COSP Day 1 and Dutch CRPD ratification
Door: Jolijn Santegoeds
Blijf op de hoogte en volg Jolijn
14 Juni 2016 | Verenigde Staten, New York
Today, Tuesday 14 June 2016, was the first day of the Conference of State Parties (COSP) to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD). Also, it was “ratification-day” for the Netherlands. I had been looking forward to a day with a golden glow, and feeling great about the long-awaited Dutch ratification. But the day turned out completely different than expected. It was really a very tough day actually.
I arrived at the UN Headquarters around 9.30 and I met with Yeni, Anna and Georgia to prepare for our joint side-event (by WNUSP, Inclusion International and IDA) which will take place tomorrow morning. Eventually, we rescheduled our preparatory meeting, because Yeni was speaking in the Opening session of the COSP, and it was somewhat chaotic with the access-badges, so we needed our time to ensure our access to the General Assembly Hall.
At 10 AM the Opening session of the COSP CRPD started.
H.E. Oh Joon, President of the Conference, welcomed us all, and explained this year’s theme of the conference: Implementing the 2030 development agenda for all persons with disabilities. The subthemes are: Eliminating poverty and inequality for all persons with disabilities, Promoting the rights of persons with mental and intellectual disabilities, and Enhancing accessibility to information and technology and inclusive development. 164 State Parties have ratified the UN CRPD already, and we aim for universal ratification. The potential of the COSP is to debate together, to learn and to do better.
H.E. Mogens Lykketoft, President of the General Assembly, spoke about the state obligation to take all necessary measures to promote disability and inclusive development. And it is not about the government alone, but it requires broad stakeholder action. We have to empower 1 billion persons with disabilities in the world, and he quoted Steven Hawkins: if we want to travel in the future, we have to go fast, so we have to act fast.
Mr. Edmond Mulet, Chef du Cabinet on behalf of the Secretary-General, highlighted the milestones so far: the High Level Meeting on Disability and Development in 2013 and it’s outcome document. The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction which is disability inclusive, and Agenda 2030, and the World Humanitarian Summit as well. Also there is a Special Envoy to make the UN accessible, and the interagency support group. More is needed. We need to secure the rights of 1 bilion persons with disabilities in the world.
Ms. Maria Soledad highlighted 2 aspects that are important for development, which are indicators and financing. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) need to be inclusive of persons with disabilities, and leave no one behind, and the CRPD offers a systematic approach for that.
Then Ms. Yeni Rosa Damayanti, Civil Society representative delivered a very, very firm statement. For the first time in history persons with disabilities are recognized, consulted and can cooperate in policy and programming. CRPD Article 4.3 requires meaningful participation, but many of us still fight to be heard as partners, equal partners in decisions that affect our lives. You (governments) need us, and we need you. We have the knowledge on how to make the world accessible, and the government has decision-making power. We need to cooperate together, now, today. We are here.
It was a very direct, and very powerful statement.
H.E. Mr. Oh Joon then mentioned that there have been 10 ratifications in the past year, and he had just heard that the Netherlands had just ratified today, bringing the total number of ratification to 165. I was very happy to hear that :)
Then the formal adoption of the agenda took place, and an outline the organization of work was given. And then it was time for the Elections for nine members of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to replace those whose terms are due to expire in December 2016. 160 State Parties had voting rights, and they casted their votes, which were then counted, while the programme moved on to the General Debate, where each State Party got 4 minutes to share the progress and highlights on their CRPD implementation. The list of speakers was divided over the day, in the morning and afternoon session. It was quite interesting to hear what is happening in various countries, and to hear what efforts are being made. Around 12 noon the votes had been counted, and the outcomes were presented.
States Parties elected the following members to the Committee on the Rights of Persons: Mr. Ahmad Alsaif (Saudi Arabia); Mr. Monthian Buntan (Thailand); Mr. Imed Eddine Chaker (Tunisia); Mr. Jun Ishikawa (Japan); Mr. Samuel Njuguna Kabue (Kenya); Mr. Laszlo Gabor Lovaszy (Hungary); Mr. Robert George Martin (New Zealand); Mr. Martin Babu Mwesigwa (Uganda); and Mr. Valery Nikitich Rukhledev (Russian Federation).
