28.08.2015 Reporting back on the second leg of the Geneva marathon

The UN CRPD committee started the week by considering the initial report of Mauritius on 24^th August. The constructive dialogue included questions on reservations on articles 9, 11 and 24, derogatory terminology in legislation, the lack of an independent monitoring body, access to justice, violence against persons with disabilities and guardianship amongst others.

To read a summary of the 6-hour dialogue click here. To view and listen to the archive of the live webcast, click here.The Concluding Observations (recommendations to Brazil) will be adopted by the Committee on the 1^st September.

Following Mauritius was the consideration of the initial report of Brazil. Questions included the rights of indigenous peoples with disabilities, poverty reduction policies, institutions for people with psychosocial disabilities, prison conditions and inclusive education.

On Wednesday 26^th and Thursday 27^th August the CRPD committee considered the initial report of Qatar. Questions included: intersectional and multiple discrimination, adopting the human rights model of disability, awareness raising, the voice and participation of persons with disabilities, the rights of migrant workers with disabilities, pre-marital screening, Qatari sign language, the composition and independence of the delegation and sexual and reproductive health.

To read a summary of the 6-hour dialogue click here. To view and listen to the archive of the live webcast, click here. The Concluding Observations

(recommendations to Qatar) will be adopted by the Committee on the 2nd September.

Our final consideration of an initial report for the week came from the European Union, the first regional integration organisation any human rights treaty body has had a constructive dialogue with. The questions from the Committee members were enhanced by the briefings we received ahead of the dialogue from civil society and the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights. The questions ranged from the independence of the monitoring framework, international cooperation, portability of social protection and healthcare, inclusive education and the migrant crisis amongst others.

The 6-hour dialogue closed with some key areas of concern and some proposals for moving forward. To read a summary of the dialogue click here. To view and listen to the archive of the live webcast, click here. The Concluding Observations (recommendations to the European Union) will be adopted by the Committee on 3^rd September.

Before we took a break for the weekend, we adopted the Concluding Observations of Kenya, which will be available online next week – click on the + symbol and from the drop down list of treaty bodies select CRPD Committee.