ARCH Participates in Canada’s Review on CRPD Implementation
in Geneva on March 10-11, 2025
Next week, ARCH will be in Geneva, Switzerland, along with other representatives of Canadian civil society and the Canadian government to meet with the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and engage in a constructive dialogue about Canada’s implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). 
Why ARCH’s Participation is Important
ARCH will be present with other representatives of civil society organizations, discussing disability issues related to the implementation of the CRPD in Canada.  As a specialty disability rights legal clinic, ARCH will provide a perspective informed by expertise in the field of disability law, interactions with the Canadian legal system, as well as what ARCH has learned from people within disability communities.
The CRPD Review Process
In order to make sure that state governments are implementing the CRPD, the United Nations created the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD Committee).  States and civil society organizations report to the CRPD Committee on the implementation of the CRPD within their country, and states, civil society, and the CRPD Committee have a constructive dialogue. After the dialogue, the CRPD Committee makes findings and recommendations which are called Concluding Observations to states on how they can improve their CRPD implementation. States go on to implement those recommendations and the review process repeats itself. 
The Government of Canada ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CPRD) on March 11, 2010. Currently, Canada is in its second and third review process (these processes were joined due to the pandemic).
CRPD Reports
States parties, like Canada, respond to a list of issues made by CRPD Committee by submitting a Report.  Civil society can also write reports, known as shadow reports or parallel reports to the CRPD Committee regarding the implementation of the CRPD in a particular country. 
In the report to the CRPD Committee from Canada, the Canadian government responded to the recommendations made by the Committee from the last reporting cycle. Canada’s report was made in response to the issues that the Committee highlighted in that last reporting cycle.
The Civil Society Parallel Report for Canada Report was prepared by the Canadian Civil Society Parallel Report Group, a group made up of 53 Disabled Peoples Organizations (DPOs) and civil society groups, representing persons with disabilities across Canada.  
ARCH was one of the coordinators of this effort to bring civil society together to develop a Parallel Report to the CRPD Committee. The Report provides a response to most articles of the CRPD in the context of the List of Issues for Canada, Canada’s Report, and the 2017 Concluding Observations on the initial report of Canada. The Report highlights key concerns of disability communities, including outdated disability concepts, poor jurisdictional coordination, and weak enforcement of CRPD rights. 
To read the reports that were submitted to the Committee, including Canada’s report and the reports of disability organizations, go to: https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/TreatyBodyExternal/SessionDetails1.aspx?SessionID=1141&Lang=en
To read about the earlier stages of the 2nd (and 3rd review) of Canada’s review, go to: https://archdisabilitylaw.ca/advancing-the-un-crpd/united-nations-oversight/2nd-reporting-cycle/
Tune in to this webpage for updates on Canada’s 2nd/3rd Review at the United Nations 
More about The CRPD Constructive Dialogue
Part of the review process is called the constructive dialogue, which is what ARCH is participating in on March 10 and 11. At the dialogue, representatives of civil society organizations like ARCH will have a discussion with both the CRPD Committee and representatives of the Canadian government about how well the CRPD is being implemented in Canada. This dialogue is informed by reports from both the Canadian government as well as civil society.
Before the dialogue, representatives of civil society will have opportunities to reach out to CRPD Committee members. Committee members can ask these representatives questions to clarify the situation in Canada and civil society representatives can advise the members on issues they think should be prioritised. Before the review begins, civil society are given a short session with Committee Members where they have an opportunity to raise their concerns.
The review itself covers each Article of the CRPD. Members of the CRPD Committee will ask questions on the articles and representatives of the Canadian government will be able to respond to those questions.
Concluding Observations of the CRPD Committee
At the end of the review process, the CRPD Committee will draft its Concluding Observations. The Concluding Observations include recommendations to the state under review on how they can improve their implementation of the CRPD, as well as praise on areas where they are succeeding in CRPD implementation. Getting recommendations on particular issues can be very helpful for civil society organizations and disability rights organizations to push and advance their advocacy efforts with governments.