OUR RIGHTS, OUR CONVENTION BUT FOR ALL - THE CRPD, FOCUSING ON THE SOUTH.

1. OUR RIGHTS, OUR CONVENTION BUT FOR ALL - THE CRPD, FOCUSING ON THE SOUTH. BY SYLVESTER KATONTOKA. PRESIDENT. MENTAL HEALTH USERS NETWORK OF ZAMBIA. 2009.

2. OUTLINE OF THE PRESENTATION. • OBJECTIVE. • OVERVIEW /GENERAL PICTURE. • THE CRPD – WHAT IS IT? • IMPLEMETATION OF THE CRPD. • THE ROLE OF USERS AS ADVOCATES. • THE COMMITTEE ON CRPD.

3. OBJECTIVE. • TO DEVELOP UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT THE CRPD IS, THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CRPD, AND HOW CONSUMER MOVEMENTS CAN ADVOCATE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CRPD.

4. AN OVERVIEW. • Everyday in developing countries, many people develop mental disabilities by multiple social, biological and psychological factors. • The developing countries has a large number of persons with mental disabilities. • Figuratively, it is estimated that about 330 million people of the estimated 450 million people alive today who suffer from mental disabilities live in developing countries.

5. EXCLUSION IS THE NORM. • When a person develops a mental disability, the person and the family enters a world of stereotyped notions, social exclusion and discrimination. • The vast majority of persons with mental disabilities are excluded of spheres life. • The social stigma results in marginalization and isolation. • This reduces the value of the person.

6. THE CRPD – WHAT IS IT? • An International Law that will ensure the effective implementation of the rights of persons with disabilities for state parties. • A complement to existing international human rights treaties. • It does not recognize any new human rights of persons with disabilities. • Rather clarifies the obligations and legal duties of States to respect and ensure the equal enjoyment of all human rights by all persons with disabilities.

7. The Convention identifies areas where adaptations have to be made so that persons with disabilities can exercise their rights. • The Convention identifies areas where the protection of their rights must be reinforced because those rights have been routinely violated. • It also establishes universal minimum standards that should apply to everyone and that provide the basis for a coherent framework for action.

8. Under the terms of the Convention, States are obliged to consult with persons with disabilities, through their representative organizations, when developing and implementing legislation and policies to effectuate the Convention. • And on all other policy matters that will affect the lives of persons with disabilities. 

9. ENTRY INTO FORCE. • The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities received its 20th ratification on 3 April 2008, triggering the entry into force 30 days later. • This marks a major milestone in the effort to promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms of persons with disabilities.

10. SIGNATORIES AND RATIFICATIONS OF THE CRPD. • 137 signatories to the Convention • 81 signatories to the Optional Protocol • 50 ratifications of the Convention • 29 ratifications of the Optional Protocol

12. LEGAL MEASURES FOR IMPLEMENTATION. • By ratifying the CRPD, states take an obligation under international law to implement it. • Implementation is the process whereby states parties take action to ensure the realization of all rights contained in a given treaty within their jurisdiction.

13. GENERAL LEGAL OBLIGATIONS • Article 4 of the CRPD defines the scope of the general legal obligations to be undertaken by States parties. • It requires States “to ensure and promote the full realization of all human rights and fundamental freedoms for all PWDs without discrimination of any kind on the basis of disability” and provides the framework within which the rights specified in the Convention are to be promoted and protected. • States are required to “refrain from engaging in any act or practice that is inconsistent” with the Convention. • Treaty bodies monitoring other human rights treaties have indicated that appropriate measures for implementation of human rights obligations may include legislative, judicial, administrative, educational, financial and social measures.

14. ACTIONS FOR IMPLEMENTATION. • It is a basic principle of international law that a State party to an international treaty must ensure that its own domestic law is consistent with what is required by the treaty. • It follows that States parties are required upon ratification to make appropriate changes to domestic law to ensure its conformity with the Convention. • Accordingly, article 4, paragraph 1 (b), of the Convention obliges States parties to “take all appropriate measures, including legislation, to modify or abolish existing laws, regulations, customs and practices that constitute discrimination against persons with disabilities”. • In order to adequately implement the Convention, one of the first steps that States need to undertake is a comprehensive review of the national legislation and policy framework.

15. In the comprehensive review of the national legislation and policy framework, it is essential to underline that given the scope of the Convention, this review needs to be comprehensive and extend to areas of the law that go beyond the traditional scope of disability-related legislation.

