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April 30, 2008
Latin American Regional Conference on the Disability Rights Convention
We would like to share the following message from RI secretariat.
Dear RI members,
We thank everyone who was able to attend the RI Regional Conference:
Implementing the UN Disability Rights Convention in Latin America:
Partnerships, Strategies, and Action, April 15-16, 2008, in Mexico City.
With more than 250 participants from 20 countries and informative
presentations from experts on a wide-range of issues related to ratification
and implementation of the CRPD, we are pleased to announce that the
conference was a great success! One of the key outcomes of this conference
was the attached Call to Action, adopted by the participants at the close of
the conference. The conference also generated a lot of interest in RI
membership in the region. For your information, attached (and copied below)
please find the press release sent to the media yesterday. Spanish versions
were also sent to media in Latin America. These documents as well as the
presentations can be found on the RI website at:
http://www.riglobal.org/events/meetingarchive.html
This Latin American Regional Conference was organized by Rehabilitation
International (RI), together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE), the
National Council for Persons with Disabilities (CONADIS) and the National
System for the Integral Development of the Family (DIF). RI also thanks
Irish Aid, the Open Society Institute, and an anonymous donor for their
generous support of both this conference and the RI Global Advocacy
Campaign. RI also acknowledges the important partnership with the law firms
Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP in New York; Barrera, Siquieros y Torres Landa,
S.C. (BSTL) in Mexico; BLP Abogados in Costa Rica and Corral & Rosales in
Ecuador.
We look forward to continuing our good collaboration with RI members,
governments and UN agencies in promoting full implementation of the CRPD and
its Optional Protocol.
Kind regards,
RI Secretariat
Call_for_Action_16Apr08_English_FINAL.pdf
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Spanish Version : RI_PressRelease_Post-Conference_24Apr08_SP_FINAL.pdf
RI Latin American Regional Conference Calls for Action on Implementation of
UN Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities
(Mexico City, Mexico, 24 April 2008) Over 250 participants from 20 countries
gathered in Mexico City, 15-16 April 2008, for the RI Regional Conference,
"Implementing the UN Disability Rights Convention in Latin America:
Partnerships, Strategies, and Action," organized by RI with the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs (SRE), National Council for Persons with Disabilities
(CONADIS) and National System for Integral Development of the Family (DIF).
Speakers included distinguished individuals such as Minister of Health and
President of the National Council for People with Disabilities (CONADIS) in
Mexico José Ángel Córdoba Villalobos; and Vice President of Ecuador Lenin
Moreno.
The conference took place just two weeks after Ecuador became the 20th
country to sign the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
(CRPD), triggering the entry into force of the treaty and its Optional
Protocol on May 3, 2008. Mexico was also among the 9 countries in Latin
America to have ratified the Convention, together with 5 ratifications of
the Protocol, representing a significant number of Latin American States
Parties to date.
During the two-day conference, many speakers emphasized the importance of
ensuring the legal capacity of persons with disabilities guaranteed by the
Convention. Presenters also stressed the need to ensure participation of
persons with disabilities in all decision-making levels, underscoring the
disability movement call for "Nothing About Us, Without Us".
The conference also presented a unique opportunity for diverse participants
from across the region - representing governments, civil society,
parliaments, the private sector and service providers - to meet and exchange
good practices, in order to develop future partnerships.
As one of the chief outcomes of the conference, participants unanimously
adopted a "Call for Action," urging all governments to sign and ratify the
Convention and the Protocol without reservations as soon as possible, to
uphold the universal standard for human rights established by the
Convention, and to implement new action plans, laws, policies and programs
for ratification of the Convention at the regional, national and local
levels.
RI President Michael Fox said that, "The Call for Action actively promotes
and supports the need for close collaboration among organizations of persons
with disabilities, civil society organizations, governments, UN agencies,
the media, professionals, service providers and legal professionals, to
strengthen existing independent monitoring bodies and ensure implementation
of the Convention and Protocol. Critical measures include supported decision
making and legal capacity, together with adequate new or reallocated
financial and other resources for implementation of the Convention. Latin
American countries that have ratified the Convention have a great
opportunity to work closely together to assist each other and other
countries in the region to ratify and effectively implement the Convention
and Protocol."
The Call for Action also highlights the need for the public and private
sectors to ensure accessibility to new and existing virtual and physical
environments, while stressing the need to address the poverty and disability
link as well the multiple forms of discrimination faced by many indigenous
persons, women, children and older persons with disabilities.
As part of the RI Global Advocacy Campaign on the Convention,
recommendations for legal reform in Mexico and Costa Rica, to comply with
the standards of the Convention, were distributed at the meeting. These
recommendations were developed in partnership with the international law
firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP; the Mexican law firm Barrera, Siquieros y
Torres Landa, S.C. (BSTL) and the law firm BLP Abogados in Costa Rica.
Further recommendations are being developed in Mexico in partnership with
BSTL and the Mexican law firm SAI Abogados, and in Ecuador with the the
Ecuadorian firm Corral & Rosales. The research is being carried out in
collaboration with disability community in these countries.
RI appreciates the generous support of Irish Aid, the Open Society
Institute, and an anonymous donor for both this conference and the RI Global
Advocacy Campaign. RI also acknowledges the important partnership among the
co-organizers of the Conference, exemplifying the benefits of collaboration
among organizations of persons with disabilities, government and civil
society.
For further information, including speaker presentations to be posted
shortly, please visit the RI website: www.riglobal.org, Or Contact:
Andrés Balcázar at: + 52 1 555 409 1094, abalcazar@abc-discapacidad.com,
Shantha Rau Barriga at + 1 212 420 1500 ext. 205, shantha@riglobal.org, or
Lauren Goldy at + 1 212 420 1500 ext. 208, lauren@riglobal.org .
About RI RI is a diverse organization connecting people with disabilities,
service providers and governments to advance the rights and inclusion of
people with disabilities worldwide.
Posted by jicafriends at April 30, 2008 11:03 AM