UN CRPD Updates
ARCH Alert – Launch of OP Lab: Learning, Sharing, Actioning!
December 3, 2019
The OP Lab offers a series of courses about the Optional Protocol and the CRPD. These courses will be facilitated by ARCH lawyers and our project partners, and will include presentations from guest speakers, discussions, and learning exercises.
Participants in the OP Lab will join a Canada-wide network of advocates and lawyers to strategically advance the implementation of the CRPD in Canada.
ARCH Alert – The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and Living Independently in an Inclusive Community
April 5, 2018
Canada ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in 2010. Since that time, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has worked to clarify and develop the meaning of the rights and freedoms articulated in the CRPD to promote a better understanding of the obligations they impose on States Parties. This often occurs in the form of a “general comment” on a particular Article of the CRPD. The most recent general comment released by the Committee is on Article 19, the right of persons with disabilities to live independently and be included in the community.
Access Awareness 2017 – The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: The View from Canada
June 6, 2017
The 2017 Access Awareness event theme was on the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities’ first review of Canada. The UN Committee heard not only from representatives of the Canadian government but also from delegates representing a number of disability rights organizations in Canada. Several members of that delegation participated in our Access Awareness panel discussion. The panelists discussed the UN Committee’s process and how the Committee’s Concluding Observations can be used to advance disability rights in Canada. The event was well attended, with 140 participants registered to attend in person and over 400 via webcast (available in the link below).
You can read about this event in our ARCH Alert, Volume 18, Issue 2: www.archdisabilitylaw.ca/arch_alert/arch-alert-volume-18-issue-2/#un-convention-rights-of-people-with-disabilities
ARCH Alert – Canada begins work to ratify Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
December 20, 2016
On March 11, 2010, Canada ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. By ratifying, Canada showed that it agreed to all the principles and obligations in the Convention. This means Canada is not supposed do anything that goes against the Convention.
The Convention is based on principles such as respect for dignity, freedom to make one’s own choices, non-discrimination, full and effective participation in society, equality between men and woman, equal opportunities for people with disabilities and accessibility.
ARCH Alert – UN Releases General Comment on the Right to Inclusive Education
September 21, 2016
The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) is the first legally binding international law to discuss the right to quality inclusive education. Article 24 of the CRPD provides that all persons with disabilities have a right to education. In order to realize the right to education without discrimination and on the basis of equal opportunities, States Parties have an obligation to ensure an inclusive education system at all levels.