In 1995, governments participating in the Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing agreed to the terms of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. The Beijing documents set out a wide-ranging plan of action to realize the advancement and empowerment of women in relation to women’s human rights, women and poverty, women and decision-making, the girl-child, violence against women and other areas of concern. In March, 2010, the UN Commission on the Status of Women will review the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, 15 years after its adoption. This is being called the Beijing +15 Global Review.
DRPI collaborated with its partner Disabled Peoples’ International (DPI) to submit a statement to the Beijing +15 Global Review. The statement notes that Article 6 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) is an important step forward, but maintains that much remains to be done to ensure that women and girls with disabilities fully exercise and enjoy human rights. The statement is divided into two parts: (1) information about the situation of women with disabilities, focusing on the monitoring results from DRPI projects in India and Kenya and (2) recommendations for change.