Welcome to the United Nations
The Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (COSP to the CRPD or COSP) established pursuant to article 40 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in 2008. Since then, seventeen sessions have been convened at the United Nations Headquarters, New York.
The 18th session of the COSP, per decided by States Parties at the 17th session of the Conference of States Parties on 13 June 2024, in line with the article 40 of the CRPD and Rules of the Procedure of the COSP (CRPD/CSP/2008/3) will be scheduled to take place at the United Nations Headquarters, New York, from 10 to 12 June 2025.
Informal Briefings to States Parties and Civil Society
In-person Informal Briefings will take place in Conference Room 11 at the UN Headquarters in New York on May 13, 2025, to States Parties from 3 to 4pm , and to Civil Society from 4 to 5pm ( New York Time).
The briefing will be co-hosted by the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka and the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA).
Bureau
- President-elect: Sri Lanka (Asia-Pacific Group)
- Vice-Presidents-elect: Poland (Eastern European Group), Peru (Latin American and Caribbean Group), Canada (Western European and Others Group), and Tanzania (African Group).
Themes and Subthemes
Overarching theme: Enhancing public awareness of the rights and contributions of persons with disabilities for social development leading up to the Second World Summit for Social Development
Sub-theme for Roundtable 1: Empowering persons with disabilities and enhancing social development policies through innovative financing.
Sub-theme for Roundtable 2: Leaving no one behind: using AI as a tool for supporting inclusivity to strengthen the participation of persons with disabilities.
Sub-theme for Roundtable 3: Recognising and addressing the rights of Indigenous persons with disabilities and their role in advancing disability inclusion.
Provisional agenda and Tentative programme
- Provisional Agenda English | Français | Español | Русский | عربي | 汉语
Official Documentation
- Background note for the Roundtable One "Empowering persons with disabilities and enhancing social development policies through innovative financing", CRPD/CSP/2025/2, English | Français | Español | Русский | عربي | 汉语
- Background Note of the Roundtable Two "Leaving no one behind: using artificial intelligence as a tool for supporting inclusivity to strengthen the participation of persons with disabilities", CRPD/CSP/2025/3, English | Français | Español | Русский | عربي | 汉语
- Background Note of the Roundtable Three "Recognizing and addressing the rights of Indigenous persons with disabilities and their role in advancing disability inclusion", CRPD/CSP/2025/4, English | Français | Español | Русский | عربي | 汉语
General Debate and List of Speakers Registration
The General Debate will be organized and will begin on the first day of the conference namely 10 June 2025. All States Parties and Observer States that wish to be inscribed on the list of speakers are requested to inscribe through the e-Speakers module of the e-Delegate portal between 19 May (Monday) and 2 June (Monday). Further information will be announced in due course through the UN Journal and regional group representatives in the bureau.
Considering the time constraints, a national statement will be limited to three minutes for each speaker duly and in-timely inscribed to the list and the time-limit policy will be enforced effectively (i.e. cutting off the microphone). Individual reasonable accommodation will be granted for persons with disabilities, and in this regard, needs must be communicated directly to the Secretariat via emailing to enable@un.org as early as possible before 30 May 2025.
All States Parties and Signatories to the CRPD are requested to have their focal point in the delegation who has the access to the eDELEGATE services to inscribe their speaker through the e-Delegate/e-Speakers portal link.
United Nations entities, intergovernmental organizations (IGOs), national human rights institutions (NHRIs), and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are kindly asked to sign up here by providing their speaker details and all required information within the same timeframe, namely between 10am of 19 May and 6pm of 2 June 2025 ( New York Time).
Guidance Note on the General Debate
UN Guidelines for Pre-recorded vide statements. Please note that the deadline for delegations to upload their pre-recorded videos is 2 June 2025.
Ground Passes for Delegations of States Parties
Delegations shall obtain a valid United Nations grounds pass for all national delegation members whose names are reflected in their credentials that should be duly submitted to secretariat via eCREDENTIALS /e-DELEGATE portal for attending the official COSP18 meetings, in order to gain access to the United Nations headquarters.
