1st Session of the Ad Hoc Committee

UN Ad Hoc Meeting concerning the proposed UN Disability Rights Convention
July August 2002 New York

Kicki Nordstrom
IDA Chair and President World Blind Union

Distinguished Mr. Chair
Distinguished Delegates
Dear NGO representatives
On behalf of the International Disability Alliance (IDA), comprising seven international disability organisations, working in a network to enhance the Human Rights of persons with disabilities in the world.
I am honoured to be able to bring to you the following message from the seven organisations
who are...
Disabled Peoples' International, Inclusion International, Rehabilitation International, World Blind Union, World Federation of the Deaf, World Federation of Deafblind, World Network of Users and Survivors of Psychiatry
This is a historical moment for all persons with disabilities through out the world. If the dream will come true that we will have our own convention in the future, it will be the first time in Human history that persons with disabilities will be fully accepted and recognised as full and equal members of society with the same rights as others.
This moment is indeed important for more than 600 million citizens of the world and your decisions in the coming days and years will undoutably make a huge difference for us in the future.
The decisions you make here will bring the first binding instrument to us for protecting our human rights and dignity.
The Disability Rights movement has now a great expectation that we will be heard and listened to, when you are going to decide our future and on our Human Rights.
We therefore kindly ask you to listen to us and allow us to be heard in the negotiation process on issues on us and about us. Such an approach will show your willingness to give truly meaningful value to your words of full participation of persons with disabilities.
For us it is of greatest importance that you also in the future will include persons with disabilities in your national delegations as experts. We can offer the knowledge, experience and information you need for a true and full understanding of disability and our conditions.
I am sure you would never draft a convention on women without including women, and I am sure you would not draft a convention on indigenous people without the inclusion of indigenous people. Therefore we fully trust that you will include persons with disabilities in your national delegations as experts in future Ad Hoc meetings.
We are also sure that your good sense will allow you to agree on the inclusion of persons with disabilities in the monitoring process of a convention when it is finally adopted.
In order to raise awareness on disability issues and our diversity, we would very much like to see that other NGO:s present here, without consultative status with ECOSOC, will be allowed to speak and contribute to your understanding.
In the great hope that you will agree on a new convention on Human Rights for persons with disabilities, we wish you all success in your humanitarium efforts..
Thank you Friends,

Kicki Nordstrom
IDA Chair and President World Blind Union
N:WBU(Tal2002)Kicki speech IDA Ad hoc NY02.doc