National Council on Disability
International Watch Federal Advisory Committee
Conference Call Meeting Minutes
March 3, 2005

Meeting Commencement: Approximately 12:00 P.M.

Roll Call

Welcome

Present:

Ms. Joan Durocher
Mr. Eric Rosenthal
Ms. Susan Sygall
Ms. Tina Minkowitz
Mr. Yerker Andersson
Ms. Cappie Morgan
Ms. Michelle Magar
Ms. Sylvia Terrace
Ms. Katherine Dorsey
Ms. Maria Reina
Ms. Tina Singleton
Ms. Karen Heinicke-Motsch

Amend/Approve the Agenda (Ms. Joan Durocher): Agenda approved.

Update on the Fifth Session of the Ad Hoc Committee (Ms. Tina Minkowitz):
Ms. Minkowitz reported that the draft report of the Committee is up on the UN website. The Chair of the Ad Hoc Committee Ambassador Luis Gallegos from Ecuador resigned to take on his new assignment as Ambassador to Australia. There is a great deal of support for Ambassador MacKay to be the new chair, who is presently the coordinator of the negotiations. Some of the countries in the Latin American group want the chair to come from their region since they had the chair before and believe they have the right to elect the new chair. Ms. Minkowitz explained that the Disability Caucus wants to be sensitive to regional issues, as the Latin American group has strong ties with their government. The new bureau will be elected at the Sixth Session of the Ad Hoc Committee and the new chair may not be decided until that time.

NGO’s were allowed to be present at informal discussions but did not have speaking rights. Three formal plenary sessions were held for NGO’s to make oral interventions.

Ms. Minkowitz mentioned that there were many right to life organizations from the US at the meeting who focused on supporting the Vatican on issues relating to the beginning of life, prohibiting abortion, and conservative views on sexuality and reproductive rights. Ms. Minkowitz believes people in the US should be aware of this because it has impacted the interventions of the US government, who at times have made interventions specifically on these issues and refrained from intervening on other issues.

The Disability Caucus is working on an analysis of the draft text. Ms. Minkowitz encouraged everyone to read the report. A total of five days was spent dealing with articles 9-12, which dealt with legal capacity; deprivation of liberty; torture and cruel and inhuman or degrading treatment. According to Ms. Minkowitz, this is mainly because they demand full equal rights for people with disabilities in areas where it hasn’t been considered within the mainstream of what’s understood as the rights of people with disabilities. Ms. Minkowitz believes the Committee is turning the text in the wrong direction, filling the text with loopholes allowing for guardianship, and weakening the language about prohibiting deprivation of liberty based on disability, making the text very confusing right now. Article 12bis on forced intervention is very confusing with self-contradicting elements in it, something the Disability Caucus will be taking very seriously and will work on before the next Ad Hoc Committee.

A new article, 8bis, was created to protect people with disabilities in situations of risk such as armed conflict and natural disaster. Ms. Minkowitz believes the text is unsatisfying but she is pleased it is included as it is of concern to many people.

A new article, 9bis, on access to justice was created. Article 14 was separated into two parts, Article 14 dealing with privacy and Article 14bis with family relations, reproductive rights, and sexuality. Article 13 specifies sign language, Braille, and alternative communication attempting to be specific and also broadly inclusive in terms of accessible communication and information. The text also includes a provision on national sign language.

The Sixth Session of the Ad Hoc Committee will meet August 1-12, 2005. Ms. Minkowitz believes they will go right into informal discussions beginning with Articles 15 and 24bis.

Discussion and Comments

Ms. Reina asked how international organizations can help if they don’t come to the US or the UN—and initiated the discussion by stating that international organizations should speak with their governments, but that the real work has to be done locally because the delegations already have a position when they come to the UN. Ms. Reina stated that CIR will be posting a paper and one-pagers on their website for this purpose.

Ms. Minkowitz acknowledged Ms. Reina’s suggestion as important and stated that the Disability Caucus is going to have lobby sheets (that were done for the previous session) that will be relevant for when the articles come up again.

Mr. Andersson commented that UNESCO held an International Mother Language Day last month, and it includes sign language, Braille, as well as equipment.

Ms. Minkowitz acknowledged she had heard about UNESCO and that they had a meeting with the flagship on education for all.

Ms. Durocher concluded this topic and told Members that NCD is drafting an update on the Fifth Session of the Ad Hoc Committee and it should be posted on NCD’s website soon.

International disability law event at the Library of Congress ( Ms. Katherine Dorsey and Ms. Maria Reina):

The Library of Congress holds a conference in conjunction with the American Association of Law Librarians around the start of the American Society for International Law (ASIL) meeting each year. Each year the conference is on a different topic. Last year’s topic was Islamic law. This year’s topic is international disability law. Ms. Dorsey believes this topic was chosen because of the UN convention negotiations which were originally hoped to be completed this year, and also for internal interests as some of the specialists at the Library of Congress have done research on disability laws around the world. The conference is an all day event from 8AM to 5PM on Wednesday, March 30, 2005. The fee to attend is $50. The conference will focus on national laws in countries around the world and international documents. People will be talking about a variety of regions in terms of national laws. Bob Dinerstein will talk about mental disability laws, as it is an emerging issue in many countries. Jeff Rosen from NCD, and Charlotte McClain, consultant to the World Bank will also speak. The conference will be a good opportunity to get information out to people who are typically outside of the core audience because of the association with the ASIL and the law librarians. It provides an opportunity to work with the Library of Congress on disability issues they may not have otherwise thought of with previous conferences and it is also a good awareness building activity. Ms. Dorsey encouraged everyone to publicize it widely as it is an excellent opportunity to bring groups together who would not normally be in contact and generate productive discussion.

