DPI Update -- Week of April 16, 2010
April 15, 2010
To see the html version and past e-news archives, please go to http://v1.dpi.org/lang-en/resources/newsletters
** E-news for Week ending 16 April 2010 **
Welcome to Disabled Peoples International’s (DPI’s) E-news. Please continue to send your activities, conference information, and publications news to Dr. Cassandra Phillips at info@dpi.org. This week is an update on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).
It is with deep sadness that DPI announces the death on 7 April 2010 of Mr. George S. Daniel, the 1st Deputy Chair of Disabled Peoples International (DPI), Chair of DPI North America and the Caribbean and President of the Trinidad and Tobago Chapter of Disabled Peoples' International (TTDPI). His contributions to the international disability community are immeasurable. He was a passionate, dedicated, kind and resourceful man who will be missed in every aspect of DPI’s work. We send our condolences to his fiancée and family.
To date there are 144 signatories and 84 ratifications of the CRPD. There are 88 signatories and 52 ratifications of the Optional Protocol.
Congratulations from DPI to the United Arab Emirates for ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on 19 March 2010.
**Third Conference of States Parties to the Convention**
The third Conference of States Parties to the Convention (CoSP) will be held 1-3 September 2010 at the United Nations, New York, USA. This session under the theme “Implementing the Convention through Advancing Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities” will focus on 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. More updates will be available soon at http://www.un.org/disabilities/
**Promoting, Protecting and Monitoring the Convention (CRPD)**
The Mental Disability Advocacy Center (MDAC) advances the human rights of children and adults with actual or perceived intellectual or mental health disabilities. Focusing on Europe and Central Asia, it uses a combination of law and advocacy to promote equality and social integration.
In early April, 2010 MDAC launched a one-year initiative to provide guidance to governments and NGOs on the effective implementation of Article 33 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).
At the national level States Parties are obligated under Article 33 to designate or establish one or more “independent mechanisms” to “promote, protect and monitor implementation” of the CRPD.
MDAC will develop practical guidelines and checklists to assist governments and NGOs on the obligations of States Parties to the CRPD and produce a summary report for the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to assist the Committee in holding States Parties to account. To read more, please go to http://www.mdac.info/
**Update on Haiti**
The Secretariat for the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (SCRPD/DESA) co-sponsored a panel discussion “Haiti: Reconstruction for All” at the Haiti Donor Conference at the United Nations on 31 March, along with the Permanent Mission of Canada to the United Nations, the World Bank and Disabled Peoples’ International. The panel, organized by the Global Partnership for Disability and Development (GPDD), included a discussion on the inclusion of universal design in the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Haiti for socio-economic development. The event also provided an opportunity to announce the launching of a toolkit that contains existing information and resources helpful to design, implement, and monitor inclusive rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts.
**2010 International VSA Festival: An Event not to be Missed**
From June 6–12, 2010, VSA—the international organization on arts and disability—will bring together artists, educators, researchers, and policymakers with and without disabilities from around the world for a multicultural celebration of the arts and arts education. The Festival will feature visual, performing, literary, and media artists and a guest list that includes more than 2,000 participants from all corners of the globe. Registration is now available at http://www.kennedy-center.org/programs/festivals/09-10/vsa/