UN Convention meetings update
As we post this issue, New York City is bursting with politicians, protestors, reporters and...disability rights specialists. At one end of town the Republican Party is making its case for the re-election of President Bush and at the other, hundreds of government officials and representatives of non-governmental organizations are forging ahead with the draft of the UN Convention on the rights of disabled people. Our information is that it's tougher times for the NGOs during this 4 th meeting of the UN Ad Hoc Committee on the Convention since some governments successfully pressed to reduce the NGO role to observer status in selected sessions.

Rumors of this tactic had been circulating all summer, so the NGOs were prepared and are keeping close contact with like-minded souls on the governmental delegations. One pundit said it's as if the negotiations started out on a multi-lane freeway with several drafts soaring around and a truckload of game plans edging past each other; next the caravan exited on to the roadway with two lanes, one in each direction; and finally we have ended up on one of those single track roads found all over Scotland, with little sandy areas to dive off the path in case of oncoming objects.

The NGOs are hosting information sessions at the UN during lunch breaks on a variety of topics under discussion. On August 27, RI & DPI hosted a joint session on "What is independent living?," featuring Marca Bristo , RI Vice President and Director, Access Living of Chicago, speaking on the concept and its history; Gerard Quinn of Ireland, international disability rights lawyer, addressing how independent living is reflected in the Convention; and Venus Ilagan of the Philippines, Chair of Disabled People's International, explaining how independent living relates to Community Based Rehabilitation.

On August 30 the World Bank Statistical Office and Disability Advisor held a lunch briefing for governmental delegations about disability data collection, the subject of Article 6 in the current draft. The Disability Caucus, now comprised of more than 35 NGOs, has been meeting regularly.

Paralympics, September 17-28
A torch relay opens events for the Athens Paralympics on September 9, where approximately 4000 athletes from 145 countries are expected. There will be 19 sports competitions and details are available online: www.paralympic.org At the Olympics , the wheelchair track racing was an exhibition event, awarding medals as follows: women's 800 meter race - Gold, Chantal Petitclerc of Canada, setting a record; Silver and Bronze to Eliza Stankovitch and Louise Sauvage of Australia; men's 1500m - Gold, Robert Figl of Germany; Silver, Saul Mendoza of Mexico; and Bronze, Rawat Tana of Thailand.

Russian, 65, completes 3000 mile trip in his wheelchair
Not an Olympic event, but certainly one for the record books was the arduous trip from Moscow to Madrid made by Vladimir Ksenchak, who traveled from June 11 to August 24 in his manual wheelchair. He dubbed his trip, "Russia-Europe Without Drugs," as a campaign to discourage young people from using drugs. His route took him through Russia, Belarus, Poland, Germany, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France and Spain, and people along the way provided food and lodging. (Associated Press, August 24)

This issue of Disability World has a strong emphasis on developing countries, with many reporters focusing on concrete progress achieved in the areas of legislation, governance, education and accessibility, and a few pointing out problem areas such as rising disability rates due to landmines, conflicts and war, as well as difficulties in taking services beyond pilot projects.

Highlights of this issue by region are:

• Africa: special report on CBR research; editorial on African conflicts and the disability toll; progress report on the African Disability Decade, Global Deaf connection focuses on sign language in Kenya, interviews with African disability leaders in governmental office, inclusive education in Madagascar;
  
• Latin America: editorial on human rights and Latin America; interviews with Latin American participants in UN Convention process, Latin America's Year of Disabled Persons, human rights violations in Paraguay, landmines increase in Colombia, progress reports from Argentina, Guatemala, Costa Rica and Ecuador;
  
• Europe: conference on inclusive education in Russia, report of training disabled youths in conflict resolution, working towards disability rights in Georgia;
  
• Asia: overview of disability situation in Nepal, a blind man's life in Bangladesh, the disability movement and accessibility reports from Afghanistan.

Next Issue
If you have news or articles you would like to see in the next issue of Disability World, please make sure we receive them by September 15 as follows: in English, send Word files to editor@disabilityworld.org ; in Spanish, send Word files to espanol@disabilityworld.org

printer-friendly format