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Meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee, 29 July - 9 August 2002 : NGO Bulletins : Disability Negotiations Bulletin #4 August 2, 2002 Today's Weather Forecast Isolated thunderstorms High: 89º F/ 32ºC  Low: 69º F/25ºC Exchange Rate 10 US Dollars Euro (EUR) = 10.2035 Mexican Peso (MXN) = 97.0290 Ecuador(same as US dollar) Sierra Leone (SLL) = 19,300.00 Ad Hoc Committee Meeting Today's Schedule: 9:00 - 9:45am Disability Caucus Conference Room D 10am  - 1pm & 3pm - 6pm Ad Hoc Committee Meeting Conference Room 1 2:30 pm BRIEFING: NGO Briefing Chairman Conference Room D INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Acknowledgments IDA Supports Search for New Special Rapporteur Human Rights and Global Realities Disability Awareness Badge of Honor and Dishonor\ Acknowledgments Thanks to the following organizations for providing translations: French: Disabled Peoples' Int'l Japanese: Japan Council on Disability Spanish: Mexican Disability Office The NGOs present at the Ad Hoc Committee meeting wish to express their gratitude to the Bureau and the national delegations for their successful efforts yesterday to settle their disagreements and resume productive negotiations. We commend the committee for officially resolving the question of NGO participation, and also for putting the principle of participation into practice during the afternoon session. The discussions will be greatly enriched by the inclusion of experts and advocates from the disability community. We reiterate our commitment to be of service to the Committee in providing advice and helping to clarify issues related to our human rights at all levels of discussion. The answer to the question of whether or not a convention is needed has been clear for the international disability community for some time. In this spirit, we applaud the Ad Hoc Committee for seeking to resolve this issue so that the discussion could proceed on the convention. To the satisfaction of NGOs, this has been accomplished, as evidenced by the absence of dissent when the Chair indicated that he considered the matter settled. Finally, we were pleased that the issue of accessibility to the meeting for people with disabilities was raised and that the Secretariat has been tasked with addressing the matter. We are available to assist the Secretariat in identifying the barriers, associated with the built environment, communications and materials, that prevent people with various disabilities from participating fully in meetings. We respectfully ask the Committee to keep its attention on this issue until it has been resolved fully. Its efforts in this regard will be groundbreaking within the UN system and it is our hope that in the near future all UN meetings will be accessible to people with disabilities. We look forward to a productive and collegial process. Return to top IDA Supports Search for New Special Rapporteur IDA has expressed its unequivocal support for the development of an International Convention on the Human Rights of People with Disabilities. At the same time, IDA recognizes that the UN Standard Rules on the Equilization of Opportunities for People With Disabilities has been a valuable asset to many countries and will continue to play a key role. With the forthcoming retirement of Bengt Lindqvist, who has served as Special Rapporteur to the Economic and Social Commission, it is vital that UN agencies move quickly to fill this position so that progress on disability issues is uninterrupted. On this subject, IDA sent the following letter to Mr. Nitin Desai, Under Secretary General, DESA, United Nations: Dear Mr. Desai, We understand that the search for a new Rapporteur on Standard Rules, to replace Bengt Lindqvist, is to take place this year. We would like to share with you the names of four experienced people from within the international disability organizations who we all consider as possible candidates. The names are given in alphabetic order: Chalklan, Shuaib, South Africa Mohit Anuradha, India Rowland, William, South Africa Saebones, Ann-Marit,Norway Yours truly, Kicki Nordstrom Chairperson IDA Return to top Human Rights and Global Realities The Right: People with disabilities have the right to education. FACTS: Only about 20% of the world's Deaf population receive any education at all, and only 1% receive this education in sign language even though the great majority of Deaf people worldwide use sign language in their daily lives. (World Federation of the Deaf) There are more than 2 million blind children in India, and only 5 percent of them receive an education. (The Blind Foundation for India) According to UNICEF, there are 120 million children with disabilities in the world. The Reality: In China, a girl who walks with a limp was rejected from Nanjing University even though her score was among the top 150 of the province, well over the minimum generally required by the prestigious school. She was also rejected by all the colleges to which she applied. One school of traditional medicine said that her scores were too high. The Reality: Social workers in Mozambique report that many parents of children with disabilities in the areas of Gorongosa and Dondo do not permit their children to leave the house. Because of traditional attitudes toward children with disabilities, many children are refused the opportunity to attend school.   Return to top Badges of Honor and Dishonor Disability Awareness Badge of Honor Awarded to: The Ad Hoc Committee ...for finding common ground and moving the debate forward! Disability Awareness Badge of Dishonor Awarded as necessary Nominations accepted Return to top Publication staff: Joelle Balfe, Campaign Development Group, USA Elaine Belmear, Landmine Survivors Network, USA Rosangela Berman-Bieler, Inter-American Institute on Disability, Brazil Steven Estey, Disabled Peoples' International, Canada Janet E. Lord, Landmine Survivors Network, USA Kicki Nordstrom, World Blind Union, Sweden William Rowland, World Blind Union, South Africa This Bulletin was produced by the following group of non-governmental organizations, who are committed to the development of a strong and effective international convention on the human rights of people with disabilities and a process for its development that is transparent, inclusive and participatory. If your organization would like to add its name to this group, please contact Elaine Belmear at: ebelmear@landminesurvivors.org. If you have suggestions for the Bulletin, please contact a member of the Publication Staff. American Association of People with Disabilities American Council of the Blind Council of Canadians with Disabilities Center for International Rehabilitation Disability Awareness in Action Disabled Peoples' International European Disability Forum Inclusion International Inter-American Institute on Disability Japanese Federation of the Deaf Landmine Survivors Network Mental Disability Rights International Not Dead Yet Rehabilitation International Support Coalition International United States International Council on Disabilities World Blind Union World Federation of the Deaf World Federation of the Deafblind World Institute on Disability World Network of Users and Survivors of Psychiatry Return to top