The Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities will hold its sixteenth session from 15 August until 2 September at the Palais Wilson in Geneva, to review the reports of Uruguay, Ethiopia, Bolivia, the United Arab Emirates, Guatemala, Colombia and Italy on the implementation of the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
 

The Committee will open the session at 10 a.m. on Monday, 15 August by hearing a representative of the Secretary-General, and will then adopt its agenda and programme of work, discuss the submission of reports, and consider other organizational matters.  The Committee will also hear the report of the Chairperson on inter-sessional activities and discuss cooperation with United Nations bodies, specialized agencies and other competent bodies.

All seven countries will be presenting their initial reports, which can be accessed through the following links: Uruguay (CRPD/C/URY/1), Ethiopia (CRPD/C/ETH/1), Bolivia (CRPD/C/BOL/1) , the United Arab Emirates (CRPD/C/ARE/1), Guatemala (CRPD/C/GTM/1), Colombia (CRPD/C/COL/1) and Italy (CRPD/C/ITA/1).
 
In addition to its review of country reports, the Committee will hold on 26 August a public reading of its General Comment on the right to inclusive education (article 24 of the Convention).

The country reports and other documents before the Committee are accessible on its webpage, where the Committee’s findings, officially termed concluding observations, on the countries reviewed, will also be published.
 
The Committee’s dialogues with the delegations will take place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Palais Wilson – Ground floor. Live webcasts of these meetings can be viewed on http://www.treatybodywebcast.org/.
 
The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities adopts a broad categorization of persons with disabilities, reaffirms that all persons with all types of disabilities must enjoy all human rights and fundamental freedoms, and promotes respect for their inherent dignity.  The Convention entered into force on 3 May 2008 and is the first human rights treaty to be ratified by a regional integration organization, the European Union.
 
The Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the body of 18 independent experts, monitors the implementation of the Convention by States parties.  The Optional Protocol to the Convention gives the Committee competence to examine individual complaints with regard to alleged violations of the Convention by States parties to the Protocol.

 
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Adopted on 13 December 2006 by the General Assembly, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities entered into force on 3 May 2008.

The purpose of the Convention is to promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities, and to promote respect for their inherent dignity.  Persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others.

States parties undertake to ensure and promote the full realization of all human rights and fundamental freedoms for all persons with disabilities without discrimination of any kind on the basis of disability.  States Parties recognize that all persons are equal before and under the law and are entitled without any discrimination to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law.  Specific measures which are necessary to accelerate or achieve de facto equality of persons with disabilities shall not be considered discrimination under the terms of the present Convention.

States parties reaffirm that every human being has the inherent right to life and have committed themselves to take all necessary measures to ensure its effective enjoyment by persons with disabilities on an equal basis with others.  States Parties reaffirm that persons with disabilities have the right to recognition everywhere as persons before the law.  States Parties recognize that persons with disabilities enjoy legal capacity on an equal basis with others in all aspects of life.

Each State party is obliged to submit to the Committee, through the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, a comprehensive report on measures taken to give effect to its obligations under the present Convention and on the progress made in that regard, within two years after the entry into force of the present Convention for the State Party concerned.  Thereafter, States parties shall submit subsequent reports at least every four years and further whenever the Committee so requests.
 
States Parties to the Convention

The Convention has been signed by 160 States, and ratified by 166 Parties - 163 States and one regional organization.
 
They are: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Canada, Cape Verde, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Estonia, Ethiopia, European Union, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Iraq, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kuwait, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Latvia, Lesotho, Liberia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Rwanda, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, State of Palestine, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Sudan, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United Republic of Tanzania, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of), Viet Nam, Yemen, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is the first human rights convention to provide for ratification by regional integration organizations, such as the European Union, which ratified the Convention in December 2010.

Optional Protocol to the Convention
 
The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities recognizes the competence of the Committee to receive and consider communications from or on behalf of individuals or groups of individuals who claim to be victims of a violation of the provisions of the Convention by a State party.  The Optional Protocol was adopted on 13 December 2006 by the General Assembly and entered into force on 3 May 2008.

To date, 89 countries have ratified the Optional Protocol: Afghanistan, Andorra, Angola, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belgium, Benin, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Chile, Congo, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Guinea, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mexico, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Palau, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Rwanda, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, St. Vincent and the Grenadines,  Sudan, Swaziland, Sweden, Syrian Arab Republic, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United Republic of Tanzania, Uruguay, Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of), Yemen and Zimbabwe.
 
Committee Membership

The members of the Committee are elected for a term of four years and shall be eligible for re-election once.  The 18 independent experts are:

Mr. Mohammed Al-Tarawneh (Jordan), Mr. Danlami Umaru Basharu (Nigeria), Mr. Munthian Buntan (Thailand), Ms. Maria Soledad Cisternas Reyes (Chile), Ms. Theresia Degener (Germany); Mr. Hyung Shik Kim (Republic of Korea), Mr. Stig Langvad (Denmark), Mr. László Gábor Lovaszy (Hungary), Ms. Diane Kingston (United Kingdom), Mr. Martin Babu Mwesigwa (Uganda), Mr. Carlos Alberto Parra Dussan (Colombia), Ms. Safak Pavey (Turkey), Ms. Ana Pelaez Narvaez (Spain), Mr. Coomaravel Pyaneandee (Mauritius), Ms. Silvia Judith Quan-Chang (Guatemala), Mr. Jonas Ruskus (Lithuania), Mr. Damjan Tatic (Serbia), and Mr. Liang You (China).  

The Chairperson of the Committee is Ms. Cisternas Reyes.  The Vice-Chairpersons are Ms. Degener, Ms. Kingston and Ms. Quan-Chang.  Mr. Mwesigwa is the Rapporteur. 

Proposed Programme of Work