Brussels, 20 August 2015 | Next week, EDF and its members will be in Geneva to take part in the examination of the EU by the UN expert committee on the rights of persons with disabilities. This is the first time the EU has ever committed to an international human rights convention. The EU will receive recommendations which will influence its handling of the human rights of 80 million persons with disabilities in Europe.
The constructive dialogue between the UN Committee and the EU takes place on 27–28 August in Geneva and it will be live streamed on www.treatybodywebcast.org.
Our delegation in Geneva will include EDF members: Autism Europe, Inclusion Europe, European Network of (Ex-)Users and Survivors of Psychiatry, Mental Health Europe, European Network on Independent Living, CBM/IDDC, European Federation of Hard of Hearing People, International Federation for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus and the European Union of the Deaf.
THE FINAL DIALOGUE
Next week, a delegation from the European Commission will be in Geneva to meet the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. On 27-28 August, the final dialogue, known as “Constructive dialogue”, between the UN and the EU will take place. In this frame, on 27 August EDF and its members are organising a side event in which we will present to the UN Committee members the perspective of people with disabilities and insist on the areas which remain problematic for people with disabilities in Europe.
Two days earlier than the constructive dialogue, on 25 August EDF and its members are organising another side event to focus this time especially on the rights of women and girls with disabilities.
After the constructive dialogue between the EU and the UN will be completed, the UN Committee will sum up their final conclusions from the overall EU review process and will adopt on 3 September the so called “Concluding observations”. These are the UN’s final recommendations on how the EU can improve the implementation of the UN Convention.
The EU will have 4 years to work on these recommendations and will come back to Geneva afterwards to present its new report to the UN Committee. A similar review process will be followed then.
Follow all the updates on twitter: #crpd14
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Contact EDF: An-Sofie Leenkneckt | EDF Human Rights officer | ansofie.leenknecht@edf-feph.org