National Council on Disability
Federal Advisory Committee International Watch
Conference Call Minutes
January 3, 2008
12:00 p.m. - 1:10 p.m. EST
Present
Kathleen Martinez, Liaison
Joan Durocher, Designated Federal Official
John Vaughn, NCD Chair
Victoria Carlson, NCD Member
Janet Lord, IW Member
Don Galloway, IW Member
Jerome Mindes, IW Member
Marca Bristo, IW Member
Eric Rosenthal, IW Member
Mary Keogh (for IW Member Smith)
Wendy Scott (for IW Member Kanter)
Anne Hayes
Sylvia Yee
Cappie Morgan
Sylvia Caras
Stephanie Ortoleva
Susan Sygall
Gary Norman
Cindy Lewis
Michael Szporluk
I. Roll Call and Welcome
II. Amend/Approve the Agenda
III. AIR’s (American Institutes for Research) current work with the United States Agency for International Development (Jerome Mindes)
Mr. Mindes stated that the American Institutes for Research (AIR) is a large not-for-profit organization that is 60 years old and has been working in domestic and international areas conducting research and programs in education, health and workforce development. AIR has done a lot of international work over the last several years with USAID being its major client in its international program division. He stated that AIR is in about 20 countries currently and most of its work revolves around education. They also have a workforce development program in two countries and programs in other countries that deal with issues of child labor and links between education and health particularly HIV/AIDS.
Over the years AIR has included efforts to make its programming inclusive of people with disabilities. Mr. Mindes stated that AIR has a program in India that focuses exclusively on working with at risk or disadvantaged kids that are marginalized by the education system. In that program there has been considerable work with NGOs, including disability NGOs, to focus on learning outcomes for children with disabilities at school.
Mr. Mindes added that AIR was awarded the grant from USAID that was awarded last Spring and he has partnered with two other International Watch members - Janet Lord (Blue Law) and Nora Groce (Yale), as well as Michael Stein (Harvard). The purpose of the grant was to work in three country settings within the context of USAID’s mainstream investments in international development and to conduct pilot project activities that would demonstrate how these investments could be made more inclusive of a disability dimension. He added that AIR will be working in Pakistan, Zambia and Nicaragua and each country will have a different focus ranging from investments in basic education and the links between education and HIV/AIDS. AIR’s work will be to foster partnerships between local disability organizations, DPOs and implementing partners of USAID in those pilot program activities to bring disability groups into international development streams as stakeholders.
Mr. Mindes stated that in all three countries AIR will also be working with DPOs to help them establish and launch working groups on disability and development which is a platform for action-oriented dialogues between DPOs and development partners, international partners, donors and implementers to figure out how to make actions more inclusive of a disability dimension as defined by local stakeholders. AIR’s role will be to facilitate and train as well as encourage as much outcomes in action-oriented efforts as possible. Mr. Mindes added that AIR’s project also has a focus on training in Washington that would respond to needs for training and information as identified by three sets of clients: 1) USAID and staff; 2) international development agencies or organizations active in Washington, predominantly those which are partners of USAID; and 3) US based disability organizations which have a keen interest in expanding their work in international development.
Ms. Bristo asked how DPOs are defined. Mr. Mindes responded that AIR took great pains to make sure that they were defined as organizations, membership organizations, lead and governed by people with disabilities.
Ms. Bristo asked for further clarification on the training in the US. Mr. Mindes responded and then added that there are some groups that are making strides in working disability more coherently into their international programming, such as MercyCorps and World Vision.
Mr. Mindes stated in terms of looking at disability organizations in the United States, he met with the USICD (United States International Council on Disabilities) membership organizations via teleconference to talk about training that would target their identified need to become more aware of the business side of international development and how to compete successfully for grants, but also how to become a partner of some of the mainstream actors in international development that are in a position to win the vast majority of work that goes out from USAID.
Further, Mr. Mindes stated that one of the biggest areas of investment globally in international development obviously is in education. At the October Clinton global initiative, which is a fundraising initiative by former President Clinton, education was for the first time put on as a major pillar of activity alongside of poverty alleviation and HIV/AIDS. In their closing remarks to the whole group, a couple of thousand people in New York, both President Clinton and Gene Sperling, who is with the Council of Foreign Relations and the head of something called the Center for Universal Education at the Council on Foreign Relations, stressed that the goals of education for all will not be achieved unless there is a significant attention and investment in education and disability.
In talking to the Council on Foreign Relations, Mr. Mindes has learned they are interested in hosting a one‑day event here in Washington over the coming couple of months that would spotlight disability within the context of EFA goals.
IV. Update on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and information about Ratifynow.org (Eric Rosenthal)
Mr. Rosenthal reported that Ratifynow is a group of people that got together to bring about as much grassroots involvement as possible of people with disabilities and disability activists to work on promoting the UN disability rights convention, recognizing a need for broad support in the United States and abroad. He continued to speak about the functions of the group and stated that it was non-structured and that the idea is to be as open as possible to avoid territoriality and get as many different advocacy groups as possible involved. One of the most important strategies used to this point is to try and get national governments to commit themselves to ratify the convention. Mr. Rosenthal stated that he anticipates within the next month or two a total of 20 countries will have ratified the convention and it will enter in force as official international law. He added that 13 countries have ratified with many more having signed it. Mr. Rosenthal notes that signature alone entails the kind of broad political intent to abide by the convention, and it’s the first step towards ratification, which means it’s a legal commitment on the part of the countries to abide by the law. Ratifynow is planning a big press conference when it enters into force and is also working on a strategic plan, a long-term strategy for gaining political support for the convention with an emphasis on gaining US support.
Ms. Caras added that the intent is to that all the tools and all the strategies and all the information that’s on the website is for global use, and that anybody who wants to participate from another country is welcome to do so. There has not been any formal outreach to DPI, RI, or IDC as yet. However, many people involved are also involved in those groups.
Ms. Bristo recommended that there be some coordination on this effort with RI – which is hosting a similar initiative that they’ve just started on the global level.
V. Discussion of NCD 2008 international and foreign policy priorities (Janet Lord)
Ms. Lord stated that International Watch and the Council’s work internationally proceeds along two different tracks, the first of which was becoming involved in the convention process, facilitating dialogue among the Council and International Watch members and the broader American disability community about the U.N. disability convention, and also facilitating exchange on how the American disability experience and US law might relate to and inform treaty process. The second dimension of the Council’s work has been to look at international development and start conversations that have proven very successful in moving towards how inclusive development can be runthourhgout all of our foreign assistance programming as a result of the report (NCD’s Foreign Policy and Disability) done by Eric Rosenthal and Arlene Kanter which discussed disability, development, foreign assistance and looked at how inclusive development can be ran throughout all of our foreign assistance programming.
Ms. Lord stated that there continues to be a role for the Council to play in facilitating dialogue, exchanging information about how the American disability law framework relates to the international treaty, what has been learned from the process, and the legislative framework that has been established. She stated that we are going to continue to see more foreign assistance dollars going towards disability related programming, both to shape law and policy reform and build the capacity of local disabled people’s organizations (DPOs). Ms. Lord stated that she believes it is very important and recommends that the Council and International Watch continue to dialogue, exchange information and where appropriate, have the Council play a role in developing papers and reports on various aspects of American disability law and policy and how they relate to international policy.
Ms. Lord recommended that the Council should and can continue to facilitate dialogue with groups in other countries that are looking to the United States’ experience in transforming their own law and policy to conform with the Convention.
Ms. Lord recommended that the Council continue with the dialogue it started at the beginning of the treaty process, facilitating dialogue between the American disability community, some of the mainstream human rights organizations around the convention process and around human rights and disability. The April, 2002 summit followed by the one-day conference in June of that year to draw in members of the human rights community, whether working in the State and Justice Departments or in the NGO community, all would be interesting to think about in the year ahead as possible follow-up.
