By IDA

 - July 21, 2020

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The 44th session of the Human Rights Council took place at the United Nations Office at Geneva between June 30th and July 17th, 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, prevention measures were taken throughout the event; and delegates from both states and civil society organizations were allowed to participate remotely and side events were organized remotely.

As in previous sessions, the International Disability Alliance engaged in various activities to advocate for the rights of persons with disabilities and call for inclusive policies and actions by UN Member States and relevant stakeholders: 

Wednesday July 1st: Annual report of the OHCHR on Realizing the Rights of the Child through a Healthy Environment
At request of the Human Rights Council, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights prepared and presented a Report on Realizing the Rights of the Child through a Healthy Environment. The report presents an “overview of the effects that environmental factors have on children, international legal obligations, business responsibilities and recommendations for strengthening the protection, promotion and fulfilment of children’s rights through a healthy environment.”

The report acknowledges how children in marginalized situations, such as children with disabilities are disproportionately affected by environmental health risks; at the same time, grounds of marginalization often intersect with other health determinants, such as living in rural areas or within poor communities surrounded by damaged ecosystems.

See the complete report here

Friday, July 3th: Presentation of the Report on the Right of Everyone to the Enjoyment of the Highest Attainable Standard of Physical and Mental Health.

The Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, Mr Dainius Pūras, presented its report Report  on the Right of Everyone to the Enjoyment of the Highest Attainable Standard of Physical and Mental Health. Throughout his report, Mr Pūras highlighted that there is no health without mental health and no mental health without human rights, and how mental health is necessary to achieve the 3 UN pillars: human rights, peace and security. Among the conclusions of the report, he drew attention to the failure of the status quo to address human rights violations in mental health-care systems. According to him, “the main obstacle for the realization of the right to mental health does not rest with individuals, but rather in the structural, political and global burden of obstacles being produced by archaic, broken mental health systems.” 

The International Disability Alliance prepared a joint statement with Transforming Communities for Inclusion Asia Pacific, Redesfera Latinoamericana de la Diversidad Psicosocial, the Pan African Network of Persons with psychosocial disabilities, the World Network of Users and Survivors of Psychiatry, the European network of users and survivors of psychiatry and the European Disability Forum. The statement was focused on persons with psychosocial disabilities from the global south and Europe, and acknowledged the call from the Special Rapporteur to States to root out unjust social, economic, cultural, and other conditions that cause suffering and exclusion. IDA asks the UN and its Member States to embrace the recommendations of this report, which paves the way for the future of human rights-based mental health care and continues to call all States members of the Council of Europe to oppose the draft of the additional protocol to the Oviedo Convention.

Wednesday, July 8th: Panel Discussion on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in the Context of Climate Change
The Panel, chaired by Ms Elisabeth Tichy-Fisslberger, President of the Human Rights Council, was focused on good practices and lessons learned in the promotion and protection of the rights of persons with disabilities in the context of the adverse impact of climate change.  The International Disability Alliance was represented by Ms Deborah Iyute Oyuu, from Uganda. In the statement, she highlighted how persons with disabilities are disproportionately exposed to the effects of climate change such as water scarcity, food insecurity, economic losses, gender-based violence, inadequate housing, disruption of support services and involuntary displacement. 

For more information, check the related blogpost on the website.

Thursday, July 9th: Presentation of the Report on persons with disabilities in the context of internal displacement
The Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons, Ms Cecilia Jimenez-Damary, presented its report Persons with Disabilities in the Context of Internal Displacement. Ms Jimenez-Damary used the estimation of WHO to call for the inclusion of around 6.8 million internally displaced persons with disabilities on the humanitarian response. The special rapporteur made a call for the accessibility of services and information and highlighted the importance of consultation and active involvement of persons with disabilities in the planning, implementation and monitoring of policies oriented to internally displaced persons.

IDA delivered a statement during the interactive dialogue to emphasize that persons with disability are often further marginalized in the context of internal displacement and face multiple and intersectional forms of discrimination. IDA called UN Member States and stakeholders to follow the principles of the CRPD and the recommendations of the report of the Special Rapporteur and to actively involve persons with disabilities as human-rights holders and agents of change in their communities.

On the same topic, IDA co-organized a virtual side event on “Persons with disabilities in the context of internal displacement” in partnership with the UN Migration Agency (IOM) and the UN Human Rights Special Procedures and with the participation of the Special Rapporteur. See the related blog post with link to the recording here.

