An International Watch Federal Advisory Committee meeting was held on July 3, 2003. Topics on the agenda were NCD's foreign assistance report, the State Department's Country Reports database, discussion of the Ad hoc Committee meeting on the Convention in New York, and the Iraq reconstruction legislation. The next International Watch conference call will take place on September 4, 2003.

Update on Foreign Assistance:

NCD's foreign assistance report was approved at the June, 2003 Board meeting in New York. The report will be publicly released at a press conference and briefing on Capitol Hill on September 9, 2003 after Congress re-convenes. Senator Harkin has agreed to speak at this event, along with a panel of international disability experts. NCD is meeting with selected congressional staffers in preparation for the release to brief them on the report's recommendations.

One of the findings in NCD's report is that information about disability rights in the State Department's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices is extremely limited and does not begin to paint a full picture of the scope of human rights violations to which people with disabilities are subjected throughout the world today. As a result of this finding, the State Department has solicited NCD's help in putting together an improved database of international disability ngos for the purpose of getting better information for the State Department's Country Reports. NCD staff met with the Department on this issue and invited a representative of the Department to participate on the July International Watch call, which resulted in many more ngos being located across the world and a much improved method for getting information in the Reports.

NCD continues to advise Congress on ways to incorporate disability language in both the Iraq reconstruction appropriations bills and USAID's reauthorization legislation and continues to work with congressional staff to that end.

Update on the International Convention:

The 2nd Ad hoc Committee on a Comprehensive and Integral International Convention on Protection and Promotion of the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities Meeting took place from June 16 to 27, 2003. NCD Council Members heard from a number of international disability experts and attended a luncheon briefing on "Children and Disability" at the United Nations. The outcome of the Ad hoc meeting was the establishment of a Working Group with the aim of preparing and presenting a draft text which will be the basis for negotiation by Member States and Observers at the Ad hoc Committee of the draft convention. This working group will be comprised of 27 governmental representatives designated regional groups and twelve representatives of non-governmental organizations (ngos). This working group will be meeting in early 2004 and will present the outcome of its work on a draft text to the Ad hoc Committee at its third session.