Latest Updates

Posted –Feb 5, 2008 (Word | PDF)

For details of this recent announcement from UN-DESA, please see http://www.un.org/disabilities/default.asp?id=17

Secretariat for the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol are serviced by a joint Secretariat, consisting of staff of both the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), based in New York, and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Geneva.

Once the Convention enters into force, DESA will service the Conference of States Parties to be convened in New York. In Geneva, OHCHR will service the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

In New York, the Secretariat for the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is housed in DESA’s Division for Social Policy and Development, which is responsible for activities related to poverty eradication and employment, generational issues and integration, inclusive development, non-governmental organizations, and indigenous issues.

The objectives of the Secretariat at DESA are: (i) to support the full and effective participation of persons with disabilities in social life and development; (ii) to advance the rights and protect the dignity of persons with disabilities and; (iii) to promote equal access to employment, education, information, goods and services. The mandate of the Secretariat at DESA also includes the review and implementation of the Standard Rules on Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities adopted in 1994, and the World Programme of Action Concerning Disabled Persons adopted in 1982. In addition, the Secretariat prepares publications and acts as a clearinghouse for information on disability issues; promotes national, regional and international programmes and activities; provides support to governments and civil society; and gives substantial support to technical co-operation projects and activities.

In Geneva, the Secretariat for the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities currently comprises the Advisor on Human Rights and Disabilities, housed in the Operations, Programmes and Research Division.  With the establishment of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities upon entry into force of the Convention, the Secretariat will also comprise the Secretary and staff supporting the Committee.

The objectives of the Secretariat at OHCHR, drawn from the High Commissioner’s Plan of Action, are: (i) country engagement - to support UN human rights field presences increase their work at the country level on the Convention, with a particular focus on awareness-raising and promoting ratification; (ii) support for human rights bodies - to mainstream disability within the UN human rights programme, specifically in the work of the Human Rights Council and the existing treaty monitoring bodies; (iii) leadership – to encourage the High Commissioner to raise awareness of disability as a human rights issue and to provide tools and publications to assist States, civil society organizations and national human rights institutions to implement the Convention; and, (iv) partnership – to work closely with other intergovernmental and civil society organizations to strengthen work on the Convention through cooperation. 

Posted – April 5, 2007 (Word | PDF)

On March 30, 2007, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and its Optional Protocol were formally opened for signature in the General Assembly hall at UN Headquarters in New York. This marked the first opportunity for States to become signatories or States Parties to these two instruments.

Although it was hoped that as many countries as possible would participate in the opening for signature, all participants were astonished that by the end of the day 82 States had signed the Convention, and 44 States had signed the Optional Protocol. This number broke all records, marking the highest number of signatories ever to a UN convention on its opening day! Jamaica also deposited its instrument of ratification, making it the first and only States Party to the CRPD at this time! Additionally, the European Community also signed the CRPD, making it the first ‘regional integration organization’ to sign a human rights convention. (The CRPD is the only international human rights convention to expressly be open for signature by regional integration organizations.)

To read the DPI Disability Convention Daily Update for March 30, please click here.

Within several days of the opening for signature, Egypt and Uruguay had also signed the Convention (though not its Optional Protocol), bringing the total of CRPD signatories to 84. It is hoped that all of the signatories will follow Jamaica’s lead and ratify both the CRPD and its Optional Protocol as soon as possible, in order for them to become States Parties. The Convention requires that 20 States become States Parties before the Convention can “enter into force” – this means that we still need at least 19 more States to become States Parties! For more information on the meaning of ratification, its importance and how you can encourage your government to sign and ratify, please continue on to read the further sections of this Toolkit!

We will continue to bring you news of further signatures and ratifications as we can. In the meantime, you can also find information on the status of signatures from the UN here.

Posted – December 15, 2006

On December 13, 2006, the UN General Assembly formally adopted by consensus the Convention and its Optional Protocol, making the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) one of the core international human rights conventions!! The ceremony took place at UN Headquarters in New York, and was well attended by both government and non-governmental delegations.