It was shocking to see that no women were elected, while the gender balance in the CRPD Committee was already out of balance (about 33% women), after 2016 it will be only 1 woman (Theresia Degener) and 17 men. While it is widely known that about 60% of persons with disabilities are women with disabilities, and women with disabilities globally are at risk of double discrimination and intersectional violations. So the fact that the 3 women candidates were not elected is a real tragedy. Civil society was shocked. We had not expected this to happen….
After the outcome of the elections, the General Debate with the State Parties presentations continued, although the room was quite noisy after the outcome of the elections. There are also positive notes: For the first time in history, a person with learning disability is elected into a UN Committee (Robert George Martin) which is surely ground-breaking. Also a deaf person from Russia (sign language user) was elected, which is also good, since this represents another marginalized group that needs to be included. So these are positive milestones.
Then it was lunch time. On my way out to the smoking area, I met D.H. of the Dutch National Human Rights Institute (NHRI, College voor de Rechten van de Mens). We talked a bit about the conference and developments in the Dutch context (such as the Dutch efforts to get into the Security Council). It was a friendly atmosphere, but when I touched upon my personal case again, or any individual complaints on forced psychiatry, we got into the same impasse as before, where D.H. said the Dutch NHRI cannot take individual complaints (so I say: why do you call it an organization for HUMAN rights then?? – it seems more like an institute for procedural rights to me, serving the State’s mechanisms more than the people… ) It hurt me, and I couldn’t help to cry about this. So eventually I continued my way to the smoking area, to let off some steam.
After the lunch break, I went to the second part of the General Debate with the State Parties presentations. I wanted to see the Dutch delegation, but they were not in the logical alphabetical seating. The UN staff helped me locate the Dutch seats, and apparently they had requested to sit in the back. The chair with the plate of the Netherlands was empty and stayed empty. For an hour I sat there, and then I felt so very bad again: The Netherlands ratified, but didn’t seem motivated. It was such a disillusion to me, and I fought against the tears (I lost). So I went out of the conference room and stayed in the corridor. Then I suddenly saw the Dutch delegation, and I went to talk with them, expressing my disappointment over the empty chair. But they explained that they had been in another side event. I also expressed my concerns about the Dutch ratification-law and implementation-law, which address the scope of the Dutch ratification/implementation, and contains wrongful parts about allowing forced treatments and forced institutionalization. The answers were totally not satisfying: “it was a matter of interpretation of the UN CRPD, and every State does it differently. We have to see which forced treatments are acceptable and which are not”. I said: No, the CRPD is a norm, forced treatment is not acceptable at all, and you cannot ‘freely interpret’ what is meant by human rights. The new law proposal on forced (mandatory) psychiatric treatments is in violation of the CRPD (anybody can take anything away from the person with psychosocial disabilities) which needs to be stopped because it is illegal. The delegation said: “well, that is politics, we are diplomats, we cannot do anything about that”. So then the disillusion was complete. I was upset and crying again. I left them, because I knew this conversation was only hurting me more and more, and I wanted to stop crying and be productive. So I went to the smoking area again, and then walked through the rose garden at the UN, with beautiful flowering roses, smelling sweet, with beautiful names like Peace, Love, Sunshine, Daydream and so on. I sniffed every different type of roses, and that made me feel better. The rest of the day I was hyper-emotional. The desillusion was overwhelming, and at many times I had to fight my tears. I tried to feel strong, and I barely succeeded.
After my visit to the rose garden, I went back in, and joined the last bit of the side-event session on Gender and Leadership roles of Women with Disabilities (avoiding any state officials). It was a very good session, about what would be needed to empower women with disabilities globally. It felt constructive, and I was very happy for that.
