The fourth day of the Conference of State Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (#COSP16) was very similar to the third day, with a lot of the conference agenda being roundtables, side events and interactive dialogues. The networking, learning, and relationship-building with both the Australians at the UN, and our…
In Australia, all jurisdictions contain mental health laws that permit detention, compulsory treatment, seclusion and restraint. These laws, the CRPD Committee has shown in General Comment 1, are incompatible with the CRPD. Equal recognition before the law is one of the basic principles of the CRPD in Article 12. Simply put, the right to self-determination…
The third day of the Conference of State Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (#COSP16) saw the action move primarily to UN conference rooms, as the conference agenda shifted toward roundtables and side events. What does this shift mean? It means a whole lot of networking, learning, and relationship-building with…
I am Giancarlo de Vera from People with Disability Australia. Invoking the sentiments of Mr Hanjabam’s presentation, people with diverse sexualities and gender identities are more likely than the general population to live with a disability. Given the increased likelihood that more people with disability globally do not identify as heterosexual and/or cisgender, how can…
Hello everyone. My name is Margherita Dall’Occo-Vaccaro, and I am speaking to you on behalf of Women with Disabilities Australia. To begin, we cannot have a proper discussion without considering the impact of multiple and intersecting disadvantages in accessing and enjoying our full health, sexual and reproductive rights. We cannot have this conversation without fully…
I would like to begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet today, the Lenape people, whose lands were never ceded. I pay my respects to all First Nations peoples across the globe. Today there remain significant issues with legislative, policy and practice frameworks across the world, resulting in the…
