Benin, Burkina Faso, Denmark, Ghana, Mauritius, Netherlands and Ukraine.
- Adopt views on six individual communications under the Optional Protocol, founding violations in two cases, no violation in one case and discontinuing three other cases.
- Establish a working group to work towards a general comment on Article 29 CRPD.
- Adopt a statement on persons with disabilities in situation of disasters and a statement on persons with disabilities in the Summit of the Future.
In a closing statement on behalf of IDA, Juan Ignacio Pérez Bello, Senior Advisor on Human Rights, highlighted, among other things, that "the lack of sufficient resources for Treaty Bodies, and the CRPD Committee in particular, remains a main concern. IDA will keep advocating for increased, stable and timely resources. While seeking to discuss joint civil society advocacy efforts towards the General Assembly's resolution on human rights and the treaty body system in December 2024, IDA thanks this Committee's engagement and efforts on this issue and call UN Member States to take the matter seriously and decide for a well-resourced Treaty Body System that right holders around the world deserve and require.”
Find the video of the closing session here.
If you would like to review what happen throughout the weeks of public sessions, you can check IDA’s weekly updates below:
Weekly updates 1 (12th to 16th August)
Weekly updates 2 (19th to 28th August)
You can find all the information and documents related to the session here.
Informal meeting with States Parties
Prior to the closing, the Committee held an informal meeting with States Parties to the Convention in the morning. The Chairperson of the CRPD Committee, Ms Gertrude Fefoame started by highlighting the importance of the Summit of the Future and the process to setting new goals for after 2023.
Among other things, Ms Fefoame, on behalf of the Committee, called States Parties to ensure explicit inclusion of persons with disabilities in the relevant commitments on universal health coverage, on inclusive education and on data protection. Ms Fefoame also highlighted the relevance of ensuring close consultation and active involvement of persons with disabilities throughout the negotiations.
Exchanges with States touched upon many issues, including ways for States to support the work of the Committee, the simplified reporting procedure, working methods of the Committee, methodology for the dialogues, the persistent backlog of States reviews by the CRPD Committee and the need for a third session per year to reach 12 weeks of session per year, among others.
You find the link to the webcast of the meeting here.
Upcoming 32nd session and 20th PSWG in March 2025
At the closing, the CRPD Committee also confirmed its plan to hold the 32nd session in March 2025. National organizations of persons with disabilities should get ready to work towards the session, submit alternative reports and participate at the session.
According to the Committee's Website, during the 32nd session (March 3rd to 21st, 2025), the CRPD Committee will undertake the reviews of Canada, Dominican Republic, European Union, Palau, Tuvalu and Viet Nam.
The 20th Pre-sessional Working Group will take place from March 20th to March 2024.
All the info on the 32th session can be find on the respective CRPD Committee’s website here.