Yesterday, June 11th, in New York, at the 17th Conference of States Parties to the CRPD, States Parties elected nine members of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities whose term will run from 2025 to 2028.
The International Disability Alliance (IDA) congratulates the three CRPD Committee members that have been re-elected for a second term Mr. Floyd MORRIS (Jamaica), Ms. Gerel DONDOVDORJ (Mongolia) and Mr. Abdelmajid MAKNI (Morocco), and Ms. Mara GABRILLI, who served as a CRPD Committee member between 2019 and 2022.
IDA further congratulates the six newly elected members Mr. Magino CORPORÁN LORENZO (Dominican Republic), Ms. Inmaculada PLACENCIA PORRERO (European Union), Mr. Hiroshi TAMON (Japan), Floyd MORRIS (Jamaica), Mr. Christopher NWANORO (Nigeria) and Ms. Natalia GUALA BEATHYATE (Uruguay).
With the outcome of this election, the composition of the CRPD Committee for the period 2025-2026 will feature ten women out of 18 members, adhering to the criterion of gender balance. It's noteworthy to mention that there were previous periods, such as 2017-2018, with only one woman out of 18 members, which resulted in continuous advocacy by IDA and other partners for a more balanced committee.
In terms of disability diversity, among the newly elected members is Mr. Hiroshi TAMON (Japan), who is deaf. His membership introduces a disability constituency that was not represented within the previous CRPD Committee. It's crucial to highlight that despite this inclusion, other constituencies, such as persons with intellectual disabilities, persons with psychosocial disabilities, and persons with deafblindness, still lack representation following the election for the period 2025-2026.
The absence of CRPD Committee members from Eastern Europe and South Asia, highlights a concerning gap in achieving equitable geographical representation.
The election took place in one round, with 186 valid votes, no abstentions and simple majority required of 94.
The nine members elected will join the nine members of the Committee whose mandate and current term expires by the end of 2026: Mr. Muhannad Salah AL-AZZEH (Jordan), Ms. Rehab Mohammed BORESLI (Kuwait), Ms. Amalia GAMIO RIOS (Mexico), Ms. Laverne JACOBS (Canada), Ms. Rosemary Kayess (Australia), Ms. Miyeon KIM (Republic of Korea), Mr. Alfred Kouadio KOUASSI (Ivory Coast), Ms. Gertrude OFORIWA FEFOAME (Ghana) and Mr. Markus SCHEFER (Switzerland).
You can find information related to the electoral process and to the candidates, including videos developed by themselves and videos of an online public event, in the following IDA's specific webpages: