National Council on Disability
Federal Advisory Committee
International Watch
Quarterly Report
January 28, 2008
Liaison: Kathleen Martinez
Designated Federal Official: Joan Durocher
NCD’s Federal Advisory Committee International Watch met on January 3 to discuss the American Institutes for Research current work with the United States Agency for International Development; the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and information about Ratifynow.org; and to receive advice regarding NCD’s 2008 international and foreign policy priorities.
Recommendations from the membership regarding NCD’s 2008 international priorities include:
- Devoting webpage to NCD contributions to international programming (ensuring inclusion of past publications, etc.)
- Membership of NCD in USICD
- Facilitating of dialogue by NCD between American disability community and actors in other human rights processes, perhaps in a roundtable format, especially with respect to the comparative analysis
- NCD participation in MDRI conference at American University
- Continuation of International Watch Calls
- Technical assistance to ngos regarding revisions to criteria (legal analysis, etc.) regarding monitoring compliance with the CRPD
- NCD participation in the RI World Congress in Quebec City
The next International Watch Federal Advisory Committee call will be on March 6.
In December, 2006 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), which opened for signature on March 30, 2007 in a ceremony at the United Nations. The treaty will enter into force after it has been ratified by 20 countries. As of the writing of this report, there are 120 signatories to the Convention, 67 signatories to the Optional Protocol, 14 ratifications, with 7 ratifications of the Optional Protocol.
In light of the completed text of the CRPD, and to aid the Council in its advisory capacity, NCD has contracted with an international disability expert to draft a comparative analysis of US disability law to the CRPD. This is the first step in several potential options for the Council’s international disability work. These steps are intended to further American interests as they pertain to protecting the human rights of people with disabilities on the world stage. They are:
- A Comparative Analysis of US law to the CRPD
- An Educational Tool on the CRPD
- A Report on the implications to the US of ratifying the CRPD
- A Public Awareness Campaign on the CRPD
The final draft of the comparative analysis has been submitted for review and revisions are underway before it is submitted to the full Council for review.
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