Discussion and Comments
Mr. Anderson asked how many countries recognize sign language, as sign language is a part of disability law as well. The answer to the question was unknown.

Ms. Minkowitz asked about the format of the conference, and if there was an opportunity for people working on the convention to give their perspectives on some of the issues.

Ms. Dorsey stated that there would be time at the end of each panel for questions and discussion. They expect people to come and provide their individual perspective to the group.

Ms. Minkowitz raised the issue that the information people will be receiving at the conference will be different depending on the perspective of the person who is discussing the issue, especially on cutting edge issues like mental disability law. She suggested that as much as possible the perspective of people with disabilities should be incorporated.

Ms. Minkowitz asked if the $50 fee could be waived for organizations that cannot afford it. Ms. Dorsey will check and get back to Ms. Minkowitz about this issue.

Tsunami Needs Assessment Project ( Ms. Dorsey and Ms. Reina):
The Center for International Rehabilitation (CIR), in conjunction with the Office of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Disability, has initiated a Tsunami Needs Assessment Project, which is focusing on the immediate impact of the disaster; the relief effort; and restoration efforts in India, Thailand, and Indonesia. The project received a lot of support from delegations at the Ad Hoc Committee. Researchers in each of the countries are starting to get preliminary data and this information will need to be verified and expanded.

Immediate Impact
Because of the force of the disaster, so many people were killed outright that injuries were less than anticipated. H.I. has information that very few people with disabilities reported injuries. There is no good indication of how many people were killed outright yet because recovery efforts are still taking place in a number of areas. Some other data shows that slightly less than 10% of injuries resulted in permanent disabilities, but this is a very rough estimate and needs to be verified before it can be publicized.

Relief Effort
The relief effort in India tends to correspond with economic status, which suggests people with disabilities are not going to be well served by the relief. Thailand is making interest free loans available to people with disabilities impacted by the tsunami; not many people appear to have taken advantage of them. The researchers are still in the field so additional information will come as time goes on.

Reconstruction Efforts
In India, the Ministry of Social Justice is talking about making all destroyed housing and infrastructure wheelchair accessible. According to researchers this has not gained a lot of support yet, but discussions are happening and Ms. Dorsey urged that this is the time for advocacy. More complete reports and information should be out by early April, 2005.

Discussion and Comments
Mr. Rosenthal asked if researchers were looking at the operational efforts. Ms. Dorsey explained that the researchers who work with disability organizations are in touch with the disability community in the country. However, it is often difficult for people from local organizations to gain access to international relief organizations. A researcher from Ms. Dorsey’s organization recently returned from the field. He had been making contacts with international relief organizations to get information and access for the researchers.

Mr. Rosenthal commented that there are probably people on the call who could help. Ms. Dorsey asked anyone who has contacts they would recommend or be willing to share to send them to her.

Overview of Mobility International/InterAction Event on USAID (Karen Heinicke-Motsch):
Ms. Heinicke-Motsch gave an overview of the event sponsored by Mobility International and InterAction on the foreign assistance legislation that was passed last year. Ms. Heinicke-Motsch said that Dawn Cooper, Diversity Manager at InterAction, asked Mobility International to help put together a session informing InterAction member agencies, particularly members of the public policy and diversity working groups on the new legislation and how it affects grantees and contractors working with USAID. Many members of InterAction are grantees and contractors of USAID. The event was divided into three sections. Mary Giliberti, in Senator Harkin’s office, gave an overview of the legislation which was followed by a discussion of the implications at USAID by Lloyd Feinberg and Janet Allem, both of USAID. Finally, three member organizations gave their practical experiences in the field.

Overview of Legislation
Mary Giliberti gave an overview of Senator Harkin’s history and involvement with the legislation and discussed the fiscal year 2005 Omnibus Appropriations Bill; the establishment of the external advisory committee; and the language regarding the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA).

Implications at USAID
Lloyd Feinberg and Janet Allem discussed USAID’s background and initiatives. They began by talking about NCD’s 1996 report, which was the catalyst for AID’s 1997 disability policy. They talked about the acquisition and assistance policy directive supporting USAID’s disability policy and contracts, grants, and cooperative agreements, which was issued in December 2004. Mr. Feinberg and Ms. Allem focused on the USAID human resource group which is developing a web based curriculum for AID staff on including people with disabilities in their work, as well as USAID’s commitment to mainstreaming disability. They talked briefly about fiscal year 2005 funding. Mr. Feinberg mentioned the advisory group and that RFPS will require that the new construction standards be implemented. He also mentioned there is language going into RFAs/RFPsrequiring grantees and contractors to adhere to the policy paper. This year, the compliance report is voluntary but next year it will be required of all missions.

