National Council on Disability
International Watch
Quarterly Report
October 30, 2006

The charter for NCD’s Federal Advisory Committee International Watch has been renewed for two years, expiring on September 30, 2008.

The 8th Ad Hoc Committee Meeting on a Comprehensive and Integral International Convention (treaty) on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities met in New York from August 14 through August 25.  NCD co-hosted a lunch-time side event at the meeting on August 22, which Kathy Martinez moderated. The side event was titled, “Practical Discussions on Implementation in the United States and Other Countries” and included a panel of international disability experts. The event provided a platform for diverse representation including a developing world perspective; a non-discrimination perspective; a DPO perspective; a national human rights perspective; and a monitoring perspective. A short paper has been developed summarizing the discussion and describing future steps in the treaty process. The seven topical papers prepared for the 6th Ad Hoc Committee meeting were distributed again as there was still much negotiation going on with regard to various Articles that were addressed in NCD’s topical papers.

This Ad Hoc Committee meeting saw the adoption of the draft text marking the end of a a five-year long negotiation process that was unprecedented in its inclusion of non-governmental organizations made up of people with disabilities. The draft text now resides with the Drafting Committee, which is being chaired by Liechtenstein. It then will be passed to the UN General Assembly, with a possibility of the Third Committee (the Third Committee is the General Assembly's arm on social and human rights treaties) reviewing it before the full General Assembly votes on its adoption late this year. If the treaty is adopted, it will then be open for signature and ratification. If twenty (20) countries sign and ratify, the treaty will enter into force. At that point, other countries wishing to become party to the convention must "accede," meaning that they must sign and ratify at the same time. If a country signs the treaty at the outset of its adoption by the General Assembly, the country is considered to be a signatory, and the country is then allowed to take more time to decide whether it wants to ratify and become a "States Party." If the country signs, but then decides not to ratify, it is still a signatory or the country can "unsign" if they have no intention of ever ratifying.

Following the 8th Ad hoc Committee meeting, NCD released a statement urging the careful finalization and expeditious adoption by the General Assembly of the Convention http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/news/2006/r06-522.htm.  NCD staff continues to keep House International Relations Committee staff apprised of Convention proceedings in NCD’s advisory role to Congress, and has discussed a possible briefing on the Hill regarding the next steps in the Convention process.

An International Watch Federal Advisory Committee meeting was held on September 7.  The main focus of the call was a de-briefing from the Ad Hoc Committee meeting, but discussion also included a hearing being held by the Judiciary Committee on human rights and disability in Romania. The International Watch Federal Advisory Committee Act annual report has been submitted to the FAC Committee Management officer and a schedule of NCD International Watch advisory committee meetings has been established for the next fiscal year.  They are on the following dates (the first Thursday of every other month) for fiscal year 2007:  November 2 (06); January 4; March 1; May 3; July 5; and September 6.  All conference calls take place at 12:00 noon EST.

NCD staff continues to follow-up on outcomes flowing from NCD’s 2003 Foreign Policy and Disability report with regular meetings with the State Department and USAID, especially the new disability advisor at USAID, Lloyd Feinberg, and his staff.  NCD has requested a meeting with the new Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) (Randall L. Tobias) and has met with the Assistant Secretary in the Office of Civil Rights at the State Department regarding the Department’s Section 504 efforts.  A follow-up meeting has been scheduled for late October.