Final report of the Special Rapporteur of the
Commission for Social Development on monitoring the
implementation of the Standard Rules on the Equalization
of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities
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I. INTRODUCTION
In his capacity as Special Rapporteur for monitoring the implementation of
the Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities, the
Special Rapporteur has the honour to deliver his final report to the Commission for Social
Development. It has been a privilege and a stimulating task for him to act as Special
Rapporteur in this area. He wishes to express his sincere appreciation to the
Secretary-General for showing confidence in him by appointing him to this important task.
He would also like to thank all the Governments that have contributed financially to this
project, including the Swedish Government, which has provided him with office resources
throughout the entire exercise.
From the beginning, and during the whole monitoring activity, the Special Rapporteur
has enjoyed the full support of Under-Secretary-General Nitin Desai, and excellent
professional advice given by Mr. A. Krassowski and his group in the Department of Policy
Coordination and Sustainable Development. He also wishes to express his appreciation for
the excellent work performed by his colleagues in his Swedish office.
One key element in the monitoring exercise was the panel of experts, established by six
major international non-governmental organizations in the disability field. The panel
members, five men and five women with different experiences regarding disability, provided
valuable guidance. They were also very understanding when limited resources made it
impossible to pursue all good ideas and initiatives.
Finally the Special Rapporteur wishes to thank all those Governments and
non-governmental organizations that provided information for his work.
The Special Rapporteur has chosen to describe the entire monitoring exercise. However,
as he had delivered an interim report to the Commission for Social Development at its
thirty-fourth session, the first year's activities are summarized in the present report.
To illustrate how widespread the Standard Rules have become, he has included brief
information about activities undertaken by specialized agencies of the United Nations and
by non-governmental organizations in the disability field. The main emphasis in the report
is on recent activities and on the second extensive survey, which was a main activity
during 1996. In the final section of the report - Conclusions and recommendations - he has
presented the observations he made during the work on this most stimulating task.
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