Ms. Lord recommended that there be a devoted web page to all the work the Council has done on an international programming level in terms of the series of publications that the Council has published on both foreign assistance and disability and development programming and on the convention process itself.
Ms. Sygall recommended that youth outreach is a part of these priorities that are being set forth and in order for all of the international work to continue, we have to really get young disabled young people excited and involved and think of venues that maybe the Council could reach out and make happen.
Mr. Rosenthal added that last year there was a conference in April at American University which was a strategy session to support the Convention. This year he said that there are plans of having a follow-up session conference and Spring would be the best time for it will bring together a broad array of people to talk about the convention from the political point of view and practical point of view and show the implications for US law and what are its implications for the international development community.
Mr. Rosenthal stated that USICD and MDRI will be key sponsors of it, but he strongly encourages the Council to participate in the conference either substantially and or financially as an opportunity to discuss the implications of the convention.
Mr. Rosenthal recommended that NCD join USICD as one of its government members.
Ms. Bristo recommended that NCD play a role in the upcoming RI conference in Quebec City.
VI. New Business
Ms. Ortoleva reported that an official announcement will be made that the Advisory Committee on Persons with Disabilities (a federal advisory committee of the State Department and USAID) will be holding its next meeting Monday, February 4, 2008 in Washington, D.C.
Ms. Ortoleva also reported that she had recently visited Morocco with Janet Lord as part of a grant that the United States Department of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor had given to IFES over the last several years to some work on disability issues in terms of political and electoral participation of people with disabilities in the Middle East and North Africa. The trip to Morocco was basically to do an assessment of disability groups within the country to determine which would be the best entities for us to partner with.
Ms. Ortoleva stated that the hope is to focus exactly on what we’re going to do with the small amount of funds that are available for work in Morocco and to try and do some work in conjunction with government officials. Morocco is in the process of developing a much more comprehensive disability law and a preliminary draft is being considered by the parliament. She added that the new King has expressed a very strong interest in doing work on disability issues and increasing the role of disability organizations in enhancing the legal protections and legal framework in Morocco.
Ms. Ortoleva stated that she has been working on the State Department’s Country Reports on Human Rights Practices and she is hopeful that there will be some expansion of the coverage of disability issues in the reports.
Finally, Ms. Ortoleva informed the membership that at the February 2 advisory committee meeting a representative from the Center for International Rehabilitation will be discussing the recent report they’ve done on the status of people with disabilities in Europe. Ms. Keogh responded that she is the representative that will be doing so.
Ms. Ortoleva clarified the current diplomatic position of the US with respect to the Convention by stating that they (US)are not moving forward with ratification at this time, but will continue to share the US experience with other countries to help enhance disability policy and practices.
Ms. Hayes gave a brief overview of USAID and their latest work. She said they recently sent a request for concept papers to all of the mission directors overseas for disability programs at funding between $50,000 to $300,000. The programs could be anything like the current programs, focusing on making programming more inclusive to people with disabilities. She stated that USAID is encouraging disability groups to, if they have contacts with USAID missions, to contact them and see if they are participating. It is up to the missions if and how they participate. She added that the missions would conduct their own internal selection and send the top candidates to Washington to make final selections to ensure that the topics and regional focus is geographically distributed.
Mr. Vaughn informed the membership that the Council had agreed unanimously to continue to work through the Office of Domestic Policy at the White House. Mr. Vaughn met with Daniel Gade recently and re-emphasized the position of the Council that the Administration should at least minimally sign the CRPD so the door is left open for another Administration to push for ratification and have us in a better position should that happen down the road. The Council is continuing to try and do whatever it can. He is looking forward to Ms. Martinez’ report to the Council on this committee’s recommendations and advice at the end of the month.
VII. Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 1:10 p.m.
|
