UN urges respect for rights of persons with disabilities
The United Nations Secretary General, Mr Ban Ki-Moon, has called on member-countries to respect the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities.
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In a speech read on his behalf at the ninth session of the Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) which opened in New York last Tuesday, Mr Ki-Moon said “there is still much more we can do to fully implement the CRPD and make rights a reality for the more than one billion persons with disabilities around the world”
Representatives of 160 state parties are attending the three-day conference which is on the theme “Implementing the 2030 Development Agenda for all persons with disabilities: Leaving no one behind”.
The sub-themes are: eliminating poverty and inequality for all persons with disabilities; promoting the rights of persons with mental and intellectual disabilities; enhancing accessibility to information and technology and inclusive development; and celebrating the 10th anniversary of the adoption of the CRPD.
Ghana is being represented at the conference by a delegation led by the Chief Director at the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Mr Kwasi Amo-Himbson, and the Permanent Representative to the UN, Mrs Martha Pobee
CRPD
Adopted in 2007, the CRPD is to promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and the fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities, as well as to promote respect for their inherent dignity.
Mr Ban said increasingly, disability issues, including the rights and well-being of persons with disabilities, were being recognised and integrated into socio-economic development and humanitarian responses, saying that the CRPD was one of the most widely ratified international treaties.
He said apart from other interventions by the UN, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development reflected a strong international commitment to ensuring that persons with disabilities were not left behind in development.
The SDG on disability
Among the goals in the Sustainable Development Agenda (SDG) adopted by the UN in September 2015, goal 11 is on inclusive, safe and sustainable cities and human settlements while goal four is on inclusive and equitable quality education and promotion of life-long learning opportunities for all, calling for equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for the vulnerable, including persons with disabilities..
The Secretary General assured member countries of the UN’s commitment to work with all state parties to help integrate the rights and voices of persons with disabilities into all national and international efforts, saying that “together, we will build a better world for all”.
In their opening statements, member countries pledged to do more to improve the lives of persons with disabilities.
Elections
This year’s session included elections for nine members to the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to replace those whose terms are due to expire in December 2016.
However, Ghana’s nominee, Mrs Gertrude Oforiwa Fefoame, a member of the Board of the National Council of Persons with Disability (NCPD), could not obtain the 81 votes needed out of the 160 votes cast to make it to the committee.
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