Delegations shall be aware, when designating representatives and alternates to the forthcoming official COSP18 meetings, there is a seating capacity limitation for each delegation at a particular meeting, and specifically, each delegation will have 1+5 seats in the General Assembly Hall and 1+1 seats in the Conference Room 4 during the 18th session. No secondary passes will be issued for official national delegations.
Accessibility Requirements
The United Nations is committed to promoting accessibility and inclusion for persons with disabilities at its Headquarters and beyond. All necessary efforts and accommodations, such as seating adjustments, will be made to best meet the needs of participants with disabilities who have provided advance notice of their specific accessibility requirements.
All States Parties are kindly requested to notify the secretariat if their delegates have specific accessibility requirements via @email. no later than 1 May 2025, in order to ensure accessibility for all participants.
Please send the following details:
- Specific accessibility needs such as wheelchair access, hearing loops usage, documentation in Braille, large print, or sign language usage
- The name of the delegation and individual delegate especially when the delegate will expect speak on behalf of the delegation in a meeting.
Delegations are requested to also include specific accessibility needs details of their speaker, if applicable, when inscribing to the List of Speakers for the General Debate.
Practical Information for COSP18 Participants (forthcoming)
Seating Charts (forthcoming)
General Assembly Hall 10 June, AM-PM
Conference Room 4, 11-12 June, AM-PM
Side Events
Draft List of Side Events - As of 19 May 2025
This is an opportunity for Member States, Intergovernmental Organizations, UN agencies, NGOs with ECOSOC status, and NGOs accredited to the COSP and stakeholders to contribute to meaningful discussions and showcase innovative initiatives related to overarching theme and sub-themes.
Please be aware that to ensure accessibility for all our events, you MUST include closed captions and make every effort to arrange for international sign language interpretation. However, due to the high number of events, securing sign language interpretation may not always be possible for your specific event.
List of suggested Cart Services Providers | List of suggested International Sign Language Interpreters
National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) with "A" Status ONLY
National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) interested in attending the COSP18 must complete this online application form. The deadline is now CLOSED.
The online application is only open to NHRIs with "A" Status. If you have any questions, please contact us by email at socialngo@un.org with the subject "COSP18 NHRIs".
Civil Society Forum
The Civil Society Coordination Mechanism (CSCM), facilitated by the International Disability Alliance, is organizing the Civil Society Forum (CSF) ahead of the 18th session of the Conference of States Parties to the CRPD (COSP18).
Civil Society Participation
Registration for NGOs with ECOSOC status and those accredited to the Conference of State Parties (COSP): NGOs can register via Indico for COSP18. Organizations are responsible for approving their registrations, and participants should contact their conference focal point for approval.
- Conference Focal points can review pending registrations on the Indico platform.
- Due to space constraints, organizations should limit attendance to 10 representatives.
- Registration deadline has been extended to: 23 May 2025.
Application for New NGO accreditation. Please consult the Information Note, the deadline is now CLOSED.
Only NGOs accredited by the Conference of States Parties can participate in the sessions of the Conference of States Parties. NGOs that have consultative status with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) or were accredited to the Ad Hoc Committee on the Convention are already accredited to the Conference of States Parties.
- All other NGOs wishing to participate in the Conference of States Parties must apply for accreditation to the Conference.
- Accreditation is a one-time process by which non-governmental organizations that have not previously been accredited become eligible to participate as observers in the Conference of States Parties (including in future sessions). Accreditation is granted to organizations and not to individuals.
- If your organization would like to attend this year's conference, we recommend that you register online in Indico by joining an existing ECOSOC or Accredited NGO. Next year, you can officially register using the name of your organization.
- Final confirmation of formal accreditation will only be available after the first meeting of the 17th session of the Conference of States Parties on 10 June 2025 by 1 p.m.
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