A delegation from the European Disability Forum, led by our Vice-President Gunta Anca participated in the 16th session of the Conference of States Parties to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, an annual event organised by the United Nations to discuss the implementation of the aforementioned Convention. The Conference brings together representatives of national governments, policymakers, international organisations and civil society.
The European Disability Forum was involved in several discussions:
- We delivered statements during the main debate on sexual health and reproductive rights, and on Artificial Intelligence;
- We organised events with national governments on forced sterilisation and employment;
- We spoke at a range of other events on Ukraine reconstruction, disability strategies, political participation, and accessing healthcare among others.
Our delegation also included our Vice-President Pat Clarke, our Executive Committee Member Nadia Hadad, our Deputy Director Alejandro Moledo and our Human Rights Policy Coordinator Marine Uldry. Other representatives also attended the event as part of other delegations: Sara Rocha (Vice-President EDF Women’s Committee) and Charlotte Aelbrecht (EDF Youth Committee).
Civil Society Forum
On 12 June, Gunta Anca spoke at the Civil Society Forum hosted by the Civil Society Coordination Mechanism and the International Disability Alliance (IDA). EDF covered a wide range of issues – from taking stock of where we are with the implementation of the CRPD to looking forward toward a disability-inclusive post-2030 agenda.
Our participation
As mentioned, during the 3-days Conference, we were extremely active:
- Delivered statements in 2 of the 3 round tables: on the topic of sexual and reproductive rights. Gunta Anca called for a ban on the forced sterilisation of persons with disabilities and better support to access reproductive services; on digital accessibility, Alejandro Moledo called for caution, regulation and ethical uses of AI.
- Co-organised two side-events: the first event focused on ending the forced sterilisation of persons with disabilities. It included high-level speakers such as the EU Commissioner for Equality, Helena Dalli. It was hosted together with Malta and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia. The second event discussed how to develop skills for employment and was co-hosted with the European Commission and Belgium. The two events were well attended.
- Co-sponsored and had representatives speaking at 5 other side-events on topics ranging from Ukraine reconstruction, disability strategies, political participation, to good practices on accessing healthcare.
- Attended over 10 bilateral meetings with IDA, donors, States Parties and other partners.
We thank the United Nations, the International Disability Alliance, the organisers and all partners for a successful event. As always, the Conference remains an important platform to advance the rights of persons with disabilities.
More information about COSP16 and the events co-organised by EDF.
Contact
Marine Uldry, Human Rights Policy Coordinator
marine.uldry@edf-feph.org