IN THIS EDITION:
- Highlights
- Treaty bodies review, Geneva 2017-2018
- Activities in the past weeks
- Upcoming activities
- IDA members
- UN System, Agencies and Mechanism
- Others
- Job offers
- CIVIL SOCIETY FORUM AND GLOBAL DISABILITY FORUM
The recordings of the Civil Society Forum (23 July) and the Global Disability Summit (24 July) are now uploaded onto the DFID YouTube Channel, by session. The direct links to the sessions are:
- Civil Society Forum: Opening and Session 1
- Civil Society Forum: Session 2
- Civil Society Forum: Session 3
- Civil Society Forum: Session 4 and Closing
More information is available on the IDA website.
- PROJECT ON ACCOUNTABILITY
To help ensure the long-term success of GDS18 the co-hosts are developing an accountability approach to enable the monitoring of commitments regarding disability inclusion and to maintain the momentum generated by the Summit. The initial priority is to make all commitments made at GDS18 visible and accessible. DFID and IDA have agreed that the IDA website will host all the commitments and follow up, including the tracker and one year on the report. The IDA Secretariat is working with the IDA website providers to add more modules to the IDA website to host all commitments made during the summit. The site will be fully accessible, user-friendly and interactive and will house key Summit documents, all commitments made by all stakeholders, a progress tracker (to be populated by the organisation that will be responsible for monitoring the commitments) and the annual progress report. -
CRPD COMMITTEE OPENS 20TH SESSION
The UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities opened its 20thsession (27 August to 21 September 21, 2018) during which it will review Algeria, Bulgaria, Malta, Philippines, Poland, South Africa and The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. It will also initiate the second cycle of review under the simplified reporting procedure by adopting a list of issues prior to reporting on Austria, Azerbaijan, Germany, Mongolia and Sweden. The Committee also plans to make advances with the draft General Comment no. 7 on Articles 4.3 and 33.3. In this sense, taking into account that the Day of General Discussion was held on 11 June in New York during the Civil Society Forum to the Conference of States Parties, the Committee will host two public events to give civil society the opportunity to raise comments on the draft general comment no. 7 (a version of May this year). These events will take place on 27 August and 5 September from 3 pm to 4 pm. More details can be found on the IDA website. -
TECHNICAL WORKSHOP ON ENSURING THE RIGHTS OF INDIGENOUS PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES
From 20-23 August, 2018 the Indigenous Persons with Disabilities Global Network (IPWDGN), the Narok South Disability Network and the International Disability Alliance (IDA) held a workshop on ensuring the rights of indigenous persons with disabilities in line with the CRPD, in connection with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (DRIP) and the Agenda 2030, with support from the Disability Rights Advocacy Fund (DRAF) and MFA Finland. More information on the IDA website.
2. TREATY BODIES REVIEWS, GENEVA 2017-2018
JOINT STATEMENT BY CEDAW AND CRPD COMMITTEE
- In a joint statement, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) said access to safe and legal abortion, as well as related services and information, are essential aspects of women’s reproductive health. Access to such services is a prerequisite for safeguarding women’s human rights to life, health, and equality before the law and equal protection of the law, non-discrimination, information, privacy, bodily integrity and freedom from torture and ill-treatment, the Committees said. To read the entire statement, please click here.
OHCHR CALL FOR SUBMISSION ON INCLUSIVE EDUCATION
- Following Human Rights Council resolution 37/20 concerning the rights of the child, it was decided that the next annual day of discussion on the rights of the child in 2019 would focus on the theme of "Empowering children with disabilities for the enjoyment of their human rights, including through inclusive education. In this respect, the High Commissioner was requested to prepare a report in close cooperation with all relevant stakeholders, to be presented to the Human Rights Council at its 40th session, with a view to providing information for the annual day of discussion on the rights of the child (please, click the following links to read more in English, French, and Spanish). IDA has received a request to circulate the letters with its members. Deadline for submissions is 10 October 2018.
CALL FOR SUBMISSION: UN WORKING GROUP ON DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN IN LAW AND PRACTICE
- The Working Group against discrimination against women in law and in practice will present a thematic report on women deprived of liberty to the 41st session of the Human Rights Council in June 2019. The experts are seeking inputs from States and other stakeholders before 1 October 2018 to inform the preparation of this report. The full call for submissions and a questionnaire can be found here.
