CRPD or Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was established to support and protect the rights of the disabled across the globe. This Convention was ratified by the member countries of the CRPD. Thus, the critical task of the CRPD committee is to advocate the interests of the disabled in these states.
This committee is also charged with the monitoring the implementation of UN’s CRPD. That means the work of all the other treaty bodies are of interest to this committee. But disability cuts across all boarders. Therefore, this committee must be sure that disability issues of all kinds are included in the agenda of all treaty bodies. Preventing blindness which is the focus of Sightsavers, should therefore be included.
Thankfully, work on this regard is already underway. In March 1, the Commission on the Status of Women held its 59th session in New York. At least three organizations attended this event. Representatives from the CRPD, the Convention on the Rights of Children and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women participated in the event. During the event, the participants discussed the importance of working together and the need to include disability issues such as preventing blindness which is being advocated by Sightsavers.
Implementation Of The CRPD Has Many Challenges
The common perception is that disability is unique, costly and difficult to manage. Even the discussions in the Convention were influenced by the ‘welfare’ side of implementation. There are some members who appeared to be willing but they still need additional guidance to be able to implement the Convention efficiently.
In this regard, some have suggested that advocacy should be continued by organizations of disabled people together with civil society organizations so that member states or countries will be more engaged in implementing the CRPD. This may mean the strengthening of these advocacy groups by training its members. There are trainers that can help these cause oriented groups such as the Institutional Development Programme and the International Disability and Development Consortium. To increase the knowledge of these advocacy groups about the CRPD and Sustainable Development Goals, education and training at grassroots and district levels should be continued.
Advocacy groups for the disabled must also increase the awareness of those in authority. They need to take advantage of the scheduled meetings and events such as those being held by public ministries or department officers and lawmakers or parliamentarians so that their awareness of the problems of disability could be raised and offer their technical support if necessary.
They should also ensure the inclusion of disability in relevant policies. This will be critical in monitoring and implementing the national, regional, UN and all the other local policies and legislations. An example would be the improvement of implementation by aligning the SDGs and the CRPD.
