The election for nine of the eighteen seats of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities will take place next Tuesday 12th June, in the first day of the Conference of States Parties (COSP) to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) (12-14 June 2018).
IDA, jointly with different partners, has been very proactive in 2017 and 2018 to promote open and participatory nomination processes at the national level and merit-based electoral process that take into account CRPD Article 34 criteria at the international level, aiming at restoring gender balance to move towards gender parity, and ensuring quality, independence and diversity in the membership of the CRPD Committee.
TB-NET QUESTIONNAIRE TO CRPD COMMITTEE CANDIDATES - VIDEO RESPONSES
As part of the TB-Net (an NGO Coalition working on UN Treaty Bodies), IDA disseminated a questionnaire to candidates to the CRPD Committee in April 2018 giving them the opportunity to provide with their own insights on their profiles and their suitability to become part of the UNCRPD Committee. So far, 17 candidates to the CRPD Committee have responded.
Responses to the questionnaire in the website "UNTB Elections"
Candidates have been invited to prepare short videos addressing questions 4 and 7, on their added value for the CRPD Committee and on the challenges, they believe CRPD implementation face. We thank the 11 candidates who have engaged in this innovative practice directed to give more visibility to the election process: Ms. Aldana Salguero (Guatemala), Mr. Basharu (Nigeria), Ms. Boresli (Kuwait), Mr. Debattista (Malta), Ms. Gabrilli (Brazil), Ms. Kayess (Australia), Ms. Panasiuk (Ukraine), Ms. Razaka (Madagascar), Mr. Ruškus (Lithuania), Ms. Utami (Indonesia) and Ms. Vujačić (Montenegro).
Video responses in a specific YouTube channel.
Candidates responses further develop and complement the information provided in the "Biographical Data Form" (BDF) requested by the CRPD Committee Secretariat (See OHCHR Website on Elections). Here you can download the word document with all the BDFs, as compiled by OHCHR.
CALL TO RESTORE GENDER BALANCE TO MOVE TOWARDS GENDER PARITY
Together with the GQUAL Campaign and the International Disability Development Consortium, IDA has called States to restore gender balance to move towards gender parity, due to the unacceptable current situation (17 men and only one woman). Two public statements have been released in January and April. Further, the GQUAL Campaign, IDA and IDDC discussed this issue at the States’ Group of Friends to the CRPD meeting to promote gender balance, quality and independence in the nomination and election processes for CRPD Committee, on January 30th, 2018.
More information on IDA actions related to CRPD Committee elections:
- 1 June 2018 - TB-Net (NGO coalition on Treaty Bodies) Side event at the Treaty Bodies Chairpersons’ meeting: “Promoting quality, independence and diversity of treaty body membership: The importance of transparent and participatory nominations and election processes”
- 26 April 2018 - IDA, IDDC and the GQual Campaign Call on States Parties to Restore Gender Balance to the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- 12 April 2018 - The GQUAL Campaign and the IDA side event “Closing the Gender Gap: Achieving Gender Parity in UN human rights bodies”.
- 30 January 2018 - "IDA, IDDC and GQUAL present at a States’ Group of Friends to the CRPD meeting to promote gender balance, quality and independence in the nomination and election processes for CRPD Committee"
- 2 January 2018 - "IDA & GQual Campaign Joint Statement on Gender Equality on CRPD Committee Membership"
- 2 Nov 2017 - TB-Net (NGO coalition on Treaty Bodies), with the sponsorship of States and civil society organisations, in Geneva: “Promoting Quality, Independence and Diversity in Treaty Body Membership”
