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COMMONWEALTH DISABLED PEOPLES’ FORUM A New Voice Shouts to the Commonwealth - Nothing About us Without Us Youth and adults with disabilities from 16 Commonwealth countries came together from 15-17 March, 2008 in London to launch a unique Commonwealth Disabled Peoples’ Forum, the purposes of which will be to provide a link between disabled people’s organisations in all Commonwealth countries and all the political structures of the Commonwealth. At the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in October 2007 the civil society challenge to CHOGM was to mainstream disability in sustainable development, to ratify the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and to adopt disability inclusive policies. This cannot be achieved without a strong, democratic forum of disabled youth and adults to ensure implementation. We had a vibrant and dynamic series of meetings to consolidate the vision, constitution and activities of the Forum . The youth met separately to devise their own creative methods of self representation and organisation. We came together in a final agreement of how to go forward together. It is essential that the voice of young persons with disabilities is heard clearly in the work of the CDPF. They are the future leaders and builders of our shared vision of a Commonwealth built on equality, human rights and respect for diversity. The major focus of our work in the next two years, including a major conference before CHOGM in Trinidad and Tobago in 2009, will be to ensure that Commonwealth countries sign, ratify and implement the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability. As Rachel Kachaje said at the Launch of the CDPF, hosted by the Commonwealth Foundation at Marlborough House, ‘Disabled people see that hope springs out of the convention – hope for a new, inclusive world where disabled people can be seen as fully human’. During the briefing at the Commonwealth Foundation at Marlborough House, the Commonwealth Disabled Peoples’ Forum (CDPF) released the following statement aimed at the UK government: “At the Steering Group meeting to launch the Commonwealth Disabled People’s Forum, the disabled delegates from 15 Commonwealth countries were shocked to hear the numbers of Commonwealth countries that had not signed or ratified the Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities. Many of the delegates had been participants in the Ad Hoc process and had noted with pleasure the leadership of the UK within Europe in the working on the Convention and in agreeing the content. Therefore, even more shocking was the news that, although the UK hope to ratify the CRPD before the end of this year, they would be filing reservations. We wish to express our deep concerns that any Commonwealth Country should not be whole hearted in their support of human rights for disabled people. Human rights are universal and indivisible. They protect the individual from violations to their right to dignity, liberty and equality. Reserving on any right breaks that protection to the right to full humanity. We are united in our hope that the UK will take the leadership in ratifying and implement the CRPD, without reservations, and that this leadership will be followed throughout the Commonwealth.” The following individuals were elected to the CDPF Executive Committee to manage the organization for a two-year term:
The Commonwealth Disabled Peoples’ Forum will be registered in New Delhi, India and will apply for accreditation with the Commonwealth Secretariat. |