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ADHOC COMMITTEE ON
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| Documents and contributions |
| Online discussion |
| NGO Participation |
Ad Hoc Committee : Contributions
: United Nations SystemUNICEF Comments on the Proposals for a Convention Relating to Disability |
UNICEF believes that any convention should complement existing human rights standards and focus primarily on clarifying and laying out the precise obligations of states with regard to realizing the fundamental right to non-discrimination as applied to issues of disability. While the principle of non-discriminatory enjoyment of the rights of the rights of the International Bill of Human Rights should be central, it is also important that it makes clear the duty of States Parties to undertake specific and proactive measures to promote equal treatment.
The proposed convention should address non-discrimination and equality in all areas and with regard to all rights, civil, cultural, economic, political and social. It should also take into consideration the special needs of disabled children, along with other potentially disadvantaged groups including women and minorities.
The proposed convention should follow the general format of comparable conventions such as the Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. It should begin by laying out the fundamental principles upon which the convention is based, then consider, broadly, the civil and political rights of disabled persons, the economic, social and cultural rights of disabled persons and finally the procedural provisions for the convention.
UNICEF believes that the convention should enjoy an effective monitoring system. The regular reporting system of the Convention on the Rights of the Child is a useful model, but at the same time recognizes the value of individual petition mechanisms which might be appropriate in this case. In addition, UNICEF has noted with interest the value added by the practice of development of regular General Comments which elaborate articles of instruments of human rights law, as well as the practice of Days of Discussion. UNICEF recommends that these also be considered for any convention relating to disability.
The contribution of NGOs to the success of the Committee on the Rights of the Child should also be drawn upon as a model for any treaty-monitoring body. The provision and consideration of alternative NGO reports alongside reports of States Parties has provided the Committee on the Rights of the Child with an invaluable additional source of information with regard to implementation of States Parties' treaty obligations. In addition, civil society involvement in treaty monitoring processes has in many cases led to the creation of a constituency for follow up of recommendations, adding greatly to the impact of the work of treaty-monitoring bodies. This should be replicated as far as possible with regard to any treaty relating to disability.
Finally, UNICEF would suggest that consideration be given at this early stage to the issue of Declarations and Reservations and articles which might be considered fundamental and reservation of which would be considered to be incompatible with ratification.
UNICEF's experience with the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the outcomes of the World Summit for Children of 1990 and the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Chi1dren of 2002 shows that the Convention on the Rights of the Child has provided a valuable foundation for international action plans. UNICEF also believes that the Convention on the Rights of the Child has added to the overall coverage of children in the human rights system as a whole.
However, at the same time it is clear that the advent on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child have not been adequate for ensuring satisfactory mainstreaming of women's or children's rights throughout the human rights system as a whole. To that end, UNICEF recommends that at the earliest stages of the establishment of any mechanism relating to a convention on disabled persons consideration be given to ensuring that information provided to any treaty-monitoring body established under that convention be routinely shared and provided as appropriate to other treaty-monitoring bodies, in particular the Human Rights Committee and the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.