16. The participation of civil society organizations and in particular of organizations of persons with disabilities in such a review is required by the Convention (obligation No 3)

17. CONSUMERS IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CRPD. • “Advocacy is an important means of raising awareness. • Advocacy can lead to improvements in policy, legislation and service development.

18. Advocacy is strategic and targets well-designed activities to key stakeholders and decision makers.

19. Advocacy is always directed at influencing policy, laws, regulations, programmes or decisions on funding made at the upper-most levels of public or private sector institutions.

20. Advocacy is; “A set of targeted actions in support of a cause or an issue, because one wants to build support for that cause or issue, influence others to support it; or try to influence or change legislation that affects it.”

21. Some common actions can be: • Expose a problem that needs to be addressed by others. • Defend a right or a benefit. • Sensitizing the public or decision-makers on a specific issue. • Persuading or influencing decision-makers in a certain direction. • Change legislation or work processes that negatively affect the organization's members or beneficiaries. • Provide a solution to a problem that affects the organizations members / beneficiaries.

22. Consumer groups have played various roles in advocacy, ranging from influencing policies and legislation to providing help for people with mental disorders. • The key issues to be considered could be: • Equality and non discrimination. • Recognition before the law, legal capacity and decision making. • Right to liberty and security of the person. • Right to live independently and be included in the community. • Right to education. • Right to work and employment. • Judicial measures.

23. MONITORING OF THE CONVETION. • All legally binding international human rights treaties have a monitoring component and this Convention is no exception. • The monitoring procedure outlined in the Convention promotes constructive dialogue with States to ensure that the Convention’s provisions are implemented effectively. • Monitoring mechanisms foster accountability and, over the long term, strengthen the capacity of parties to fulfill their commitments and obligations.

24. MONITORING MECHANISMS IN THE CONVENTION. • The Convention provides for monitoring at both the national and international levels. • At the national level, States parties must appoint one or more focal points within government to handle matters relating to implementation. • Civil society, in particular PWDs & their representative organizations, should be involved & participate fully in the monitoring process. • At the international level, the Convention provides for monitoring through the creation of a committee of independent experts, called the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

25. THE ROLE OF THE CRPD COMMITTEE. • The Convention mandates the creation of a Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities when the Convention comes into force (article 34). • The Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) is the body of independent experts which monitors implementation of the Convention by the States Parties.

26. The Committee will examine the periodic reports submitted by States, conduct inquiries, and formulate general observations and recommendations on reports as it may consider appropriate and shall forward these to the State Party concerned. • All States parties are obliged to submit regular reports to the Committee on how the rights are being implemented. • States must report initially within two years of accepting the Convention and thereafter every four years.

27. PERIODIC REPORTING. • Each State party to the Convention must submit to the Committee an initial comprehensive report on measures taken to implement the Convention. • The initial report should • Establish the constitutional, legal and administrative framework for the implementation of the Convention; • Explain the policies and programmes adopted to implement each of the Convention’s provisions; and • Identify any progress made in the realization of the rights of persons with disabilities as a result of the ratification and implementation of the Convention.

28. Each State party must submit subsequent reports at least every four years or whenever the Committee requests one. • Subsequent reports should: • Respond to the concerns and other issues highlighted by the Committee in its concluding observations in previous reports; • Indicate progress made in the realization of the rights of persons with disabilities over the reporting period; and • Highlight any obstacles that the Government and other actors might have faced in implementing the Convention over the reporting period.

29. States parties should prepare their reports in an open and transparent manner and should consult with and involve persons with disabilities and their representative organizations. 

30. IMPORTANCE OF PERIODIC REPORTING. • Encourages Governments to undertake a comprehensive review of national legislation, policies and programmes on human rights and disability; • Ensures that each State regularly monitors the realization of the rights of persons with disabilities; • Encourages Governments to set priorities and indicators against which they can judge performance; • Provides Governments with a benchmark against which subsequent reports may be compared; • Provides an opportunity for public discussion and scrutiny of the Government’s performance; and • Highlights difficulties in implementation that might otherwise have gone unnoticed.

31. FOLLOW-UP TO PERIODIC REPORTING. • Once the Committee has considered the report and formulated its concluding observations and recommendations, the Committee may transmit its findings to the various specialized agencies, funds and programmes of the United Nations for follow-up in the form of technical cooperation.

32. CONCLUSION. • Consumers should be involved in advocacy work. • Consumers should be involved in the review process of national laws, policies and programmes. • Consumers should also hold their governments responsible and accountable. • ASANTE SANA.