Disability Negotiations Daily Summary

Volume1, #2
July 30, 2002

Meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee, 29 July - 9 August 2002 : NGO Daily Summaries

The proceedings were marked by the same lack of state participation as those of the previous day. They were also marked by a change in procedure with regards to NGO access. The Committee resolved the previous day to permit NGOs with consultative status to address delegates at the formal proceedings following remarks by States. Please see Daily Summary Vol. I, #1 for further information. A total of 9 states, 1 IGO and 5 NGOs took the floor. Approximately 50-75 states were present at the proceedings through the day.

Morning Session

In a statement by Avraham Rabby, the United States Advisor for Economic and Social Affairs, the US expressed the hope that the convention development process would bring about an increased awareness of disability issues, not only in the UN system but also in capitals around the world.

The US supported the participation of NGOs in this process, while stressing that the Committee decision to permit this type of participation should be seen as "an exception to the rule" rather than a precedent setting development for future debates in the General Assembly. The US acknowledged that NGOs representing PWD "have a particular and unique expertise to offer all governments".

Drawing on its experience with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the United States posited that "when crafted correctly, legislation can have real and lasting effects on the promotion of the rights of people with disabilities." In addition, the US asserted that "experience has shown that the human rights instruments that have resulted in the most profound change in state practice have been those … which were carefully considered over a substantial period of time and which were adopted by consensus." The US stressed the need for "new thinking" on this topic as "the only way we will see a change in state practice" and hoped that the deliberations of the Committee will inspire this in state capitals. A new treaty, "hurriedly conceived and formulated will not necessarily change the practice of states".

The US supported the goal of strengthening the existing framework for the protection of PWD. It raised several questions on the wisdom of a new treaty as the most effective way to reach this goal. These were: will a new treaty change state practice or reflect the lowest common denominator? Do we want a narrowly crafted instrument with strong standards or a broad instrument with weak standards? Should there be "increased efforts to further elaboration of the Standard Rules coupled with enhanced bilateral and multilateral technical assistance to developing countries for the implementation of stronger legislation," or would a multi-pronged approach combining "further elaboration of the Standard Rules, technical assistance, and strong but narrowly focused international standards?" be more effective?

The US suggested that further tools need to be developed to answer these questions. The UN Secretariat should be requested to conduct a survey of existing national legislation pertaining to the protection of the rights of people with disabilities. States should be requested to share "in writing their views of lessons learned with respect to successes and failures of various regulatory approaches for protecting the rights of persons with disabilities" in their countries.

The delegate from South Africa, Ms. Sebenzile Matsebula, representing the Office on the Status of the Disabled Persons in the Presidency, expressed her country's strong support for the development of a convention protecting the rights of people with disabilities. She noted South Africa's role in co-sponsoring the original General Assembly resolution that led to the creation of the Ad Hoc Committee. She placed the issue of disability in the context of the larger fight against discrimination by referring back to the Durban Declaration which calls upon all member states "to take measures to eliminate all forms of discrimination."

Ambassador Zhang Yishan, the Deputy Permanent Representative of China to the UN, asserted that "persons with disabilities desire to be involved in social life" and "are the producers of both physical and spiritual wealth". China emphasized the role of governments in education and awareness raising, and stated that persons with disability "should enjoy equal rights as normal persons do".

China called for "a future convention [that] should be an international instrument of guiding principles", that would enable states to emphasize different aspects of their work on this issue depending on their "different historical, cultural backgrounds and different levels of economic development". Special attention should be paid to the difficult situation of people with disabilities in developing countries, and the Convention "should take up reasonable proposals and requests of the developing countries" accordingly. The Convention should reflect a balance between individual and collective rights. There should also be a balance between civil and political, but also more importantly, economic and social rights of PWD.

Additional principles recommended for inclusion were: (1) improvement of the overall life quality of people with disabilities; (2) access to education, training and employment and full participation of people with disabilities in decision-making; (3) eradication of discrimination and the removal of "all impediments" to information, law and infrastructure; and (4) an increase in the distribution of resources to ensure equal participation for people with disabilities.

Argentina stressed that people with disabilities should not be seen to be the "subjects" of the policy development process, but rather the "protagonists" and driving force behind the creation of such policies. Furthermore, it emphasized that the international community could not speak of global respect for human rights as long as a whole segment of the global population remained barred from the full and equal enjoyment of human rights. Argentina called upon the Department for Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and other agencies and programmes within the UN, and members of civil society to provide their experience and technical expertise to the Ad Hoc Committee during the drafting process.

Brazil, a co-sponsor of the resolution (A/56/168) that established the Ad Hoc Committee, indicated its preference for a multi-track approach that would involve both the development of a new convention as well as the continued use and refinement of existing international instruments, such as the Standard Rules.