In Secretary General Kofi Annan’s speech (delivered on his behalf by Mr. Mark Malloch Brown, Deputy Secretary-General), he noted that the Convention has “became a landmark several times over: it is the first human rights treaty to be adopted in the twenty-first century; the most rapidly negotiated human rights treaty in the history of international law; and the first to emerge from lobbying conducted extensively through the internet.”

Now that the Convention and its Optional Protocol have been formally adopted, their texts will no longer be subject to negotiation and will no longer change. The final text of the Convention and its Optional Protocol are available online here: http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/enable/conventioninfo.htm

The Convention and its Optional Protocol will be opened for signature at UN Headquarters in New York on March 30, 2007. This will mark the first opportunity for States to become signatories or States Parties to the Convention and/or its Optional Protocol.

To read the DPI Disability Convention Daily Update for December 13, please click here.

Latest Convention Developments
Posted - November 10th, 2006

Since the publication of this Ratification Toolkit the United Nations body negotiating the disability Convention (the “Ad Hoc Committee”) met for its Eighth Session at UN headquarters in New York, August 14-25, 2006. At that session the Ad Hoc Committee completed its negotiations on the substance of the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (ICRPD), and issued a revised draft Convention text, available as an annex to the interim report of the Ad Hoc Committee. The report and annex are available in the official UN languages (and in web, Word, and PDF formats) here:

English: http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/enable/rights/ahc8intreporte.htm
French:http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/enable/rights/ahc8intreportf.htm
Spanish: http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/enable/rights/ahc8intreports.htm
Arabic: http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/enable/rights/ahc8intreporta.htm
Russian: http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/enable/rights/ahc8intreportr.htm
Chinese: http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/enable/rights/ahc8intreportc.htm

The text of the Convention includes an optional protocol, which addresses some specific issues related to the international monitoring of the Convention’s implementation. An “optional protocol” is a type of legally binding international agreement that is attached to a convention. The draft optional protocol states that only countries that are States Parties to the Convention will be able to become States Parties to the optional protocol. Optional protocols are not used to alter the substance of the Convention, but are typically used to address additional issues, in this case related to the monitoring body’s ability to receive complaints from individuals and groups about violations of the Convention. When the UN General Assembly formally adopts the Convention it will also adopt the optional protocol at the same time.

To find out more about what happened on each day of the Eighth Session, please refer to the DPI Daily Updates, available here: English | French | Spanish

The following process is now underway to get the Convention text (and its optional protocol) ready for final adoption by the UN General Assembly during its 61 st Session, in late December of 2006:

• The draft text is now being reviewed by a Drafting Committee, made up of interested government delegations from the Ad Hoc Committee and comprised of local mission staff. The Drafting Committee is proofing the draft text for typos, internal consistency, formatting, and “linguistic concordance” meaning that the Convention should say and mean the same thing in all official UN languages. The Drafting Committee is not authorized to make changes to the Convention that would affect the substance agreed upon by the Ad Hoc Committee.  The work of the Drafting Committee, including links to its revised versions of the text (in English only at this time, though translations will be available as Drafting Committee sub-groups work on different language versions of the text) can be followed at this website: http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/enable/drafting.htm
• Once the Drafting Committee has completed its work (hopefully by November 1 st) it will report to the Ad Hoc Committee in a brief meeting – again this meeting will consist primarily of local mission staff.
• The draft text will then be submitted to the UN General Assembly for formal adoption and opening for signature - it is anticipated that this will happen sometime in December.

After the General Assembly adopts the Convention and its optional protocol, the text of the Convention will no longer be subject to negotiation and will no longer change. The Convention will also be opened for signature, meaning that countries will then be able to start the important process of becoming States Parties. Please refer to the other sections of this Ratification Toolkit to find out more about what it means for a country to become a States Party and why it is important, and don’t forget to check back here for the latest updates and links to the final version of the Convention text!