Interviews with Latin American Leaders about the UN Convention process and prospects

Luis Fernando Astorga of DisabilityWorld conducted a series of interviews over the last few months with leaders from Costa Rica, Chile and Guatemala

Costa Rica: Jorge Ballestero-- "August will be dedicated to the negotiation process for the texts presented by the delegations"

Costa Rica was one of the most active and remarkable of the participating delegations at the Third Meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee of the United Nations for the International Convention on the Human Rights of Persons with Disabilities. This was due in part to the commitment expressed by Mr. Marco Vargas Pereira, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, at a workshop organized in May 2003 by the Costa Rican Forum for the Defense of the Human Rights of Persons with Disabilities (Foro por la Defensa de los Derechos de las Personas con Discapacidad) and the Costa Rican Council of Rehabilitation, together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He stated: "Costa Rica will firmly support the new treaty and, once approved, we will ratify it, and work on other countries to do so too."

The Costa Rican delegation, representing a population of 4 million inhabitants, was very diverse and large: four persons with disabilities, the President of the Council of Rehabilitation and Special Education, a mother of a person with disability, and a professional in the field of disability. This delegation had representatives from government institutions and from the nongovernmental sector, including the Costa Rican Forum for the Defense of Human Rights of Persons with Disabilities. With such advantages, the Costa Rican delegation was able to play this active role, as was recognized, among others, by the representatives of the nongovernmental organizations.

Mr. Jorge Ballestero Quesada, Consulting Minister of the Costa Rica Mission to the United Nations, was the Head of the Delegation. He has a Doctorate degree in Constitutional Law and his leadership was a key factor for this participation in New York.

Disability World had a nice conversation with Mr. Ballestero Quesada:

DW: What is your opinion of this Third Meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee?

Jorge Ballestero: I am very satisfied and we made a great effort. The delegations have presented all of their observations and have done their best to leave, in the first reading, the best text they could with the elements they believe should be incorporated into this important instrument we are negotiating.

DW: Costa Rica has had a very active role during this Meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee. What is your opinion of this delegation?

Jorge Ballestero: We have worked as a team. Our work has been coordinated from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in San Jose, Costa Rica, the Costa Rican Council of Rehabilitation, and the nongovernmental organizations. It is a great responsibility. The participation of Costa Rica has been quantitatively and qualiatively recognized. Costa Rica has contributed to the creation of the most relevant articles of the Convention text so far. That is how seriously we have assumed this mission.

DW: Costa Rica had a large technical delegation, and included persons with disabilities from nongovernmental organizations. What do you say about the work and consultation provided?

Jorge Ballestero: We could not have done it otherwise. Part of the richness demonstrated by Costa Rica was this numerous and diverse delegation. It really represents many sectors of the Costa Rican society making their contributions. It was a well-balanced delegation and each of these persons did make a difference. All worked professionally and with great enthusiasm, representing the positions of their sectors and promoting the larger cause of human rights for persons with disabilities.

DW: Would you all be working on the Fourth Meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee this August?

Jorge Ballestero: That is a sine qua non condition for success in our mission. Work is not finished today, June 4, 2004. The real work deals with the upcoming negotiations. Costa Rica must maintain a firm position, not just for our country, but as a nation that considers the situation of the whole world. That is the added value of the work we have performed during these two weeks. We must take this time, from here to August, to examine more closely our preoccupations and the rest of the world. Because the goal is to approve an International Convention which will be really wide and comprehensive.

DW: What about Latin America? There are some alliances like the European Union or the Africa group. How do you think Latin America and the Caribbean are working as a region?

Jorge Ballestero: GRULAC, known as the Latin American and the Caribbean Group has limited itself to receiving information from the Presidency. It sure would be interesting to activate this group, and other regional groups and mechanisms. GRULAC or the South American Group of Rio, could provide us with added support. Many could be closer in their positions than we think and could become regional negotiation mechanisms.

DW: Lastly, what do you think about this process?