At 6 PM we finally had the preparatory meeting for tomorrow morning’s side-event of WNUSP, II and IDA and for the official Round Table on Persons with Mental and Intellectual Disabilities in the afternoon. We made our plans, and then we went to the concert for the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the UN CRPD, which was organized by the Permanent Mission of Korea and UN DESA in the conference room of the UN Trusteeship Council. It was amazing. Professional musicians of the Beautiful Mind Charity Musicians played for us, and several of them had a disability. Extremely impressive was the world’s only pianist with cerebral palsy, and also the visually impaired clarinet player was amazing, as were the hip-hoppers of 4wheelcity. I also very much enjoyed the lady who played oboe (which I used to play for many years when I was young). The music made me feel much better again.
After the concert, there was also a reception at the office of the Permanent Mission of Korea, opposite to the UN building, also for the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the UN CRPD. I was in doubts whether I should join that as well, but then Mr. Oh Joon (president of the COSP) personally invited me to come in, and we also went on a picture together. Inside there was music, drinks and delicious Korean food. I was happy that I joined. After a nice time, good food and nice company of Yeni, I left the reception around 10 PM and went straight back to my hotel. The rainbow-lights seem to have disappeared from the buildings, and now I saw one tower being lighted with Red-White-Blue (like a Dutch flag). It could almost be a sublime message (rainbows and Dutch flags while I am here??) But someone informed me that it is “flag day” in the USA, and red-white-blue is also the flag-colour of New York. Apparently it is also gun violence awareness day today.
Anyway, after a long and emotional day, I am feeling good again. Who could have guessed that I would be crying so much on “ratification-day”… A lot of factors played a role in my sensitivity today, such as my expectations for example. I had high hopes, and they fell deep down. But I have been fighting for change for so long, I can do it some more. I am strong enough. I will stand tall and keep on speaking out, that is my mission. I am sure I will feel re-energized tomorrow, ready to continue fighting for our rights. It will be a very intense day tomorrow as well, with many sessions on mental health/ psychosocial disabilities. Starting at 8 AM with a side-event of the American Psychiatric Association (APA), which will surely require critical questioning from our side, to educate the public. And I will have a presentation as well, which still isn’t fully prepared, so I still have some work to do.
Anyway, I am feeling okay now. I will do my best tomorrow. And I feel a need to keep away from the Dutch delegation, for my own health reasons. I will not engage with them tomorrow, because I need to focus on my work for WNUSP. Maybe the day after I can talk to the Dutch again. We will see. For now, my day is done.
Good night!
I arrived at the UN Headquarters around 9.30 and I met with Yeni, Anna and Georgia to prepare for our joint side-event (by WNUSP, Inclusion International and IDA) which will take place tomorrow morning. Eventually, we rescheduled our preparatory meeting, because Yeni was speaking in the Opening session of the COSP, and it was somewhat chaotic with the access-badges, so we needed our time to ensure our access to the General Assembly Hall.
At 10 AM the Opening session of the COSP CRPD started.
H.E. Oh Joon, President of the Conference, welcomed us all, and explained this year’s theme of the conference: Implementing the 2030 development agenda for all persons with disabilities. The subthemes are: Eliminating poverty and inequality for all persons with disabilities, Promoting the rights of persons with mental and intellectual disabilities, and Enhancing accessibility to information and technology and inclusive development. 164 State Parties have ratified the UN CRPD already, and we aim for universal ratification. The potential of the COSP is to debate together, to learn and to do better.
H.E. Mogens Lykketoft, President of the General Assembly, spoke about the state obligation to take all necessary measures to promote disability and inclusive development. And it is not about the government alone, but it requires broad stakeholder action. We have to empower 1 billion persons with disabilities in the world, and he quoted Steven Hawkins: if we want to travel in the future, we have to go fast, so we have to act fast.
Mr. Edmond Mulet, Chef du Cabinet on behalf of the Secretary-General, highlighted the milestones so far: the High Level Meeting on Disability and Development in 2013 and it’s outcome document. The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction which is disability inclusive, and Agenda 2030, and the World Humanitarian Summit as well. Also there is a Special Envoy to make the UN accessible, and the interagency support group. More is needed. We need to secure the rights of 1 bilion persons with disabilities in the world.
Ms. Maria Soledad highlighted 2 aspects that are important for development, which are indicators and financing. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) need to be inclusive of persons with disabilities, and leave no one behind, and the CRPD offers a systematic approach for that.
