FIMITIC

2 September 2010 - All 147 countries who signed the UN Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities are meeting once a year to exchange views on how to put it into practice. The 3rd Conference of State Parties since the Convention entered into force in 2008 is held in New-York from 1 to 3 September 2010. EDF is proud to announce that two of its executive members are now part of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

The Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

The session started begining of September with the election of 6 new members of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). The CRPD is a body of independent human rights experts whose job is to keep an eye on the implementation of the Convention. EDF is happy to announce that three European experts have been elected to be part of the CRPD. One of them, Mr Stig Langvad, from Denmark is a European Disability Forum executive member. The European disability movement congratulates Stig Langvad's key achievement.

European expert on human rights of persons with disabilities

The European disability movement congratulates Mr Stig Langvad's key achievement. Stig Langvad, from Denmark is EDF Executive Member We are also proud to have Ms. Ana Pelaez -EDF executive member as well- already on board. She is a member of this Committee until 2012. Stig Langvad and Ana Pelaez both have an outstanding expertise on human rights of persons with disabilities.

We equally welcome the election of Mr. Gabor Gombos from Hungary, Vice Chair of ENUSP (European Network of (ex) Users and Survivors of Psychiatry), and Damian Tatic, from Serbia, Chairman of Working Group on Legislation of National Union of Organizations of Persons with Disabilities of Serbia, as well as Professor Theresia Degener, a legal expert with disabilities from Germany, who has been the co-author of a major study which paved the way to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. She is a friend of EDF, and a member of the German Association of Women with Disabilities.

Focus on the implementation of the Convention

This year, the UN conference of States Parties gives a special focus on the 'Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities through the implementation of the Convention'. Keynote speakers from the European Disability Forum are now at the United Nations headquarter to highlight the challenges of the Convention's conclusion by the EU.

Background information

Each candidate had to be presented by a country that is a State Party to the Convention. The CRPD Committee is now expanding from 12 to 18 members in accordance with the Convention, which says that after 60 ratifications additional to the first 20, the CRPD Committee will expand from 12 to 18 members. On the twelve members elected earlier this week, six of them are new seats resulting from the expansion.

147 countries have now signed the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

93 countries ratified the text.

Last August 2010, Lithuania acceded the treaty: it is the 16th EU country that has ratified the Convention.

Download the International Disability Alliance press release and read more about the Committee final composition.
Find out more information about the Conference of State Parties on the UN website.