We were present at the leading UN conference on disability rights, the COSP. The conference took place from the 14 to the 16 June 2022 in New York, and it’s called the Conference of State Parties to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. It brings together international institutions, governments, civil society, and the private sector to take stock of the implementation of this Convention.
We were represented in New York by our President, Yannis Vardakastanis, and our Director, Catherine Naughton. In addition, several other representatives joined remotely.
Highlights of the Conference included:
- The election of nine members to the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. We welcome the election of the new candidates in line with our request for more gender balance. However, we regret that Sif Holst, the candidate from Denmark, was not elected.
- A delegation of Members of the European Parliament met with representatives from the global and European disability movements.
- A side event on how Ukrainians with disabilities are affected by the war;
- A side event on accessibility resource centres;
- A side event regarding the role that regional integration organisations (such as the European Union or the African Union) have in implementing the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
We also participated in other events:
- Our international cooperation manager, Marion Steff, discussed the Global Disability Summit;
- Our Executive Committee member, Nadia Hadad, discussed the involvement of persons with disabilities in Climate action and the EU Green Deal.
Furthermore, we welcome the re-election of our Secretary-General, Ana Peláez Narváez, to another UN Committee: the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women. While this was not part of the COSP, it is an exciting advancement for the inclusion of disability rights in the work of the United Nations.