By IDA

 - October 30, 2017

IN THIS EDITION:

  1. Activities in the past week
  2. Upcoming activities
  3. Intellectual productions
  4. Other

ACTIVITIES IN THE PAST WEEK

AGENDA 2030

  • UN DEVELOPMENT SYSTEM: The UN, for the very first time, launched a consultation process on the UN Development System. This consultation process provides the official channel for civil society to provide analysis of the findings of the Secretary-General’s June 2017 report, and submit proposals to inform the ongoing process of repositioning of the UN development system, particularly related to activity at the country level, ahead of the upcoming second Secretary-General’s report. This consultation is conducted in line with General Assembly resolution 71/243 on the Quadrennial Comprehensive Policy Review. In this framework, IDA has provided inputs to the consultation process in line with the meeting with Amina Mohammed in August 2017. In addition, IDA has been invited to review all civil society submission and to formulate recommendations on behalf of civil society to the UN's Secretary General. 
  • CIVIC SPACE: On 17 October 2017, IDA participated as a panelist at the side event entitled “Expanding civic space at the UN”, in the UN Headquarters in New York. The event discussed how to promote and protect civic space in the UN system through the development of responsive and inclusive UN mechanisms and processes. The side event was co-sponsored by Chile and Ireland.   IDA presented on how Organizations of Persons with Disabilities have been included in the sustainable development processes, in particular in the work of the High-level Political Forum. However, IDA representative also cautioned about the narrowing civil space, and as such recommended to make the UN second and third committee informal negotiation open to civil society participation. 
  • HIGH-LEVEL POLITICAL FORUM: On the 24 October 2017 took place an Informal Feedback Meeting on the 2017 High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development at the Palais des Nations, in Geneva. The meeting, organized by SDG Lab, targeted around 100 representatives of Member States, UN Agencies and the Civil Society. Amina J. Mohammed, Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations delivered an opening statement in a video message.The key objectives of the meeting were to (i) offer member states an informal feedback on the main themes that emerged in New York and link activities of shared value between New York and Geneva; (ii) facilitate open and frank dialogue between member states and other stakeholders on information and opportunities arising from the VNRs and how the Geneva ecosystem can contribute; (iii) create the space to build partnerships to address concrete implementation challenges of Agenda 2030. Silvia Quan made a presentation on behalf of IDA. More information available here on IDA’s website.
  • SDGs IMPLEMETATION: A Partners for Review meeting was held from 24 – 25 October in Kampala, Uganda, hosted by Uganda’s Office of the Prime Minister. The meeting brought together government representatives, stakeholders from civil society, the private sector and academia involved in national review and monitoring processes in their countries. The meeting discussed Sustainable Development Goals implementation review mechanisms, with an intention to foster a new culture of review and to create a transnational multi-stakeholder network for a robust review process. Anderson Gitonga Kiraithe, representative of ADF and Executive Director of the United Disabled Persons of Kenya, Nairobi, made a presentation on the inclusion of persons with disabilities. His participation to the meeting was supported by IDA.  More information available on IDA’s website.

ILO

  • INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION: The 4th Annual Meeting of the International Labour Office (ILO) Global Business and Disability Network took place on the 23 October 2017, at the ILO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. This year’s annual meeting highlighted the importance of digital accessibility for business success, showcased how skills gaps can be addressed by promoting disability-inclusive practices and provided a rare opportunity to exchange experiences and network among disability champions from the private sector. Ruth Warick, President of the International Federation of Hard of Hearing People, attended the event. More information available on IDA’s website.

TREATY BODIES 

  • COMMITTEE ON THE ELIMINATION OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN:The Committee on the elimination of discrimination against women opened its 68th Session on the 23 October 2017. During this session, the Committee will be reviewing Burkina Faso, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Guatemala, Israel, Kenya, Kuwait, Monaco, Nauru, Norway, Oman, Paraguay and Singapore. IDA is providing technical support to the representative of a DPO from Kenya. The public meetings can be watched live here. The schedule of the session is available here.
  • EUROPEAN DISABILITY FORUM, CRPD WORKSHOP: A technical workshop on strengthening engagement with the CRPD Committee was held in Brussels, Belgium, from 17-18 October 2018. The event was organized by the European Disability Forum (EDF) and the United Nations Human Rights Regional Office for Europe (OHCHR), and was co-financed by IDA. Participants included rights-holders and DPOs. The objectives of the workshop were to increase understanding of the treaty body system and other international human rights mechanisms and to increase awareness of how rights holders, DPOs and CSOs can engage with the CRPD Committee, including drafting alternative reports and replies to list of issues, monitoring the implementation of Concluding Observations and filing individual complaints. IDA’s Treaty Body Unit co-facilitated the workshop and provided the closing remarks. More information available on IDA’s website.  

