June 12: U.S. Forum on Developing a UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities
People from countries around the world have begun working together to create a United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Grassroots disability organizations within the United States are now being invited into this process. On June 12, 2002, an educational and strategic forum will be held in Washington, DC, to inform the leaders of American grassroots disability groups about international human rights tools and their relationship to U.S. disability legislation, including the Americans with Disabilities Act, and to outline opportunities these groups have to support active and positive U.S. participation in the convention-development process.
Background: United Nations Conventions as a Human Rights Tool: Since it was formed after World War II, the United Nations has served as a forum where countries can articulate the rights of specific groups of potentially overlooked or disenfranchised people such as children, women, migrants, and refugees. U.N. conventions are developed by committees made up of people from many nations, drawing on the best minds and the best models that exist. Once the U.N. General Assembly has approved a convention, individual nations get to choose whether or not to ratify it, a formal process within each country. By signing on to a convention, a country agrees to promote its vision, to implement its provisions, and to take part in specific compliance-monitoring activities. U.N. conventions have served as templates for policies and laws in countries across the globe.
Movement for a U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: In December 2001, the United Nations General Assembly decided, by consensus, to establish an Ad Hoc Committee to study the possibility of a disability-focused convention and to begin to draft provisions. Many countries as well as international human rights and other non-governmental civil society organizations will contribute to this process. The time is ripe to educate U.S. disability organizations about U.N. conventions and to draw their skills and expertise into the development of this international legal instrument.
Leading international disability organizations including Rehabilitation International (RI) and Disabled Persons International (DPI) are supporting the creation of this U.N. convention. Within the United States, the National Council on Disability (NCD) is sponsoring an educational process, working in collaboration with:
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The U.S. International Council on Disabilities (USICD), which is the U.S. member organization of both RI and DPI
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Mental Disability Rights International (MDRI)
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The Landmine Survivors Network (LSN)
Information sharing: In an effort to keep as many Americans as possible involved in the U.N. Convention process, USICD is establishing a listserv on the topic. Information regarding how to subscribe to the listserve will be available soon on USICD's website. Documents and other information on the development of a U.N. Convention can also be found at USICD's website at www.usicd.org.
June 2002 Forum Will Launch the Educational Initiative: On June 12, 2002, up to 100 representatives of U.S. grassroots disability organizations are being invited by NCD and USICD to attend an all-day forum in Washington, DC. Its purpose will be to:
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Draw on the experience of the international human rights community that has been involved in prior U.N. conventions to inform U.S. disability advocates about the process involved in developing these conventions and to show them how these instruments promote the rights and interests of people with disabilities.
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Discuss the value to Americans of being involved in international conventions when U.S. legislation already affirms certain rights and offers certain protections.
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Review a White Paper that presents the rationale for a U.N. disability-focused convention.
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Discuss and agree on the components of an "outreach tool" that can be used to educate grassroots disability organizations across the U.S.
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Get specific commitments from these organizations to educate their own membership and networks about these international issues and instruments over the next 6-18 months, and to develop a framework for communication and dialogue among all stakeholders.
This forum will be a first step in educating U.S. grassroots disability organizations about international conventions. Groups that attend the June forum will be asked to spread the word to grassroots organizations unable to attend. Materials on this initiative also will be available through a listserv, in an effort to inform and involve as many U.S. disability groups as possible.
White Paper: NCD has commissioned a "White Paper" that lays out the human rights challenges facing people with disabilities worldwide. It draws on lessons learned from successful movements in the apartheid, women's issues, and child rights arenas. It provides background on prior conventions, describes provisions and enforcement mechanisms, and positions civil and disability rights in a human rights context, recognizing that tangible progress on disability issues in the social development sphere will be greatly enhanced by global recognition of people with disabilities as human rights stakeholders. This White Paper provides the educational base for an action plan, also called an "outreach tool."
Outreach Tool: This tool will be a "how to" guide for building awareness about the disability convention within the U.S. Forum participants will be asked to help strengthen this tool and to commit to using it within their networks over the next 12-18 months. Effective use of this tool should:
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Widely educate the disability community and the public at large about this issue in order to create a broad-based understanding of the purpose and value of a U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
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Provide avenues for the broader U.S. disability community to provide input to whichever U.S. disability organizations participate directly in the convention-drafting process.
Potential Outcomes of a U.N. Convention: The National Council on Disability, USICD, and many U.S. national as well as international disability-focused organizations are joined in their commitment to promoting awareness about the role of a U.N. Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities because:
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The U.S. national civil rights agenda will be strengthened as it allies itself with the international human rights agenda.
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Our national experience with the Americans with Disabilities Act, which is recognized worldwide as containing some of the most progressive and innovative concepts to promote societal inclusion of people with disabilities, will be a valuable contribution to this international process.
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Some of ADA's provisions can be informed and conceivably strengthened by the experience of other countries.
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The U.S. will become part of a multi-national dialogue that strengthens worldwide understanding of disability issues.
For more information on this project, contact:
Rosangela Berman-Bieler, President
U.S. International Council on Disabilities
Tel: (301) 309-8269
Fax: (301) 309-9486
E-mail: usicd-hq@usicd.org or uscir@aol.com
Website: www.usicd.org
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