Mr. Rosenthal added to Ms. Heinicke-Motsch’s description that the policy report requires that each mission have a disability policy for that mission. Not all missions have disability policy reports. Ms. Allem promised to make it a requirement next year that all missions have disability policy reports. Mr. Rosenthal said they should hold her to that promise if they can.

Mr. Rosenthal was a little disappointed that the report, which Ms. Allem has written in the past and has been very useful, was given to a consultant to write. He would have hoped that Ms. Allem or Mr. Feinberg would be writing it. The question of how to hold AID accountable was raised but never really discussed. Mr. Rosenthal stressed the importance of being alert to what they write in the report and making sure it’s thorough.

Practical experiences from member organizations
Paul Majarowitz, who is Senior Iraq Program Officer for Mercy Corps, talked about disability inclusion as a progressive idea within Mercy Corps and talked about organizational and program commitment focusing on their civil society initiatives. He then focused completely on what's happening in Iraq, because the Mercy Corps field office in Iraq has taken the inclusion of people with disabilities as part of the core work that they’re doing there. Mr. Majarowitz talked about accessible public buildings and their own offices being accessible, the Internet being accessible, and the grassroots work with the D.P.O.s (disabled peoples organizations) in Iraq. He finished his presentation by talking about the international day of disabled persons which went on throughout Iraq in the towns in which Mercy Corps is working. The presentation ended with a moving discussion of ensuring that people with disabilities have access to the electoral process.

Jerry Mindes from IFES then talked about the accessible electoral processes in general and IFES’s experiences around the world. Their web site is full of good stories from around the world. Mr. Mindes talked about IFES’ work in Albania and fostering partnerships between disabled peoples organizations and local and national governments.

Next, the Africa program officer for Trickle Up, Marinke van Riet, talked about organizational change as a result of a disability perspective in their program and the global impact it has had on the workforce around the world. Trickle Up is focused exclusively on microenterprise development. Their mission is to serve the poorest of the poor and they felt they have made good progress year by year in expanding their relationships with DPO’s around the world as well as ensuring that people with disabilities work together with their partner organizations and are also recipients of the programs they run around the world.

There was a call for a disability and development working group within InterAction, which Ms. Heinicke-Motsch thinks is a great idea. InterAction’s sister organizations in Germany, the U.K., and Australia have working groups. InterAction is hoping to build on this momentum and is looking forward to working with us.

Discussion and Comments
Mr. Rosenthal strongly encouraged Ms. Heinicke-Motsch to set up the working group. His organization would be joining InterAction with the purpose of helping and collaborating with InterAction. The challenge is to implement the legislation and forming a working group is the easiest way to do so.

Ms. Susan Sygall commented that the disability community should have a stronger role in InterAction. Ms. Heinicke-Motsch replied to Ms. Sygall’s comment saying she thought the InterAction member agencies were impressed with the turnout of the disability community. Dawn Cooper from InterAction told her they usually expect about 25 people at those events and they had much more than that.

Ms. Tina Singleton is working with InterAction on a diversity recruitment guide and asked for resources or web site addresses that would be helpful for InterAction members on recruiting people with disabilities as interns and employees of their NGO’s (non-government organizations). Ms. Singleton added that Ms. Cooper was very excited about the turnout at the briefing and that the public policy people were also very interested.

Ms. Heinicke-Motsch replied that InterAction has been working in two main areas in terms of disability inclusion work: 1) disability as a diversity issue; and 2) the inclusion of people with disabilities as good development.

Ms. Sygall added that InterAction is looking for more people with disabilities to be involved with InterAction and is currently looking for an intern with a disability.

Mr. Andersson interjected that it was important to be partnering with disability organizations.

Mr. Rosenthal reported that the InterAmerican Commission for Human Rights had a major victory. They had sued the government of Paraguay over the abuses of psychiatric hospitals and helped get people who had been held in isolation for years released and provided with medical and psychiatric care. They just signed a contract agreement with the government of Paraguay to deinstitutionalize the mental health system of Paraguay. Mr. Rosenthal commented that this is tremendous progress for Paraguay and sets a precedent for how international oversight bodies can be used. Information is up on their website and Mr. Rosenthal hopes this can be reproduced in other parts of the world.

Ms. Heinicke-Motsch congratulated Mr. Rosenthal and hoping to talk with him later as she has contacts in Paraguay and the former Soviet Union for him and would like to discuss ideas.

Ms. Sygall asked Ms. Durocher if NCD was involved with the bill introduced by Representative Bill Cooper (D-TN) that would expand au pair exchange visitor programs to include the provision of in-home independent living services for adults with disabilities . Tom Enzweiler in Representative Bill Cooper’s office is working on the bill. Ms. Durocher indicated that NCD was aware of the bill, and is monitoring its status, but NCD is not involved.