Jorge Ballestero: Some people see that this glass is half full, others believe it is half empty. I always see that the glass is half full. We have made a lot of progress. Some wanted to do more, including us, yet there were many delegations presenting additional texts, observations and important comments. All this calls for a second reading. August will be the beginning of a stronger negotiation process. The difference is that in August, we will not start from a draft prepared by the Working Group, instead we have to be ready to discuss a document with all the additions, observations, and comments from the delegations. We are dealing with materials and contributions from more than 130 countries. There will be a need to reach consensus in order to reach a final Convention to be signed as a celebration of the United Nations Goals for the Millennium.

Chile: Maria Soledad Cisternas-- "I perceive a positive disposition toward the International Convention"

María Soledad Cisternas was part of the official Chilean delegation to the Third Meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee, New York, 24 May to June 4, 2004. The objective of this meeting was to read and make observations to the draft prepared by the Working Group last January.

María Soledad is a Chilean lawyer, who is working in academics and as part of the social movement of persons with disabilities in her country. She is Director of a Program on Disability Law at the University of Diego Portales and she is also a consultant for the National Fund on Disability (Fondo Nacional de Discapacidad, FONADIS), where she represents persons with disabilities.

She was appointed Technical Consultant and member of the Chilean Delegation to the Ad Hoc Committee working on the International Convention, because of her expertise and activism in human rights, particularly in the disability field.

Disability World was able to ask her about this Third Meeting here in New York, at the headquarters of the United Nations:

DW: What is your view about the Convention process during these days?

María Soledad: With respect to the pace of other international conventions, this is taking a reasonable time. Topics have been well analyzed, perhaps it is not a speedy process, but those are the parameters of a human rights convention of this type.

DW: How do you value the role of nongovernmental organizations, particularly within the framework of this Third Meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee?

María Soledad: Well, compared with similar United Nations Conventions, the new achievement has been the greater participation of nongovernmental organizations of persons with disabilities. Many have had to struggle with limitations yet at the end they have moved a long way up to being recognized and heard by the official delegation. Some of them are coordinating with the official sector. All of this was achieved by the hard work of nongovernmental organizations.

DW: What is your opinion of the role of the Latin American countries in this process? And what is the role they should play?

María Soledad: I believe they are playing an important role, with specific contributions. Yet, the position of Latin American countries is not always as consistent as other groupings of countries, we do not act in a coordinated manner as much as other groups do, for example, the European Union or the African group. They move in ways we are not used to. This should make us think more profoundly about how we are doing things. There are some strategies that produce better results than others.

DW: What is your opinion regarding the support and counsel from the nongovernmental organizations of Latin America? Are they doing a good job?

María Soledad: Well, there are differences, we cannot generalize. Costa Rica is demonstrating the recognized importance of nongovernmental organizations working hard and together and as part of the official delegation. This strengthens their proposals and improves their contributions. Similar experiences may be found in the Mexican delegation and, the Chilean delegation is trying to incorporate the unifying elements. I mention these countries as examples of coordination. And in the cases of Costa Rica and Mexico, they do exercise leadership.

DW: As this Third Meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee is closing and we are getting ready for the Fourth Meeting next August, what are your perspectives on this process?

María Soledad: I believe that this is a large and varied process, having strong support, not just here in the United Nations but from the participating governments. And there are also differences in the importance given to certain topics on the part of the representatives from non governmental organization and some official delegations. The most positive contribution is that there is now a global positive interest in an International Convention. Having said this, the sum of these contributions from these three sectors, points out, like a tendency, that at the end, this Convention may become an instrument of nondiscrimination rather than an instrument which includes disability rights in more detail. There is also a second tendency gaining strength, that at the end, we will have a more Comprehensive Human Rights International Convention.

Guatemala: Silvia Quan Chan-- "I believe that the participation of non government organizations is vital."

Silvia Quan Chan is responsible for the Section for the Defense of Persons with Disabilities of the Guatemala Secretariat for Human Rights (Procuraduría de Derechos Humanos de Guatemala). She is a very active leader in the social movement of persons with disabilities of her country.

She was appointed by the Guatemala Ministry of Foreign Affairs as Technical Advisor and in that capacity she accompanied the official delegation of Guatemala to the Third Meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee for the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (New York, May 24 to June 4, 2004)

DW: What is your role in the delegation of your country at this Third Meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee?