SPECIAL PROCEDURES

  • SPECIAL PROCEDURE: An expert group meeting on older persons with disabilities took place on 25 - 26 October 2017, at the UN Headquarters in New York. The meeting was jointly convened by the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities and the UN Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons. The aim of the expert group meeting was to discuss the intersectionality between disability and ageing in the exercise of autonomy and independence, and to explore the potential of international and regional human rights instruments to ensure their access to accessible, appropriate and affordable community-based support services.  The main findings of the Expert Meeting inform the next thematic report to the Human Rights Council of the Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities (March 2018), as well as the work of the Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons.

UPCOMING ACTIVITIES

NOVEMBER

  • UNIVERSAL PERIODIC REVIEWS: In the lead-up of the 28th Session of the Universal Periodic Reviews (UPR), which will take place from 6 to 17 November 2017, IDA is providing support to DPOs from Guatemala and Japan in engaging in the pre-session of the UPR of their country, by organizing meetings and providing technical support in advocating with Member States who will provide recommendations during the UPR review. IDA has also been providing full substantive support in the drafting of the report of the Japanese DPO.
  • IAEG- SDGs: On 13-14 November 2017, the 6th Statistical Meeting of the Inter Agency and Expert Group on Sustainable Development Goal Indicators (IAEG-SDGs) will take place in Manama, Bahrain. The event will be hosted by the Bahrain Center for Strategic, International and Energy Study (DERASAT) and the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD). The aim of the meeting is, inter alia, to review the tier statuses of the SDG indicators, based on the documentation submitted by indicator custodian agencies, to discuss the proposed guidelines on data flows and global data reporting and review progress made on the methodological development of tier III indicators. IDA will be represented by Senior Adviser on the 2030 Agenda.
  • MENTAL HEALTH: The Trieste Conference on mental health will take place on the 15-18 November 2017 in Trieste. It is organised by the Department of Mental Health of the Italian region of Trieste and supported by World Network of Users and Survivors of Psychiatry (WNUSP), as part of the “No One Left Behind” grant of DFID. Wishing to continue the reflection undertaken during the one-day meeting in Galway held in June 2017, the conference aims to frame a global strategy to promote CRPD complaint policies for inclusion of persons with psychosocial disabilities. To discuss how to deinstitutionalize mental health services in Europe, the conference is bringing together several lead activists members of WNUSP and Beyond.
  • HIGH-LEVEL POLITICAL FORUM: The Stakeholder Group of Persons with Disabilities will hold a call in late November to provide additional information and a dialogue to exchange on Voluntary National Reviews. Call details will be shared in the next newsletter.

DECEMBER

  • ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMISSION FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC: A High-level Intergovernmental Meeting on the Midpoint Review of the Asian and Pacific Decade of Persons with Disabilities will take place in Beijing, China between 27 November – 1 December 2017. The event is organized by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) in cooperation with the Government of China. Among its objectives, the Meeting aims to discuss the future policy direction for building disability-inclusive societies in Asia and the Pacific. Megan Smith, IDA Inclusive Development Liaison, will be representing IDA at the meeting.

INTELLECTUAL PRODUCTION

  • TOOLKIT FOR DPOS ON THE VOLUNTARY NATIONAL REVIEWS: A toolkit has been developed jointly by the IDA and CBM as an exploratory and interactive tool for organizations of persons with disabilities (DPOs) on the review and monitoring of the Sustainable Development Goal implementation, at national, regional and global levels (see attached instructions and tool kit). IDA and CBM are calling for volunteers to test the toolkit on substance and accessibility. If you are interested in providing feedback, please send your comments/ questions to Orsolya Bartha and Elizabeth Lockwood (obartha [at] ida-secretariat.orgelizabeth.lockwood [at] cbm.org) by 10 November 2017.

OTHER

  • DISABILITY RIGHT SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM: The Disability rights scholarship program provide yearlong awards for master’s degree study to disability rights advocates and lawyers with the necessary expertise to develop new legislation, jurisprudence, policy, research, and scholarship to harness the innovations and opportunities offered by the CRPD. The CRPD, which entered into force in May 2008, presents a paradigm shift in the field of disability rights and provides a framework for promoting the inclusion and full participation of persons with disabilities in their communities. Applications need to be sent before 1 December 2017. For further information and to submit an application online, please click here.
  • ZERO PROJECT SURVEY: The deadline to complete the Zero Project Survey has been extended to 31 October 2017. The aim of the project is to provide some mapping the implementation of the UN CRPD globally in order to gain some understanding of the use and implementation of the CRPD, on a country-by-country-base, with a perspective of persons with intellectual disabilities and their families. This year’s thematic focus is on ¨accessibility¨. If you would like to participate, please fill out the questionnaire which can be downloaded at https://zeroproject.org/social-indicators-2018/ and then save it in word with the name of your country and send it to Inés de Escallón (escallon [at] rogers.com). For more information on the background of the questionnaire and the Zero Project, or for requests of versions in other accessible formats, please check Zero Project website or contact directly Inés de Escallón (escallon [at] rogers.com).