1. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Stig Langvad, Independent Expert Member, CRPD Committee The United Nations Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD) – Challenges for Turkey and the Western Balkans - How can the work of the committee under the UN CRPD be used at national level? 1

2. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Stig Langvad, Independent Expert Member, CRPD Committee Representing  Representing "myself”  Independent expert member of the committee under the UN CRPD  Member of the Executive Board of The European Disability Forum  Chairperson of Disabled Peoples Organizations Denmark (DPOD)  Being a person with a spinal cord injury since 1973 2

3. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Stig Langvad, Independent Expert Member, CRPD Committee My agenda  A few remarks from the experience from Denmark  Some basic information regarding the committee  What does the committee do  Read reports from State Parties and civil society  List of issues  Dialogue with State Parties  Concluding observations  General comments to the State Parties  Petitions 3

4. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Stig Langvad, Independent Expert Member, CRPD Committee Timing of organizations of persons with disabilities is probably the most essential element in the aim of utilizing the possibilities within the UN CRPD 4

5. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Stig Langvad, Independent Expert Member, CRPD Committee A few remarks concerning the experience from Denmark  We have seen and we do still see too high expectations for short-term implications of the UN CRPD  It has been difficult/challenging to get the UN CRPD high on the agenda in relation to politics concerning disability  The new concept and scope of disability is challenging to use and understand  It is especially challenging in a time where politicians are losing the faith in human rights as a tool for improvement 5

6. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Stig Langvad, Independent Expert Member, CRPD Committee Some basic information regarding the committee  Article 34 in the UN CRPD  18 members (dominantly with various kinds of impairments)  nominated by State Parties and elected by the State Parties who have ratified the UN CRPD  Elected for 4 years with an option of additional 4 years  Meeting twice a year for 2/3 weeks  The work of the committee is dominantly on voluntarily basis  The committee is supported by a small secretariat in Geneva  www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/CRPD/Page s/CRPDIndex.aspx www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/CRPD/Page s/CRPDIndex.aspx  www.internationaldisabilityalliance.org/en www.internationaldisabilityalliance.org/en 6

7. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Stig Langvad, Independent Expert Member, CRPD Committee Read reports from State Parties and civil society  Initial Report after 2 years  Reports on Progress after 4 years  Reports from civil society, especially organizations of persons with disabilities  Reports from civil society are not translated  Short briefings regarding the countries on the agenda  Short briefings on questions or comments raised in other committees  The rapporteur is expected to have some knowledge about the country of which the committee should have its dialogue  Strict rules regarding the length of the reports etc 7

8. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Stig Langvad, Independent Expert Member, CRPD Committee List of issues  Based on input the rapporteur comes up with a suggestion for additional questions to the State Party  The translation into the 6 official languages must take place 8 to 10 weeks before the meeting in the committee  Normally the number of questions are between 25 and 30  The decision regarding list of issues to take place 6 months before the dialogue with the State Party  The State Party answers in a report of not more than 30 pages  Questions and answers are public through the website of the committee  The content of the questions can be effectively influenced by input from civil society, especially organizations of persons with disabilities  It is possible to hold a side event organized by civil society 8

9. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Stig Langvad, Independent Expert Member, CRPD Committee Dialogue with State Parties  The dialogue with the state parties normally last approximately 6 hours  The dialogue is public and are normally able to follow through the webcast with sign language and captioning  The dialogue takes its out jump based on the specific circumstances regarding each State Party  It is possible to hold a closed side event before the dialogue organized by civil society  The effect of influence by civil society is a matter of timing 9

10. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Stig Langvad, Independent Expert Member, CRPD Committee Concluding observations  After the dialogue the committee gives concrete and implementable recommendations to the State Party (3300 words)  Concluding observations is an important element in jurisprudence regarding the UN CRPD  Input before the dialogue from civil society is important to make sure that the quality of the concluding observations are relevant and correct 10

11. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Stig Langvad, Independent Expert Member, CRPD Committee General comments to the State Parties  Conventions are written to be able to be used in relation to all countries and they are therefore a little bit fluffy and vague  There is a tradition that the committees comes up with documents explaining the understanding of specific articles  General comments are drawn up in close collaboration with others and including research  It takes quite a long time to develop a general comment  Right now the committee under the UN CRPD is working on a general comment regarding article 9 and article 12 11

12. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Stig Langvad, Independent Expert Member, CRPD Committee Petitions  National legal system must be tried first  Individuals or groups can file a petition  Petitions are dealt with in close collaboration with State Party and complainants  Petitions are confidential through the preceding, and perhaps afterwards (to a degree)  Decisions based on petitions becomes a part of jurisprudence  Decisions are "morally" binding towards State Parties  There are more petitions than resources within the committee and the Petition Unit 12

13. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Stig Langvad, Independent Expert Member, CRPD Committee Thank you very much for your attention. I am available for comments and questions. 13