Csaba Kőrösi, President of the 77th session of the General Assembly
—-
Remarks to the 16th Session of the Conference of States Parties on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
(As delivered)
Mr. Secretary-General,
Mr. Conference President,
Madam Committee Chairperson,
Mr. Special Rapporteur,
Madam Special Envoy,
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is a great honour to participate in the opening of the sixteenth session of the Conference of States Parties to the CRPD.
Let me thank Mr. Kabbara of Lebanon, and Mr. Al Muftah of Qatar for joining us today.
We have much to learn from your perspectives on how to harmonize national policies with this ground-breaking instrument.
This Convention is, indeed, a history maker.
It marked a paradigm shift in our thinking.
It took us away from viewing persons with disabilities as recipients of social protection towards recognizing them as full rights holders and active members of society.
Fifteen years on, it is important to ask: Are we removing the physical, technological and attitudinal barriers for persons with disabilities to participate equally in communal life?
We must acknowledge there is still much to do to translate the Convention’s landmark provisions into real change on the ground – particularly in terms of access.
– Access to food, health care, housing and other provisions that are key to well-being.
– Access to schools, workplaces, courthouses and other public facilities that are essential for our daily life.
– Access to services and technologies that support independence and personhood.
We simply cannot fulfil our 2030 pledge to “leave no one behind” if we do not step up our action.
Our SDG framework offers many ways to make a difference, setting out seven targets explicitly focused on persons with disabilities.
Here, it is especially crucial to have accurate data.
By collecting them, policy makers can identify the bottlenecks, and then they can allocate the resources accordingly.
These efforts will be particularly important for overcoming the barriers to digital inclusion.
Persons with disabilities often have lower incomes than others, making the cost of adaptive technology or connectivity services a burden.
I am committed to supporting this mission to build societies of inclusion and justice.
Just yesterday, we had a meeting on the role of “easy-to-understand communication” helping people with disabilities to engage fully in UN life.
It was a privilege to convene the training session on Accessibility and Disability Awareness in April.
And on Thursday, I look forward to addressing and chairing the Assembly’s High-Level Meeting on “Equal Access to Justice for All”.
It will feature remarks by a person with disabilities who is helping others – others like him – to navigate the complexities of legal systems around the world.
In these and countless other ways, persons with disabilities are often not waiting for Governments to act.
They are forging partnerships, and they are advocating for political and public participation.
With the pivotal SDG Summit around the corner, it is on us – the international community – to pay attention to these matters and to do what we pledged: To tackle the roots of marginalization, and to work at every turn to promote the equal enjoyment of human rights by all.
By all, including persons with disabilities – no matter the circumstance.
Because our sisters and brothers with disabilities are different, not less.
And we should know them for their abilities.
Let us not forget what a paralympic fencing champion said: at a certain point of time, all of us will face with challenges of disabilities. Just most of us don’t know when this moment comes.
But all of us have something to offer to our communities.
Including becoming the best in the world on something special, something valuable.
I thank you.