Then Ms. Yeni Rosa Damayanti, Civil Society representative delivered a very, very firm statement. For the first time in history persons with disabilities are recognized, consulted and can cooperate in policy and programming. CRPD Article 4.3 requires meaningful participation, but many of us still fight to be heard as partners, equal partners in decisions that affect our lives. You (governments) need us, and we need you. We have the knowledge on how to make the world accessible, and the government has decision-making power. We need to cooperate together, now, today. We are here.
It was a very direct, and very powerful statement.
H.E. Mr. Oh Joon then mentioned that there have been 10 ratifications in the past year, and he had just heard that the Netherlands had just ratified today, bringing the total number of ratification to 165. I was very happy to hear that :)
Then the formal adoption of the agenda took place, and an outline the organization of work was given. And then it was time for the Elections for nine members of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to replace those whose terms are due to expire in December 2016. 160 State Parties had voting rights, and they casted their votes, which were then counted, while the programme moved on to the General Debate, where each State Party got 4 minutes to share the progress and highlights on their CRPD implementation. The list of speakers was divided over the day, in the morning and afternoon session. It was quite interesting to hear what is happening in various countries, and to hear what efforts are being made. Around 12 noon the votes had been counted, and the outcomes were presented.
States Parties elected the following members to the Committee on the Rights of Persons: Mr. Ahmad Alsaif (Saudi Arabia); Mr. Monthian Buntan (Thailand); Mr. Imed Eddine Chaker (Tunisia); Mr. Jun Ishikawa (Japan); Mr. Samuel Njuguna Kabue (Kenya); Mr. Laszlo Gabor Lovaszy (Hungary); Mr. Robert George Martin (New Zealand); Mr. Martin Babu Mwesigwa (Uganda); and Mr. Valery Nikitich Rukhledev (Russian Federation).
It was shocking to see that no women were elected, while the gender balance in the CRPD Committee was already out of balance (about 33% women), after 2016 it will be only 1 woman (Theresia Degener) and 17 men. While it is widely known that about 60% of persons with disabilities are women with disabilities, and women with disabilities globally are at risk of double discrimination and intersectional violations. So the fact that the 3 women candidates were not elected is a real tragedy. Civil society was shocked. We had not expected this to happen….
After the outcome of the elections, the General Debate with the State Parties presentations continued, although the room was quite noisy after the outcome of the elections. There are also positive notes: For the first time in history, a person with learning disability is elected into a UN Committee (Robert George Martin) which is surely ground-breaking. Also a deaf person from Russia (sign language user) was elected, which is also good, since this represents another marginalized group that needs to be included. So these are positive milestones.
Then it was lunch time. On my way out to the smoking area, I met D.H. of the Dutch National Human Rights Institute (NHRI, College voor de Rechten van de Mens). We talked a bit about the conference and developments in the Dutch context (such as the Dutch efforts to get into the Security Council). It was a friendly atmosphere, but when I touched upon my personal case again, or any individual complaints on forced psychiatry, we got into the same impasse as before, where D.H. said the Dutch NHRI cannot take individual complaints (so I say: why do you call it an organization for HUMAN rights then?? – it seems more like an institute for procedural rights to me, serving the State’s mechanisms more than the people… ) It hurt me, and I couldn’t help to cry about this. So eventually I continued my way to the smoking area, to let off some steam.
