ENABLE DAILY BULLETIN FROM THE CONFERENCE Sixth session of the Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 17-19 July 2013, UN Headquarters (Webcast and coverage at: un.org/disabilities/default.asp?id=1606) 16 July, pre-Conference Civil Society CRPD Forum TODAY’S SUMMARY: Tuesday, 16 July Today at United Nations Headquarters, CSOs (civil society organizations) including DPOs (organizations of persons with disabilities) met in a Forum along with other stakeholders to discuss issues on the agenda of the sixth session of the Conference of States Parties, as well as the forthcoming High-level meeting on Disability (23 September 2013). The Civil Society CRPD Forum was co-ordinated by the International Disability Alliance (IDA) with the support of Disabled People’s International (DPI), Disability Rights Fund (DRF), the Global Partnership for Disability and Development (GPDD), Human Rights Watch (HRW), the International Development and Disability Consortium (IDDC) and Rehabilitation International (RI), co-sponsored by the Governments of Australia, Bulgaria, Mexico and New Zealand, and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA). This year’s civil society forum focused on mainstreaming disability in the development agenda. Panelists and participants engaged in a lively debate on a number of thematic issues, which presented one over-arching theme that the post-2015 development agenda must ensure that it is inclusive of the rights and participation of persons with disabilities. The agenda is available at: un.org/disabilities/documents/COP/cosp6_csf_agenda.doc. The morning sessions discussed the mainstreaming of disability in the Post-2015 Agenda thus far: the positive outcomes from Rio+20, Quadrennial Comprehensive Policy Review, World Bank Safeguards, the High-Level Panel Report and continued efforts of the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development. Panelists spoke on the next steps of the negotiation processes, noting that a human rights-based agenda requires the participation and commitment of Member States and UN agencies to include persons with disabilities and disabled persons organizations (DPOs) in every step of the process. The afternoon sessions turned their focus to practical steps for the inclusion and participation of the disability community in the Post-2015 Agenda: exploring the experiences of DPOs in the Global South and shared lessons from various national and regional projects; how to ensure the inclusion and effectiveness of disability targets and indicators in the Agenda; the demand for disaggregated disability data and how it will work in practice; and importance of being inclusive within the disability community itself. The forum concluded by noting that the participation and inclusion of persons with disabilities is not something that should begin with the launch of the Agenda in 2015 — it needs to begin now. The discussion and consultation process should incorporate persons with disabilities and DPOs at all levels of society and at all stages, from grassroots discussion and Government consultations, to the United Nations international forum. The entire Forum was webcast live from the United Nations and included for the first time, International Sign interpretation and closed-captioning.
Posted on: Thu, 18 Jul 2013 06:36:34 +0000
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