Monitoring the implementation of
the Standard Rules on the
Equalization of Opportunities
for Persons with Disabilitiess

Note of the Secretary-General
E/CN.5/2000/3

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Thirty-eighth session
8-17 February 2000
Item 3 (b) of the provisional agenda*
Follow-up to the World Summit for Social Development:
Review of relevant United Nations plans and programmes of action pertaining to the situation of social groups

Page 1 of 4

1. At its forty-eighth session, the General Assembly adopted the Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities, contained in the annex to its resolution 48/96 of 20 December 1993.1 The 22 Rules provide a framework to further the goals of "equality" and "full participation" of disabled persons in social life and development, set forth in the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons.2

2. In section IV, paragraph 2, of the Standard Rules, it is stipulated that the Rules shall be monitored within the framework of the sessions of the Commission for Social Development. The appointment of a Special Rapporteur to monitor their implementation within the framework of the Commission for Social Development was also envisaged in that paragraph.

3. In March 1994, the Secretary-General appointed Bengt Lindqvist (Sweden) as Special Rapporteur on Disability of the Commission for Social Development. The Special Rapporteur prepared a report for the consideration of the Commission for Social Development at its thirty-fourth session.3 On the basis of that report and the findings of the Commission's working group, the Commission adopted resolution 34/2 entitled "Monitoring the implementation of the Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities".4 In that resolution, the Commission took note with appreciation of the report of the Special Rapporteur and of his recommendations and welcomed his general approach to monitoring, including the emphasis to be placed on advice and support to States in the implementation of the Rules.

4. At its thirty-fifth session in 1997, the Commission for Social Development considered the report of the Special Rapporteur on monitoring the implementation of the Standard Rules for the period from 1994 to 1996.5 The Commission took note with appreciation of the valuable work done by the Special Rapporteur, decided to renew his mandate for a further three years and requested the Special Rapporteur to prepare a report for submission to the Commission at its thirty-eighth session in 2000.6

5. In section IV, paragraph 12, of the Rules, it is further stipulated that at its session following the end of the Special Rapporteur's mandate, the Commission should examine the possibility of either renewing that mandate, appointing a new Special Rapporteur or considering another monitoring mechanism, and should make appropriate recommendations to the Economic and Social Council. The present mandate of the Special Rapporteur will come to an end in 2000. The Commission is requested to make its recommendations in that regard to the Economic and Social Council and the General Assembly.

6. It might be recalled that the activities of the Special Rapporteur and his panel of experts are funded by voluntary contributions.7 During his two 3-year mandates, from 1994 to 1997 and from 1998 to 2000, respectively, 10 Governments and the National Council on Disability of the United States of America8 contributed some US$ 750,000 to a special trust fund account established by the Secretary-General to finance the activities of the Special Rapporteur. The Government of Sweden provided financial and in kind support to maintain the office of the Special Rapporteur. The Government of Canada made a direct financial contribution. Draft working data on contributions received and expenditures in support of the two mandates are presented in tables 1 and 2, respectively, as at 15 November 1999, and will be updated to 31 July 2000.

Table 1

Contributions through the United Nations earmarked for the activities of the Special Rapporteur from August 1994 to July 2000

(United States dollars)

Table 2

Expenditures relating to earmarked activities of the Special Rapporteur from August 1994 to July 2000

(United States dollars)

7. During the two mandates of the Special Rapporteur, a number of Governments and organizations of persons with disabilities at national, regional and interregional levels have submitted requests for co-financing assistance from the Voluntary Fund on Disability for building national capacities to further implement the Standard Rules. These data for approved and pipeline projects as at 15 November 1999 are summarized in table 3. The selected project experiences are discussed in reports of the Secretary-General on the implementation of the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons (E/CN.5/1999/5 and A/54/388 and Add.1).

Table 3

Capacity-building projects related to the Standard Rules supported by United Nations Voluntary Fund on Disability (1997-1999)

* Pending financial approval.

8. The final report of the Special Rapporteur on monitoring the implementation of the Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities during his second mandate is annexed to the present note.

Notes

1 www.un.org/esa/socdev/dissre00.htm.

2 A/37/351/Add.1 and Add.1/Corr.1, annex, sect. VIII (www.un.org/esa/socdev/diswpa00.htm).

3 A/50/374, annex.

4 Official Records of the Economic and Social Council, 1995, Supplement No. 4 (E/1995/24), chap. I, sect. E.

5 A/52/56, annex (www.un.org/esa/socdev/dismsre0.htm).

6 Official Records of the Economic and Social Council, 1997, Supplement No. 6 (E/1997/26), chap. I, sect. A, subsequently adopted as Economic and Social Council resolution 1997/19 of 21 July 1997.

7 General Assembly resolution 48/96, annex, sect. IV, para. 2.

8 The Government of Sweden provides in-kind support for the operations of the Office of the Special Rapporteur in Stockholm.

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