After the lunch break, I went to the second part of the General Debate with the State Parties presentations. I wanted to see the Dutch delegation, but they were not in the logical alphabetical seating. The UN staff helped me locate the Dutch seats, and apparently they had requested to sit in the back. The chair with the plate of the Netherlands was empty and stayed empty. For an hour I sat there, and then I felt so very bad again: The Netherlands ratified, but didn’t seem motivated. It was such a disillusion to me, and I fought against the tears (I lost). So I went out of the conference room and stayed in the corridor. Then I suddenly saw the Dutch delegation, and I went to talk with them, expressing my disappointment over the empty chair. But they explained that they had been in another side event. I also expressed my concerns about the Dutch ratification-law and implementation-law, which address the scope of the Dutch ratification/implementation, and contains wrongful parts about allowing forced treatments and forced institutionalization. The answers were totally not satisfying: “it was a matter of interpretation of the UN CRPD, and every State does it differently. We have to see which forced treatments are acceptable and which are not”. I said: No, the CRPD is a norm, forced treatment is not acceptable at all, and you cannot ‘freely interpret’ what is meant by human rights. The new law proposal on forced (mandatory) psychiatric treatments is in violation of the CRPD (anybody can take anything away from the person with psychosocial disabilities) which needs to be stopped because it is illegal. The delegation said: “well, that is politics, we are diplomats, we cannot do anything about that”. So then the disillusion was complete. I was upset and crying again. I left them, because I knew this conversation was only hurting me more and more, and I wanted to stop crying and be productive. So I went to the smoking area again, and then walked through the rose garden at the UN, with beautiful flowering roses, smelling sweet, with beautiful names like Peace, Love, Sunshine, Daydream and so on. I sniffed every different type of roses, and that made me feel better. The rest of the day I was hyper-emotional. The desillusion was overwhelming, and at many times I had to fight my tears. I tried to feel strong, and I barely succeeded.
After my visit to the rose garden, I went back in, and joined the last bit of the side-event session on Gender and Leadership roles of Women with Disabilities (avoiding any state officials). It was a very good session, about what would be needed to empower women with disabilities globally. It felt constructive, and I was very happy for that.
At 6 PM we finally had the preparatory meeting for tomorrow morning’s side-event of WNUSP, II and IDA and for the official Round Table on Persons with Mental and Intellectual Disabilities in the afternoon. We made our plans, and then we went to the concert for the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the UN CRPD, which was organized by the Permanent Mission of Korea and UN DESA in the conference room of the UN Trusteeship Council. It was amazing. Professional musicians of the Beautiful Mind Charity Musicians played for us, and several of them had a disability. Extremely impressive was the world’s only pianist with cerebral palsy, and also the visually impaired clarinet player was amazing, as were the hip-hoppers of 4wheelcity. I also very much enjoyed the lady who played oboe (which I used to play for many years when I was young). The music made me feel much better again.
After the concert, there was also a reception at the office of the Permanent Mission of Korea, opposite to the UN building, also for the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the UN CRPD. I was in doubts whether I should join that as well, but then Mr. Oh Joon (president of the COSP) personally invited me to come in, and we also went on a picture together. Inside there was music, drinks and delicious Korean food. I was happy that I joined. After a nice time, good food and nice company of Yeni, I left the reception around 10 PM and went straight back to my hotel. The rainbow-lights seem to have disappeared from the buildings, and now I saw one tower being lighted with Red-White-Blue (like a Dutch flag). It could almost be a sublime message (rainbows and Dutch flags while I am here??) But someone informed me that it is “flag day” in the USA, and red-white-blue is also the flag-colour of New York. Apparently it is also gun violence awareness day today.
Anyway, after a long and emotional day, I am feeling good again. Who could have guessed that I would be crying so much on “ratification-day”… A lot of factors played a role in my sensitivity today, such as my expectations for example. I had high hopes, and they fell deep down. But I have been fighting for change for so long, I can do it some more. I am strong enough. I will stand tall and keep on speaking out, that is my mission. I am sure I will feel re-energized tomorrow, ready to continue fighting for our rights. It will be a very intense day tomorrow as well, with many sessions on mental health/ psychosocial disabilities. Starting at 8 AM with a side-event of the American Psychiatric Association (APA), which will surely require critical questioning from our side, to educate the public. And I will have a presentation as well, which still isn’t fully prepared, so I still have some work to do.
Anyway, I am feeling okay now. I will do my best tomorrow. And I feel a need to keep away from the Dutch delegation, for my own health reasons. I will not engage with them tomorrow, because I need to focus on my work for WNUSP. Maybe the day after I can talk to the Dutch again. We will see. For now, my day is done.
Good night!
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Je kunt nu ook Smileys gebruiken. Via de toolbar, toetsenbord of door eerst : te typen en dan een woord bijvoorbeeld :smiley
