Quarterly Report
Federal Advisory Committee International Watch
National Council on Disability
January 30, 2006
Washington, DC

The Seventh Ad Hoc Committee Meeting on a Comprehensive and Integral International Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities is meeting in New York from January 16 to February 3, 2006. The Chair is hoping to conduct a complete read-through of the text at that time. NCD is providing informational input to the 7 th AHC meeting via a report drafted from the proceedings of a symposium NCD co-sponsored with Mental Disability Rights International and American University on October 24. The symposium brought stakeholders up-to-date on the status of the current negotiations on monitoring taking place during deliberations on the United Nations Convention and brought together human rights and disability experts to discuss innovative models for monitoring the implementation of the convention, as well as gave attention to national level components of monitoring. Kathy Martinez hosted the event. NCD’s report is available online at http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/publications/2005/symposium.htm and will be distributed by the contractors at the 7 th Ad Hoc Committee Meeting in New York.

During this quarter, several meetings were held regarding NCD’s foreign policy work. NCD staff met with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) as regular follow-up to NCD’s foreign policy and disability report. NCD staff, along with representatives of the United States International Council on Disabilities (USICD) met with Lee Perselay in Senator Harkin’s office to discuss foreign policy issues. There were two International Watch conference calls since the last Board meeting. The    November 3 meeting included discussion of the NCD monitoring symposium; NCD’s meeting with USAID on September 29; and reconstruction following last year’s tsunami in Indonesia. The January 5 meeting included discussion of the upcoming 7 th Ad Hoc Committee Meeting on the UN treaty; the United States International Council on Disability (USICD)/NCD meeting with Lee Perselay in Senator Harkin’s office; the World Bank/Center for International Rehabilitation (CIR) event on December 5 discussing post-disaster situations; and follow-up to two recent Washington Post articles regarding foreign assistance.

NCD staff drafted a Washington Post letter to the editor to address the misconceptions raised in a recent Post article on reconstruction in Afghanistan , and is following up with the Washington Post editorial board to address a second article that appeared on foreign assistance. NCD staff met with a delegation from Bulgaria on October 21 to discuss NCD’s work.

The FACA reporting requirements have been completed for 2005.