DPI Disability Convention Daily Update

Resumption of the 8th Session of the Ad Hoc Committee on the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities
(5 December, 2006)

Morning Session

The Chair of the Ad Hoc Committee (AHC), Ambassador Don MacKay of New Zealand, opened the final meeting of the AHC at 10:10 in Conference Room 4 at UN Headquarters in New York. A much smaller meeting than usual, it was well attended by local UN Mission staff and a small number of civil society and national human rights institution representatives, including a delegation from Disabled Peoples International. Amb. MacKay welcomed the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, and José Antonio Ocampo, UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, who each addressed the Committee.

High Commissioner Arbour noted that this was a "momentous occasion" and thanked the Committee for its work which is "a testimony to the seriousness the United Nations places on the need to strengthen the protection of the rights of person with disabilities." She also noted that the drafting had taken place quickly which was a testament to the importance attached to the rights of persons with disabilities by the international community. She expressed her appreciation to all AHC members for their work, and stressed the commitment of her office to support the Committee to be established following the adoption and entry into force of the Convention. Under-Secretary-General Ocampo expressed that this Convention was a significant step forward for people with disabilities around the world, a group that has been marginalized for too long and that needs to be fully included in all development work.

Following the report on the work of the technical Drafting Committee, Syria requested a thirty minute suspension in order for the Arab Group to conclude its meetings on the proposed deletion of the controversial footnote in Article 12. The adjournment continued until close to lunchtime, when Egypt reported on the outcome of the Arab Group's meetings. The Arab Group requested that slight corrections be made to the Arab language version of the treaty, so that wherever in Arabic it said "on an equal basis with the others" it be amended to read "on an equal basis with others" so that it would be consistent with the English language version. It also requested that the footnote not be deleted until it could submit a letter clarifying the Group"s understanding of Article 12. On the understanding that the footnote would, by consensus, be deleted upon receipt of the letter after lunch, Amb MacKay adjourned the meeting until 3pm.

Afternoon session

After further delays to facilitate informal discussions amongst government delegations, the Committee reconvened at 3:50pm. Iraq, the current coordinator for the Arab Group read a letter indicating that listed countries* would join consensus on the deletion of the footnote "based on the understanding that legal capacity mentioned in the Paragraph 2 of Article 12 of the Convention ... means the capacity of rights and not the capacity to act in accordance with the national laws and legislations of these States." Finland, on behalf of the EU and other supporting countries, indicated that those countries would also join consensus on the deletion of the footnote, on the understanding that interpretation of the Convention will be consistent across all official UN languages.

Following agreement to delete the controversial footnote, the Secretary was invited to read a statement elaborating the budgetary implications for the UN of adopting the Convention. Following this statement the Ad Hoc Committee adopted, without a vote, its draft final report, including the AHC resolution and draft text of the Convention and its Optional Protocol!

After brief interventions by the national human rights institutions and civil society, Amb. MacKay adjourned the Committee for one last time. The draft Convention and Optional Protocol will be sent to the UN General Assembly, and it is anticipated that the General Assembly will adopt the final text of the Convention and Optional protocol in the middle of next week! After several years of negotiations, it is anticipated that the Convention and Optional Protocol will be officially opened for signature by States on March 30, 2007.

*Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros Islands, Djibouti, Egypt, Kuwait, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Somalia, Mauritania, Qatar, Oman, United Arab Emirates and Yemen