Delegates to the 8th Session will be seeing Conference Room 4 for possibly the last time. The meeting, which opened yesterday, August 14, will last through August 25, 2006, and is expected to finalize negotiations based on the revised working paper.

The Ad Hoc Committee was established by General Assembly resolution 56/168 of December 19, 2001 "to consider proposals for a comprehensive and integral international convention to promote and protect the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities, based on the holistic approach in the work done in the fields of social development, human rights and non-discrimination and taking into account the recommendations of the Commission on Human Rights and the Commission for Social Development." Ambassador Don Mackay, the Permanent Representative of New Zealand to the United Nations in Geneva, chairs the convention.

This year’s second session will be the culmination of the efforts of the Ad Hoc Committee in its past seven sessions. This landmark convention will determine the policies created and actions taken on behalf of and for the 650 million people who are believed to be living with some form of disability. At this time, the definition of disability does not include the elderly.

To bring alive the work of the Committee, the States address an entirely new issue this year: the creation of an international body to monitor States Parties’ compliance with their obligations under the treaty. Establishing this framework is crucial if the resulting treaty is to be seriously implemented by member nations rather than being “words on paper,” as the International Disability Caucus (IDC) cautions. States Parties, the IDC and other organizations recognize the need for this treaty to be treated on par with other human rights issues. Otherwise, the treaty will be in danger of receiving “second class” treatment, or will be sidelined or impeded by the continuing treaty body reform. Organizations such as the IDC and Amnesty International advocate the immediate development of a strong monitoring body to give the Convention legitimacy and to prevent overburdening of the treaty body system.

To prepare for the session, the Chairman of the Convention assigned the work of creating an international monitoring mechanism to Mexico. Mexico held 13 informal meetings open to all delegates and civil societies to determine the best method of implementing this mechanism, generating several intersessional documents. The delegate from Mexico affirmed, “we support incorporation of this work in the organization of civil societies.” Mexico suggested that the “committee could ask parties for a broad report at the beginning of the convention and could do more later at the request of the committee.” He also advised the committee to “take advantage of work done by other committees to avoid duplication…[which] would not overburden state governments with too many reports” and would streamline committee efforts. In turn, “when states prepare reports…[they] could consult with competent institutions in their countries…and organizations that represent people with disabilities” to expedite the process.

The final product of this session, the finished treaty, will be submitted for approval at the 61st Session of the General Assembly in September. Committee members seem hopeful, like Sudan, which expressed its desire for a “constructive…and pragmatic discussion…[in this] last convention.” The Chairman appears to agree, asserting in his opening remarks, “I am confident that we will be able to complete [our work].” For the tenth of the world population that this committee serves, I hope so, too. 

[i] http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/enable/rights/adhoccom.htm