UPDATED CALENDAR OF REVIEWS FROM OTHER TREATY BODIES
- A calendar of the treaty bodies reviews can be downloaded here.
3. ACTIVITIES IN THE PAST WEEKS
- From 6 to 10 August, the Soros Foundation-Kazakhstan together with the Commission for the rights of people with disabilities named after Kairat Imanaliyev, with support and facilitation from the International Disability Alliance (IDA), held a technical workshop on Reporting the SDGs implementation in line with the CRPD in Kazakhstan. The workshop was attended by representatives of organizations of persons with disabilities (DPOs) and their families from different regions of Kazakhstan, including little people, people with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities. The agenda of the week included a general overview on the CRPD and SDGs, UN monitoring mechanisms; alternative reports development, the role of the DPO movement around the world, among others. More information is available on the IDA website.
4. UPCOMING ACTIVITIES
OCTOBER
- BRIDGE CRPD-SDGs TRAINING OF TRAINERS: The next IDA-IDDC Bridge CRPD-SDGs Training of Trainers Module B will take place in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates from 18-26 October 2018 during the World Data Forum (22-24 October 2018).
- UN WORLD DATA FORUM: The UN World Data Forum 2018 will take place in Dubai, UAE from 22-24 October 2018. The event will bring together data leaders from diverse stakeholder groups, including national and international statistical systems, academia, business community, and civil society. The aim of the forum is to exchange ideas, showcase innovations, identify solutions, discuss future strategies, and provide mutual learning opportunities on a wide variety of topics. More information available on the website of the UN World Data Forum.
NOVEMBER
- BRIDGE CRPD-SDGS UGANDA: The second cycle of the national Bridge CRPD-SDGs training in Uganda will be held in November 2018. The training is being organised by ADF, in partnership with CBM, IDDC and IDA, supported by a grant from DFID and the Big Lottery Fund (BLF) in the UK.
5. IDA MEMBERS
European Disability Forum
- The European Disability Forum (EDF) will be hosting a webinar on SDGs on 11 September. This will be the first in the webinar series aimed at discussing the regional coordination mechanisms for persons with disabilities and their participation at the Regional Sustainable Development Forums. Captioning and Sign Language interpreter will be available. The webinars are part of the International Disability (IDA) and the Department for International Development (DFID) Catalyst programme. Click here to register for this webinar. If you have any questions, please email Deirdre McBride, EDF Assistant for this project at deirdre.mcbride [at] edf-feph.org. To learn more, please click here.
- European Disability Forum (EDF) has been approached by a documentary filmmaker that is interested in producing a documentary based on the Report on ending forced sterilization of women and girls with disabilities. For this documentary, she needs the contacts of some women with disabilities that were forcibly sterilized in the last 10 years and are willing to talk on camera about it. EDF is seeking suggestions of persons, associations or support groups that she could contact. When she gathers these contacts, she will pitch the documentary to the famous ARTE Channel. Please send any ideas/contacts to andre.felix [at] edf-feph.org by the 15 September.
- On the 5 September, several European Parliament Intergroups (LGBT, Youth, Children Rights and ARDI) held an open mic session about the Equal Treatment Directive in Brussels. Yannis Vardakastanis, president of EDF participated in the open mic session. Click here for more information.
- EDF, along with the International Disability Alliance, Autism Europe, Mental Health Europe, Inclusion Europe and ENUSP - European Network of (ex)users and survivors of psychiatry (ENUSP), launched a joint statement welcoming Bulgaria's recent objection to the draft additional protocol to the Oviedo Convention which, if adopted, would authorise forced treatment and forced placement of persons with disabilities. Read the full statement here.
Inclusion International
- As part of its response to the UNESCO Global Education Monitoring Report consultation process, Inclusion International is seeking comments, ideas about the concept note as well as personal stories of people being excluded and about how inclusion in education is working. Deadline to send in comments is 7 September. Click here for more information.
