
The Seoul Declaration
We would like to share with you in detail the Seoul Declaration, adopted at Disabled Peoples’ International World Assembly on 8 September, 2007: There are no human rights to which persons with disabilities do not lay claim. Upon this foundational principle at our last World Assembly in Sapporo, Disabled Peoples' International called upon Member States of the United Nations to adopt of a specific international human rights treaty on the rights of persons with disabilities. Today, five years later, as a result of unprecedented collaboration by UN Member States, the international disability community, our global leaders and our allies, we have achieved this and much more. On December 13, 2006, the UN General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol. Negotiated in record time, with record participation, and signed on its opening day by a record number of countries, the Convention reflects our language and vision of disability rights. The Convention is not just about persons with disabilities, it is by us and for us and all of humanity: our rights our convention but for all. Now, celebrating our achievements as we also celebrate DPI's quarter century of engagement in the struggle for human rights for all disabled people, the time has come to prepare ourselves and our allies for the future and our participation in ratification and implementation of this historic new treaty. We the 2700 people of DPI gathered here in Seoul for our 7th@World Assembly, declare that the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, as a core international human rights treaty, shall be the foundation for all laws, policies and practices addressing the rights of persons with disabilities. Therefore we call on: All Governments, including the Republic of Korea, to move swiftly and with conviction to sign and ratify the Convention, so that it may enter into force by December 13th, 2007. All States Parties to vigorously uphold their treaty obligations, working with us to breathe life into the words of the Convention, so that its vision may be reflected in the everyday lives of all people with disabilities. All international human rights bodies and mechanisms to engage people with disabilities, so that the standards set by the Convention are fully reflected in their work. All UN agencies to actively include disability and people with disabilities in their programming, so that the international cooperation they promote furthers the objectives of the Convention. All National Human Rights Institutions to promote awareness, knowledge of and compliance with the Convention, so that national–level implementation may become a reality. All Development Agencies to fully utilize the Convention as a tool in achieving the Millennium Development Goals, so that all people with disabilities may benefit equally from full and sustainable development. All members of Civil Society to commit to Convention ratification and implementation, so that we may work in partnership to achieve our common goal of a just and equal society for all. All our sisters and brothers in the struggle for disability liberation to make Convention ratification and implementation a priority in their work, so that together we may finally realize the human rights to which we have always laid claim. We ask that you share this declaration with persons with disabilities, government and non-government organizations so that our voices can be heard. Two Reminders: We look forward to sharing with you some of the papers presented at the World Assembly on issues related to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in our upcoming Proceedings. We would remind those who presented to forward copies of their papers in English to Dr. Cassandra Phillips at info@dpi.org. We also appreciate any photos of the event. We invite submissions and more photos for our next issue of Disability International on the theme Indigenous Peoples with disabilities. If you attended the World Assembly, describe your experiences networking with other Indigenous groups. If not, then we still want your stories, your thoughts and ideas. Please mail contributions, plus photos, by 1 November, 2007 to Cassandra at info@dpi.org. Around the world this week are strong reminders that implementation and ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities are the first steps toward addressing the human rights of persons with disabilities. Accountability is the final step to its overall success. Human Rights and Women with Disabilities A few weeks ago, DPI brought to your attention the refusal of certain airlines to allow persons with disabilities to travel unaccompanied. Again, this past week, the National Co-ordinator of Women, Children and Youth programmes for a leading Angolan disability organisation was removed from a plane by TAP (a Portuguese airline company) because she was a woman with a disability travelling without an attendant. This action came in spite of protests that she was quite capable of looking after her own needs. She was travelling from Luanda, Angola via Lisbon to London to join Disability and Development Partners (DDP) in meetings to discuss programmes for persons with disabilities in Angola. For information on DDP, please go to www.ddpweb.org On 13 September, 2007 Actionaid Bangladesh and Advancing Public Interest Trust (APIT) organised a Policy Dialogue Meeting titled “Rights of the disabled persons: Coherence between reality and international policy framework.” The event preceded the mid-point review of the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons (2003-2012) scheduled for 19-21 September in Bangkok to review the progress and challenges in the implementation of Biwako Millennium Framework (BMF). In a research paper, Ms. Maliha Shahjahan, Director, Research and Policy Audit, APIT, reported that the “State remains apathetic to the fundamental requirement of women with disabilities to create equal opportunities.” In spite of the National Disability Welfare Act (2001), “the rehabilitation infrastructure remains weak, with unskilled medical personnel and inadequate medical rehabilitation services,” she added. To read more, go to http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=3794 Conferences Bangladesh Protibandhi Kallyan Somity (BPKS) invites participation in the "One for All – Persons with Disabilities' Initiatives in Development" Conference to be held in Dhaka, Bangladesh 10-14 February 2008. Application deadline is 10 November 2007. For information, contact Natalie Silcock at seminar@bpksbd.org Newsletter The latest issue of the Recovery and Rehabilitation Newsletter produced by the Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation at Boston University highlights resources for program administrators, managers, policy makers, and others about the implementation and use of outcome measurement. Please read http://www.bu.edu/cpr/newsletter/measures/rr3_4outcomes.pdf Congratulations The Thomas J. Dodd Research Center at the University of Connecticut, USA announced this week that Mental Disability Rights International (MDRI) has been chosen to receive the 2007 Dodd prize for its work in advancing the cause of international justice and global human rights. MDRI will share the $75,000 prize with The Center for Justice and Accountability. Congratulations to Cuba for ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on 6 September, 20


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21 September 2007