Silvia: I have been involved in the process of this convention for more than a year. Because of my participation and the contributions of other representatives of other organizations in Guatemala, we have developed a closer relationship with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This allowed us to discuss with them the draft for the convention. On behalf of the National Council for the Attention of Persons with Disabilities (Consejo Nacional de Atención a Personas con Discapacidad, CIONADI), we shared with the Ministry our position regarding the Convention and the importance of playing an active role at the Third Meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Mission of Guatemala to the United Nations expressed their willingness and interest in having direct advice on disability issues. In this context, I was appointed in the capacity of Adviser to the Delegation.

DW: What type of financial and other support have you received from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs?

Silvia: Well, the Ministry has provided me with full political support. Unfortunately, no financial support. From the beginning, the Ministry indicated that there was no money for my trip to New York, and that the Guatemalan Mission to the United Nations would not help me financially. So we used the strong communication we had developed with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights. They helped me and also provided me with a Personal Assistant so I could go to the meeting.

DW: What is your opinion of the work during these days and how do you perceive this Convention process?

Silvia: I believe it has been a difficult negotiation. There are very divergent positions on topics which are very important for Guatemala and the Latin American region, such as the topics of international cooperation and what is the best structure for the proposed International Convention. At the end, because the European Union presented a more open position, the part on international cooperation was finally advanced. Perhaps the negative aspects will be resolved. Regarding the structure of the Convention, there still are many divergent positions. Here in Latin America we have to work very hard toward a unified position, so that the convention really becomes a Convention on Human Rights.

DW: What is your assessment of the work performed by the nongovernmental organizations in the general process and specifically during this Third Meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee?

Silvia: As our slogan affirms, "Nothing about us without us" or "Everything about us with us", the participation of nongovernmental organizations is essential. This process has also been a historical landmark for the United Nations too, it is the first time that so many sectors of the civil society have come together with a common purpose of supporting an international instrument, like this Convention. The increased participation process must be continued. Nongovernmental organizations should participate in the second and in the third readings of this document. This is important because these private organizations usually defend and propose more progressive and immediate changes, as compared to government positions which usually tend to avoid commitments or direct actions or the sharing of power. In fact, many of the changes in our region are the result of the social struggle of persons with disabilities. Here in this meeting there are many persons with disabilities, from the civil society, who came as part of the official delegations of their countries.

DW: What do you think about the role of Latin America in this process toward a new human rights treaty? Did Latin America play a unified role, as a unity of countries?

Silvia: I will be very careful in answering that. My impression is no. We have not reached a high enough political level to act as a block. There has been a very good participation of some Latin American country delegations, like Costa Rica, Chile, and Mexico, but not as a coordinated block with shared positions and objectives. There have even been some discrepancies among the Latin American delegations. There is still time to work some more on this. If we really try, from here to August we can develop a unified and stronger position. This is important in order to better negotiate with the more consolidated blocs of the European Union and the African group, who have more effectively advanced their proposals within the Ad Hoc Committee.

DW: How important is the support and consulting provided by the nongovernmental organizations of Latin America for the work of the missions at the United Nations toward the International Convention?

Silvia: The contribution of nongovernmental organizations has become fundamental for the work of the missions here in the United Nations. At a national level, these private groups provide political input for the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and these nongovernmental organizations have many types of resources and even motivation for international action, here in the Ad Hoc Committee.

DW: Lastly, what are your opinions regarding the next stage of the process at the Fourth Meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee in August?

Silvia: I will speak about my personal perspectives, as part of the delegation of Guatemala and as part of the Committee, in general. I think that is has been a learning process for Guatemala and I somehow regret that we are so far behind with respect to other more active delegations. My personal participation began last year and this is the second time I came to a meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee. I believe we can improve and advance in our work.

Now, regarding the next part of the Convention process, if we do a better job, we could complete the third reading of the document presented by the Working Group, perhaps by the beginning of year 2005. If a Fifth Meeting is planned for the Ad Hoc Committee, I do not think that the two remaining readings would be completed in the Fourth Meeting. Remember that there are some difficult topics that have not been addressed yet during the first reading, like the Preamble, the structure of the Convention. I believe that once this remaining work is done during the Fourth Meeting, we will be able to move more readily. Here we must place our complete trust on the ability of the Ad Hoc Committee at reaching conclusions and unifying criteria. If all this is done and with good continued negotiations among all sectors, we will have the International Convention in 2005.

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