IDDC organise roundtable in European Parliament on EU External Action
19th February 2013, European Parliament
On February 19th 2013, the IDDC as part of the Making Development Inclusive Project hosted a roundtable with Marian Harkin (member of the European Parliament) on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the role of the EU’s external action. As the EU ratified the CRPD in 2010 and its first monitoring report to the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is due this year the roundtable was timely to discuss best practices and ideas on how to move the topic of the rights of persons with disabilities in international cooperation forward.
The speakers were Mr. Shudarson Subedi, President of the National Federation of the Disabled Nepal (NFDN), Mr. Munyaradzi Mahiya, LCD’s Young Voices, Zimbabwe, Ms. Silvia Quan, Expert Member of the CRPD committee and Procuraduría de los Derechos Humanos de Guatemala, Ms. Valerie Moran, Manager of Longford Centre for Independent Living Ltd, Ireland and Ms. Mary Keogh, Advocacy Coordinator of CBM Ireland. Each speaker presented models of good practice on inclusive development and human rights for persons with disabilities. The speakers were followed by interventions from representatives from DG Justice and the European External Action Service
Marian Harkin opened the proceedings by stating that each of us has only one life to live and we need to ensure people with disabilities are included and have choices. Both Silvia and Shudarson gave examples of how disability rights are not mainstream issues in Latin America and Nepal and how many basic rights are denied to persons with disabilities. Valerie gave an account of how austerity in Ireland had impacted on the lives of persons and with disabilities to live independently and Mary commented that disability rights are universal and don’t know any boundaries or borders. There was also a video intervention from Munyaradzi Mahiya from Young Voices in Leonard Cheshire Disability who called for television and radio to sensitize people to disability. The post 2015 agenda was also raised by each speaker and in particular the need for people with disabilities to be involved in the current consultations. Each of the speakers also commented on how the EU through its external action can continue to support the implementation of the CRPD and promote the rights of persons with disabilities
Source Article from IDDC