In a statement by John Langmore, the Director and Representative of the International Labour Organization (ILO) to the UN, the ILO stressed that the process of developing a convention must be "participatory, representative, patient, gender-sensitive, and disability-sensitive." To this end, the ILO supported the provision at Committee meetings of accessible venues, accessible transport, sign-language interpretation, and documents in alternative formats. In addition, the ILO called for the "formal enlargement of the membership of the Ad Hoc Committee to include a representative of each member organization of the International Disability Alliance (IDA), the majority of which are on the ILO Special List of NGOs." As part of its efforts to facilitate the work of the Committee, the ILO indicated that it would share with the Committee a paper discussing the right to work. With regard to the content of the convention, the ILO welcomed the initiative of the Mexican Government, but believed that drafting of specific treaty text at this stage would be premature. Instead, it suggested that the Committee "first give consideration to the Basic Principles that should guide the drafting of the Convention, followed by the preparation of an annotated Outline to guide the process."

Government statements were followed by statements from Kicki Nordstr, President of the World Blind Union (speaking on behalf of IDA), Stig Ohlson, President of the World Federation of the Deaf/Blind (also speaking on behalf of IDA), Liisa Kauppinen of the World Federation of the Deaf, and Don Wills, President of Inclusion International. They expressed their support for the effort to develop a convention, and emphasized the need for all relevant NGOs to be able to speak, including those without ECOSOC consultative status. They also stressed the need to facilitate access by people with disabilities to information generally and information specifically relating to the convention development process.

Afternoon Session

The Representative from Canada, Gilbert Laurin, referenced the study issued by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, which noted the underuse of existing human rights documents and called for the development of a specialized treaty on the human rights of people with disabilities. Canada noted that although it saw "the merit of this approach," it believed that "greater and more targeted use can be made of existing instruments." In addition, Canada specified that generally it "has taken the position that it is preferable to focus on implementing existing obligations rather than creating new, potentially overlapping instruments." It encouraged states to be "diligent" in ensuring that "at the very least existing standards are upheld." With regard to its participation in the work of the Committee, Canada stressed that it would have to "consult fully with provincial and territorial governments and with civil society," and that this would take time.

The Representative from Australia highlighted its participation in international activities to promote the rights of people with disabilities, and in particular its contribution to the development of the Standard Rules - a process for which it provided the rapporteur. It also described its participation in, and support for, programmes in developing countries to assist the full participation of people with disabilities. Australia was supportive of the work done by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights' in this area, and noted that the convention development process will require "extensive consultations" between governments and stakeholders, including people with disabilities. It emphasized that the states should ensure that deliberations on the convention "are measured and considered" and that proposals draw upon existing instruments to prevent duplication.

The Representative from Uganda noted that there is a growing awareness amongst people with disabilities of their rights, and that they will expect any convention to guarantee the full enjoyment of their human rights. In addition, the convention must be enforceable, and must be clear and comprehensive enough to take account of the concerns of people with disabilities. In drafting such a convention, Uganda referred to the Mexican proposal, the report of the Meeting of Experts in Mexico, and the IDA Blue Paper, recommending that "delegates look at these documents, because they contain material which can be used to enrich and further improve the Mexican draft." Although it highlighted the Mexican proposal, Uganda indicated that states should agree upon the major elements of the convention before beginning to examine the text of the Mexican proposal in depth. In addition, while the drafting process should not be unduly delayed, it should also not be rushed. Uganda called for the full participation of NGOs during the drafting process, including NGOs not yet accredited to ECOSOC, as "no stakeholder should be left out of this process."

The delegate from Uruguay also addressed the committee, indicating its support for the convention process.

As the only NGO speaker in the Afternoon Session, Richard Light from Disability Awareness in Action (DAA) presented a statement on behalf of Disabled Peoples International (DPI). DPI conveyed its support for the measures taken to further the development of a convention, but expressed its dismay that it has taken so long for states to consider the development of a convention on the human rights of people with disabilities. DPI also countered suggestions that support for existing human rights instruments has, or would be, adequate to protect the human rights of people with disabilities. Citing extensive documentation by DAA of the human rights abuses carried out against people with disabilities, such abuses would continue in the absence of a specialized convention on the rights of people with disabilities. DAA estimated that 5500 people with disabilities have died since 1987 as a result of human rights abuses that have not been prevented by existing human rights instruments. In order to facilitate the participation of NGOs in the drafting process, it called upon States to pool financial resources to permit the Committee to continue to meet, and to facilitate the involvement of NGOs.

The Disability Negotiations Daily Summaries are published by the Landmine Survivors Network, a US based international organization with amputee support networks in six developing / mine affected countries. LSN staff and consultants contributing to these summaries include Zahabia Adamaly, MA (zahabia@landminesurvivors.org), Katherine Guernsey, JD (Kathy@landminesurvivors.org), and Janet E. Lord, LLB (editor) (janet@landminesurvivors.org). Any questions or concerns relating to the Summaries should be directed to Janet Lord.