Information Note on the Third session of the Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was adopted by the General Assembly in its resolution 61/106 of 13 December 2006. Article 40 of the Convention stipulates that “The States Parties shall meet regularly in a Conference of States Parties in order to consider any matter with regard to the implementation of the present Convention.”

The third session of the Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was held  on September 1, 2010 from 9.45 a.m. to 12.45 p.m. and 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. On September 2 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m and 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. On September 3 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at United Nations Headquarters in New York.

This session, under the theme; “Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities through the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities”, began with the election of members of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and include substantive roundtable discussions and an interactive informal session with civil society. 

Elections of the members of the Committee was held in accordance with article 34 of the Convention. As the total number of ratifications has passed 80, the membership of the Committee increased by six to a total of 18 members. Additional elections was held for the six members whose term expires in 2010.  Please note that the upcoming election of the members of the Committee was coordinated and administered by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Office of Legal Affairs. Queries from Member States were directed to Ms. Safak Pavey (spavey@ohchr.org). 

• Bureau: 
  • President: Mexico
  • Vice-Presidents: Hungary, Jordan, New Zealand and South Africa    

• Documents:   
  Official Documentation:
  • CRPD/CSP/2010/1 Provisional agenda (Advance Unedited Copy)
  • CRPD/CSP/2010/2 Election of the members of the Committe on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
  • CRPD/CSP/2010/3 Report of the third Conference of States Parties to the Convention
     
  Conference Room Papers (CRP):
  • CRPD/CSP/2010/CRP.1: Election of the Members of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
  • CRPD/CSP/2010/CRP.1/ADD.1 
  • CRPD/CSP/2010/CRP.1/ADD.2
  • CRPD/CSP/2010/CRP.2 Compilation on Best Practices on the implementation of articles 11, 19 and 24 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (see below: Additional Documents for contributions from States Parties)
  • CRPD/CSP/2010/CRP.3 – article 19: Background Paper
  • CRPD/CSP/2010/CRP.4 – article 24: Background Paper
  • CRPD/CSP/2010/CRP.5 – article 11: Background Paper 

Additional Documentation:
• Provisional programme 
• Contributions received from Member States for CRP.2 

• UN News Stories:
  • At UN, countries call for strengthening of rights of persons with disabilities
  • Top UN official urges all Member States to ratify landmark disability convention
  • Meeting on UN disability treaty to focus on impact of conflicts and disasters

• Press releases:
  • States Parties to Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Open Three Day Headquarters Session, Elect New Members to Monitoring Body 
  • As States Parties to Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities Continue Session, Round Tables Address Right to Education, Living in the Community
  • Conference of States Parties Concludes 

• UN Radio
  • Listen to UN Radio story 

• Side-Events 

• List of Side-Events 

Tuesday 31 August

• Civil Society Forum
  Forum co-organized by UN-DESA and International Disability Alliance
  • Draft Agenda 
  • Report of the Civil Society Forum (Prepared by the International Disability Alliance)
  • List of Accredited NGOs to the Conference of States Parties

Wednesday 1 September

• Opening of Meeting

Chairperson: H.E.Amb Claude Heller (Mexico)

• Mr. Sha Zhukang, Under Secretary General, DESA
• Ms. Navanethem Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
• Mr. Ron MacCallum, Chair of Committee on the Rights Persons with Disabilities
• Ms. Diane Richler, IDA Chair and representative of CSOs 

• Election of the members of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 
  • CRPD/CSP/2010/CRP.1: Election of the Members of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
  • CRPD/CSP/2010/CRP.1/ADD.1: Election of the Members of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

• Round Table 1.  Inclusion and living in the community
  • Article 19 of the CRPD
  • Background paper: CRPD/CSP/2010/CRP.3 – article 19
  • Chairperson: Mr. Adam Kosa   (Hungary)
  • Panelists:
    • Mr. Mohammed Al Tarawaneh (Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities)
    • Mr. Steven M. Eidelman (University of Delaware)
    • Ms. Senada Halilcevic (Inclusion Europe)
  • Other Statements
    • H.E.Ms. Noluthando Mayende-Sibiya (Republic of South Africa)
    • Adriana Retana Salazar (Republic of Costa Rica) (Spanish)
    • Belgian Implementation of the Convention
    • Sra. María Ximena Rivas, SENADIS (Chile)
    • Noa Furman (Israel)
    • (Republic of Korea)
    • (New Zealand)
    • (United States)

Thursday 2 September

• Round Table 2.  Inclusion and the right to education
  • Article 24 of the CRPD
  • Background paper: CRPD/CSP/2010/CRP.4 – article 24  
  • Chairperson:
    • H.R.H. Prince Raad bin Zeid Al-Hussein (Jordan) 
    • H.E.Ms. Noluthando Mayende-Sibiya (Republic of South Africa)
  • Panelists:
    • Ms. Maria Soledad Cisternas Reyes (Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities)
    • Ms. Linda English (World Bank)
    • Mr. Markku Jokinen (World Federation of the Deaf)
    • Mr. Shybe Chalklen (UN Special Rapporteur on Disability)
    • Ms. Ana Pelaez Narvaez (Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities)
  • Other Statements:
    • Adriana Retana Salazar (Republic of Costa Rica) (Spanish)
    • Metin Senturk (World Handicapped Foundation)
    • (Republic of Korea)
    • Maria Ximena Rivas (Chile) (pdf)
    • Damjan Tatic (Republic of Serbia) (pdf)
    • H.E. Raymond O. Wolfe (Jamaica) (pdf)
    • Richard Rieser of World of Inclusion, representing the United Kingdom Disabled People’s Council
    • (United States)
    • Derecho a la educación de las pcd en el nuevo ángulo de la Convención.
  • Side-event documents: 
    • Background paper: Implementation of the CRPD: disability-inclusive monitoring and evaluation of the MDGs and other Internationally Agreed Development Goals (by DESA, Argentina, World Bank and GPDD)
    • Maria Martinho (UN Statistics Division) “Mainstreaming disability in the MDG process”
    • Jennifer H. Madans (National Center for Heath Statistics) “Measuring Disability and Monitoring the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities”
    • Silivia Bersanelli (CONADIS) “Los ODM y la discapacidad en la Republica Argentina” 
       
• Informal Session on Emerging Issues: Persons with disabilities on situation of risk and humanitarian emergencies
  • Article 11 of the CRPD
  • Background paper: CRPD/CSP/2010/CRP.5 – article 11
  • Co-chairpersons:
    • H. E. Amb. Jim McLay (New Zealand)
    • Mr. Yannis Vardakastanis, (IDA)  
  • Panelists:
    • Ms. Valerie Scherrer (CBM)
    • Ms. Maria Veronica Reina (GPDD)
    • Ms. Silvia Lavagnoli (OHCHR)
    • Mr. Monsur Chowdhury (Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities)
  • Other Statements
    • (New Zealand)
    • (United States)

Friday 3 September

• Interactive dialogue on the implementation of the Convention by the UN system
  • Chairperson: H.E.Ambassador Claude Heller (Mexico)
  • Ms. Keiko Osaki Tomita, Chief of Demographic and Social Statistics, DESA  
  • Ms. Maggie Nicholson, Deputy Director, OHCHR 
  • Ms. Aleksandra Posarac, Lead Human Development Economist, World Bank
  • Mr. Udo Janz, Director, UNHCR   and Presentation
  • Ms. Leyla Sharafi, Technical Specialist on gender issues, UNFPA

• Closing of the Meeting
  • Ms. Diane Richler, IDA Chair and representative of CSOs
  • Chairperson’s summary