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UN Convention
ICRPD Panel Discussion
On Thursday January 4,
2007, the Disabled Persons Commission hosted a panel discussion
on the International
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilties
(ICRPD) which was adopted by the General Assembly of the
UN on December 13, 2006. Our goal was to increase awareness
of this document and the next steps for Canada, and Canadians
who support the ICRPD.
There were approximately 90 attendees,
consisting of people with disabilities, people affiliated
with organizations representing people with disabilities,
government employees and the general public. The event
received media coverage from Voiceprint radio and CTV
television.
The atmosphere remained intimate,
despite the large turnout, and the audience had opportunities
to ask questions formally as well as speak to members
of the panel during a 10 min intermission and after the
closing of the discussion. The panelists were very open
to speaking with members of the community.
The panelists consisted of 2 members
of the Ad Hoc Committee who drafted the ICRPD, Steven
Estey and Dulcie McCallum, and local experts who have
been involved with the ratification and monitoring of
other UN Conventions, Vince Caulderhead (NS Legal Aid),
Linda Christiansen-Ruffman (St Mary’s University) and
Michael Noonan (NS Human Rights Commission). The MP for
Halifax, Alexa McDonough, provided opening remarks, and
the chairman of the Disabled Persons Commission, Ralph
Ferguson, acted as moderator.
Summary Notes of the Speakers (in order of presentation)
NB- These are personal notes and are not to be taken as quotes or official statements from any of the participants
Alexa McDonough - 
- Can the convention have meaning in the day –to- day lives of PWD, or is it just words on paper?
- She hopes Canada can be the first country to ratify this Convention
- The public should promote how this will look good for any government who implements it.
- She spoke about her support for this as a federal politician, and is committed to giving the Convention real meaning
- She and Peter Julian, Disabilities Critic, praised the Canadian contingent at the ad hoc committee drafting the Convention
- We are not more than at the half way mark to making this law
- Will need resources to deliver on the potential of the Convention
- She stressed the importance of communicating with politicians of all parties in order to exert political influence on the issue.
Steven Estey - 
- Reviewed the history of rights for people with disabilities in the United Nations from the 1974 document giving mentally retarded people the right to live as others ‘where possible’ to the Dec 13 passing of the Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities.
- We have come a long way, but still have a long way to go.
- He stressed that the document will only take meaning if the community makes sure it is implemented.
Dulcie McCallum - 
- Spoke about the Content of the Convention.
- She urged all participants to read the entire document.
- She spoke about how this document does not give people with disabilities any new rights- these were already theirs under the Declaration of Human Rights, however people with disabilities are often ‘invisible’ when all the other human rights violations are included.
- Convention puts into words what is an ‘implied right’
- Convention acknowledges PWD as the experts
- The Convention spells out in detail the rights concerning all aspects of the life of a person with disabilities. Approaches lives of PWD in a wholistic way
- Will allow for specific passages to be cited when arguing for cases after ratification.
- What is NOT mentioned in the Convention
- Institutions
- Segregated workshops
- Segregated classes
- Segregated schools
- Decisions on implementation are left to the signatory countries.
- The current model in rights for PWD is supportive decision making
Vince Caulderhead - 
- Spoke about the treaty monitoring process he has been involved in with the Covenant on Economic and Social Rights.
- Signatory countries report to Monitoring Committee on a regular basis
- Signatory country has a legal obligation to enforce and abide by the Convention
- He introduced the concept of a ‘shadow report’ for the UN presented by NGOs to the reviewing committee along with the official government report.
- NGOs must represent the ‘realities on the ground’ to contrast with the official Government report.
- Monitoring committee goes article by article in review report
- The process necessitates community groups to be vigilant and to continue to monitor for human rights abuses to be able to ‘shame’ Canada, a country which prides itself on its human rights stance internationally.
- Use this as a tool for lobbying and advocacy
Linda Christiansen-Ruffman - 
- Spoke about CEDAW and the process that they went through to have it ratified 25 years ago. She helped stage a letter writing campaign to politicians.
- She also talked about the fact that a lot of the statistics for the status of women have not improved in the last 25 years.
- CEDAW has given them a useful legal tool with which to argue cases and it is very valuable to have the Convention ratified.
- Women’s groups have succeeded in having laws changed to comply with CEDAW
- As with Vince, she emphasized that continued work and vigilance is needed from the community to ensure the principles of the law are being upheld.
- The only means of monitoring is through the ‘final reports’ to Monitoring Committee
- She brought examples of the ‘shadow report’ and some awareness campaign material which they used to promote the CEDAW with politicians and the public.
Michael Noonan - 
- Spoke about his involvement with UNICEF and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
- He mentioned the ratification of this treaty was held up for over a decade by the refusal of one province to agree to it.
- The Human Rights Commission sees most of its cases (80%) in the field of employment discrimination, #1 complaint is disability.
- Rights for disabled persons will become a bigger political issue in the coming years as rates of disability continue to rise.
- There exists a duty for employers to accommodate PWD
- The Optional Protocol acts as a complaint process for the Convention
- When domestic avenues are exhausted, a complaint can be filed with the UN as a violation of the treaty
- Treaty is legally binding once signed
- He spoke about how Human Rights are often seen as ‘other country’s problems’, but Canada should be taken to task on its own record by its citizens. MPs should be reminded that Human Rights are not just for export.
Discussion
- 20 countries need to sign on to the Convention
- Need to get Canada to sign and then ratify the Convention as first steps
- Once treaty is signed, NGOs should review what is currently in place and see whether this is compliant with the Convention
- Question- Will the treaty/UN have the power to hold Canada accountable for its practices?
- Use the review process to publicly shame Canada internationally
- Use the Optional Protocol to file individual or group complaints
- Disability Rights Groups should file shadow reports in the Treaty Review Process
- Suggestion that a National Coalition be developed for the purpose of monitoring the Convention
- Need one central repository for strategies for getting ratification/enforcement
- Write to ALL party leaders, and to both the Ministers and their critics from other parties, to get treaty signed and ratified.
Information on what can be done to
encourage countries to ratify the convention can be found
on the ratification toolkit website http://www.icrpd.net/en/index.htm.
Legend
PWD= Persons With Disabilities
CEDAW= Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women
ICRPD= International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilties
NGO= Non-Governmental Organisations
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