Wednesday, July 15th: Interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance
The Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, E. Tendayi Achiume, presented its report on Combating glorification of Nazism, neo-Nazism and other practices that contribute to fuelling contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. In her report, Ms Achiume also examines the intersection among antisemitism, other forms of racism and related intolerance. Especifically, she states that “The demonization of “the other” is a central tool of neo-Nazism” This ideology also “espouses hatred and demonizes racial, ethnic and religious groups, including people of African descent, Muslims, Slavic peoples, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people, women, and persons with disabilities”. In this regard, the special rapporteur called the States to fulfill their obligations under international human rights law to combat antisemitism and other forms of racism and intolerance.

See the complete report here

At the same time, the Special Rapporteur presented another report on Contemporary Forms of Racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and racial intolerance. Through this report, Ms Achiume addresses the “human rights obligations of Member States in relation to reparations for racial discrimination rooted in slavery and colonialism”. Among her recommendations to the States, she highlighted that “A comprehensive approach entails an intersectional approach to understanding and fighting racial discrimination by accounting for gender, class, disability status and other social categories. It also entails reparations for violations of socioeconomic rights as well as civil and political rights”.

See the complete report here 

Joint Civil Society Statement:

a) on Participation of CSO in the 44th Session of the HRC
IDA endorsed a joint statement of 20 civil society organizations that was delivered during the Virtual Meeting of the HRC Presidente with NGOs. The statement brought attention to some of the barriers to participation that the civil society experienced during the 44th session of the HRC such as the cancellation of general debates and difficulties for remote participation and the fulfilment of technical specifications. Among other requests, we called for the mandatory allocation of funds for the Secretariat “to provide closed-captioning, sign language interpretation and other accessibility measures for all video statements and Council meetings as a system-wide measure, as noted in HRC Decision 19/119”.

See the complete joint statement here 

b) on COVID-19 and Human Rights Education
Regarding the current COVID-19 situation, IDA also endorsed a joint written statement about COVID-19 and Human Rights Education that was submitted by 18 NGOs. The statement was based on the objectives of the Plan of Action for the fourth phase of the World Programme for Human Rights Education. Among the presented points that need action from the States, we called for the integration of human rights education for all young people, including those with disabilities in the post-pandemic future, as well as for the active participation from the most marginalized youth in the development of truly inclusive societies.

See the complete joint statement here.

Resolutions: Among the resolutions adopted during the 44th session of the Human Right Council, the following extracts and resolutions included relevant information to disability-related advocacy. 

  • Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities. The Human Rights Council [decided] to extend the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities for a further period of three years, with the following mandate. The resolution was adopted without a vote. See the complete resolution here. 
  • Human rights and climate change. Expressing concern that [...] the adverse effects of climate change are felt most acutely by those segments of the population that are already in vulnerable situations owing to factors such as geography, poverty, gender, age, indigenous or minority status where applicable, national or social origin, birth or other status and disability. Recognizing that climate change, and biodiversity loss and other types of environmental degradation, put added pressure on the environment that may in turn exacerbate disease emergence and increase the impact of pandemics, including the spread of diseases, thereby increasing the risk of exposure of the most vulnerable segments of society, inter alia, older persons, especially older persons with disabilities or chronic illnesses, to the combined negative effects and consequences of these phenomena, and put added strain on health systems, particularly those of developing economies. The resolution was adopted without a vote. See the complete resolution here.
  • Trafficking in persons, especially women and children: strengthening human rights through enhanced protection, support and empowerment of victims of trafficking, especially women and children. “Recognizing that victims of trafficking in persons are often subject to multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination and violence, including on the grounds of gender, age, race, disability, ethnicity, culture and religion, as well as national or social origin or other status, and that these forms of discrimination may themselves fuel trafficking in persons”. The resolution was adopted without a vote. See the complete resolution here.
  • Freedom of opinion and expression. The Human Rights Council calls upon all States to “Undertaking all necessary efforts to ensure easy, prompt, effective and practical access to government information of public interest, including online, and encouraging the proactive disclosure of information held by public entities in the broadest possible terms”; “Enacting the necessary procedures to allow equal participation in access to information and to facilitate access to and use of information;” and “Facilitating and promoting access to and use of communications and digital technologies”. The resolution was adopted without a vote. See the complete resolution here.
  • Elimination of all forms of discrimination against women and girls. The Human Rights Councill “Urges States to systematically gather outbreak-related data that are disaggregated by sex, age, disability and other characteristics relevant in national contexts, to examine and report on the gender-specific and intersectional health, social and economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on women and girls [...].”  and “To modify social and cultural patterns of conduct in order to prevent and eliminate racist, xenophobic, patriarchal, disability, age and gender stereotypes and any other negative social norms, attitudes or behaviours, or unequal power relations that view women and girls as subordinates or that underlie and perpetuate multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination and violence against women and girls”. The resolution was adopted without a vote as orally revised. See the complete resolution here.

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