DPO Australia is attending the 10th Session of the Conference of States Parties (COSP) to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). COSP runs from 13th to 15th June 2017 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
The annual conference brings together countries that have ratified the UN CRPD and representatives from DPOs and civil society organisations to discuss implementation of the CRPD and related international development issues. The theme of this years COSP is “The Second Decade of the CRPD: Inclusion and full participation of persons with disabilities and their representative organizations in the implementation of the Convention” and includes three subthemes:
- Addressing the impact of multiple discrimination on persons with disabilities and promoting their participation and multi-stakeholder partnerships for achieving the SDGs in line with the CRPD;
- Inclusion and full participation of persons with disabilities in humanitarian action;
- Promoting inclusive urban development and implementation of the New Urban Agenda – Habitat III.
The DPO Australia delegation includes:
- Therese Sands, Director of Disabled People’s Organisations Australia
- Samantha French, People with Disability Australia
- Ace Boncato, National Ethnic Disability Alliance
- Jane Flanagan, National Ethnic Disability Alliance
The DPO Australia delegation will be working with representatives from other disability and development organisations, including:
- Rosemary Kayess, Australian Centre for Disability Law
- Trevor Carroll, Australian Federation of Disability Organisations
- Robert Strike, NSW Council for Intellectual Disability
- Rachel Spencer, NSW Council for Intellectual Disability
- Kirsten Gibbs, BEING – NSW Mental Health and Wellbeing Consumer Advisory Group
- Tony McCarthy, Queensland Advocacy Incorporated
- Jane Edge, CBM Australia
The DPO Australia delegation will also be working closely with representatives from the Australian Government.
DPO Australia and civil society delegates and the Australian Government delegation to the COSP, 12 June 2017
The delegation will undertake significant work at COSP CRPD, including hosting and co-hosting side events; attending and participating in pre-arranged high-level meetings; speaking at a range of side events being hosted and co-hosted by Governments, international organisations and civil society; as well as networking and stakeholder engagement. People with Disability Australia and DPO Australia will be hosting two side events at the conference:
- A screening of the film, Defiant Lives: The Rise and Triumph of the Disability Rights Movement, which will be co-presented with the film’s writer and director, Sarah Barton [Download flyer DOC | PDF]
- A session entitled ‘The Role of Disabled People’s Organisations in Developing Practical Approaches to Disaster Risk Management in the Asia-Pacific Region’ [Download flyer DOC | PDF]
The DPO Australia delegation look forward to working with our civil society colleagues and Government representatives to further the rights of all people with disability. DPO Australia acknowledges with appreciation the funding provided by the Department of Social Services to enable us to participate in this event.
DPO Australia delegation conducting side event on disaster risk management in the Asia Pacific region with colleagues from the World Bank, Pacific Disability Forum and Assistive Technology Development Organisation, 15 June 2017 (L to R, Hiroshi Kawamura, Lauri Sivonen, Samantha French, Jane Flanagan, Ace Boncato)