The Seventh Session of the Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) took place from 10 to 12 June 2014 at the UN Headquarters, in New York.
Conference of States Parties
There was no over–arching theme this year; instead, the first day comprised CRPD Committee elections and general statements, and the following two days was arranged as follows:
- Round Table 1: Incorporating Provisions of the UN CRPD in the Post-2015 Development Agenda (Morning Session, 11 June)
- Round Table 2: National Implementation and Monitoring (Afternoon Session, 11 June)
- Informal Panel: Youth with Disabilities (Morning Session, 12 June)
Civil Society CRPD Forum
The Civil Society CRPD Forum (CSF) is a full day event that was held on 9 June 2014, the day prior to the United Nations (UN) Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). The focus of this year’s CSF was the post-2015 development agenda, which currently represents one of the most relevant international advocacy goals for the disability community worldwide. Panel discussions included an overview and explanation of the UN Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals, an important step in the process of defining the post-2015 framework.
Promoting the full inclusion of persons with disabilities in the post-2015 process remains a significant challenge. For this reason, it is important that the CSF facilitates a platform for discussion that will take stock of what has been done and lessons-learned from the process thus far, and provide up-to-date information on key processes taking place between June 2014 and the adoption of post-2015 development goals in September 2015.
Elections for the CRPD Committee
On the opening day of the Conference of States Parties, elections were held for nine of the eighteen seats of the CRPD Committee.
The following candidates were elected:
- Theresia DEGENER, Germany
- Stig LANGVAD, Denmark
- Hyung Shik KIM, Republic of Korea
- Damjan TATIC, Serbia
- Danlami Umaru BASHARU, Nigeria
- Carlos Alberto PARRA DUSSAN, Colombia
- Coomaravel PYANEANDEE, Mauritius
- Jonas RUSKUS, Lithuania
- Liang YOU, People’s Republic of China
All four candidates whose term as members of the CRPD Committee was coming to an end on 31 December 2014, Theresia Degener, Hyung Shik Kim, Stig Langvad and Damjan Tatic, were re-elected.
The newly elected members will begin their term in January 2015 and their mandates will expire in December 2018.
The Committee's new composition consists of:
- Six women and twelve men with their geographical distribution as follows:
- 3 experts from Latin America and the Caribbean, 3 from Africa, 3 from Eastern Europe, from 4 Asia-Pacific and 5 from Western Europe and other States.
Further information about the election results as well as CVs of the candidates/members is available on the CRPD Committee's webpage dedicated to the 2014 elections at
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/CRPD/Pages/Elections2014.aspx
As in the election processes of 2008, 2010 and 2012, IDA prepared a guidance document to national DPOs on how to participate in the nomination process, highlighting some good nomination practices, as well as information on the suggested profile of a Committee member and the election process generally.
To have access to this document in different languages, please click the link below:
For the past elections, IDA disseminated a questionnaire to the CRPD Committee candidates in an effort to find out more about their experience and expertise in the field of disability rights. Their replies were posted online in order to assist States Parties to make informed votes at the elections based on the quality of the candidates.