International Federation for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus
- The 28th International Conference on Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus were held in New Delhi from 10 to 12 August 2018. This was the first time this conference was organised in Asia. It was very well attended by participants from many different regions and countries. Click here to learn more about the conference.
World Federation of Deaf
- World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) and the World Association of the Sign Language Interpreters (WASLI) are inviting applications for the WFD-WASLI International Sign Interpreter Accreditation. Deadline to send application is 8 October 2018. Click here for more information.
- The official webpage of for International Week of the Deaf (IWDeaf) 2018 is now online. Campaign materials and International Sign videos are available on the site. Every last week of September, IWDeaf calls for a global movement to raise awareness about human rights of deaf people. This year marks a special year, as we will also celebrate the first International Day of Sign Languages (IDSL) as part of the IWDeaf. More information here.
6. UN SYSTEM, AGENCIES AND MECHANISM
- UNESCO/Emir Jaber Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah Prize: Call for nominations for the 2018-2019 UNESCO/Emir Jaber Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah Prize is now open. The purpose of the prize is to promote inclusion of persons with disabilities in society, translating human rights and fundamental freedoms into action, with emphasis on removing barriers to access information and knowledge, as well as learning and participation in society through the effective application of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT s). The prize is awarded to an individual and an organization that has undertaken a series of relevant projects and programmes, developed appropriate tools or resources, and enhanced co-operation and partnerships that will contribute to their achievements, but it is the overall personal or organizational contribution that will be assessed. The total amount available for the Prize biennially is the US $40,000, which will be distributed equally between the individual and the organizational winner. Please, click here to see the calls for nomination in English and in French. Please, click the following links to read more in English and French.
7. OTHERS
- MAD IN ASIA BLOG: Bhargavi Davar from India writes on the online platform, Mad in Asia on how TCI Asia came to be created. This online platform’s primary mission is to contribute to changing the narrative about madness and mental distress. The blog hopes to showcase narratives that are contextually relevant for the Asia region that focus on the inclusion of persons with psychosocial disabilities. Read the blog here.
- TCI ASIA PLENARY IN BALI: From 27-29 August, 2018 TCI Asia held its plenary in Bali, Indonesia. For the first time highest number of cross disability national leaders and support agencies participated from various countries, making separate sub-regional commitments to strategies for inclusion within the national cross disability movements, and actions thereof. The network also rechristened itself as ‘TCI Asia Pacific’. More details about TCI Asia Pacific here.
- RESOURCE: How to Use UN Human Rights Mechanisms for Individual Complaints & Systemic Advocacy prepared by Tina Minkowitz is available here and here. This is geared to users and survivors of psychiatry and people with psychosocial disabilities, but also relevant to other groups using the CRPD.
- World Survey on Withdrawal from Antipsychotic Medication: Maastricht University in The Netherlands is conducting a world survey on antipsychotic medication withdrawal. As of now, this has been taken by over 500 respondents and the goal is to reach 5,000 plus. The survey is anonymous, and respondents will not be asked for any identifying information. The survey aims to improve mental health services by better understanding medication withdrawal. The survey can be taken here.
- The Obama Foundation Fellowship 2019: The Obama Foundation Fellowship are selecting a new class of 20 civic innovators from around the world – transformational leaders who have demonstrated a meaningful impact and are poised to use the two-year Fellowship programme to take their work to the next level. The Fellowship is a two-year, non-residential programme that offers hands-on training, resources, and leadership development to help Fellows scale the impact of their work. Applications close on 18 September 2018. You can read more about the Fellowship opportunity here and meet the incredible class of 2018 Obama Fellows here.
- Bridging the gap webinars: Following a few weeks break, Bridging the Gap II’s (B+G -II) 12 session webinar-based training cycle aimed at gradually exploring different aspects of the inclusion of persons with disability in development cooperation, is back. The fourth webinar on ‘Inclusive Project Cycle Management’ will be held as follows:
- English Session September 27th at 2:30 pm Brussels time (TBC)
- French Session September 26th at 2:30 pm Brussels time (TBC)
- Spanish Session September 28th at 4:00 pm Brussels time (TBC)
8. JOB OFFERS
- AMNESTY is looking for a Disability Rights Expert. Click here to read the full job description. Deadline to apply is 9 October 2018.
