12th session of the Conference of States Parties to the CRPD

 View all COSP12 events on the UN Web TV website.

Quick Links

• Mandates and background
• Bureau of the COSP12
• Theme and sub-themes
• Provisional agenda and programme
• Documents
• Statements
• General Debate 
  • Requests by UN entities and NGOs accredited to COSP12 for speaking at the General debate
• Informal briefing
• Civil Society Participation
• National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs)
• Side Events

Report 

Report of the twelfth session of the Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities - COSP12: English | Français | Español | Русский | عربي | 汉语

Provisional agenda and programme 

• Draft Programme  (PDF as of 10 June 2019)
• Provisional Agenda English | Français | Español | Русский | عربي | 汉语

Background Documents

• Round Table 1: Technology, digitalization and ICTs for the empowerment and inclusion of persons with disabilities English | Français | Español | Русский | عربي | 汉语
• Round Table 2: Social inclusion and the right to the highest attainable standard of health English | Français | Español | Русский | عربي | 汉语
• Round Table 3: Inclusion of persons with disabilities in society through participation in cultural life, recreation, leisure and sports English | Français | Español | Русский | عربي | 汉语

Statements

Opening Statements

• Statement by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, H.E. Mr. António Guterres
• Statement by Acting Chair, Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Mr. Monthian Buntan
• Statement by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Opening Statements, Ms. Catalina Devandas-Aguilar
• Statement by the Chair of COSP12, H.E. Mr. Luis Gallegos Chiriboga, Ambassador, Permanent Mission of Ecuador (Spanish)
• Statement by the Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General on Disability and Accessibility, Ms. María Soledad Cisternas Reyes 
• Statement by the Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General on Disability and Accessibility, Ms. María Soledad Cisternas Reyes (Spanish) 
• Statement by the Civil Society Representative, International Disability Alliance, Ms. Ana Lucia Arellano

General Debate

• Statement by H.E. Rocío González Navas, First Lady of Ecuador (Spanish)

Round Table 1 - Technology, digitalization and ICTs for the empowerment and inclusion of persons with disabilities (Introduction & Presentations)

• Ms. Tytti Matsinen, Disability Inclusion Adviser, Finland
• Ms. Inmaculada Placencia, Senior Expert and disability focal point in the European Commission, European Union
• Mr. James Thurston, Vice President of the Global Initiative for Inclusive Information and Communication Technologies (G3ICT), USA
• Ms. Nirmita Narasimhan, Policy Fellow of Lirne Asia and Senior Fellow and Programme Director of G3 ICT, India

Round Table 2 - Social inclusion and the right to the highest attainable standard of health (Introduction & Presentations)

• Ms. Catalina Devandas, Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (Spanish)
• Mr. Antony Duttine, Public Health Leader, World Health Organization/Pam American Health Organization
• Mr. Han-jin Jo, Professor in the Department of Social Welfare, Daegu University, Republic of Korea

Round Table 3 - Inclusion of persons with disabilities in society through participation in cultural life, recreation, leisure and sport (Introduction & Presentations)

• Mr. Yong Jia, Vice President of China Disabled Persons’ Federation, China (Chinese)
• Mr. Khalid Ali Al Naimi, Chairman of the Arab Union for the Blind and Disability and Family Development Consultant at the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs, Qatar (Arabic)
• H.E Mrs. Isabel Maldonado Vasco, Technical Secretary of "Toda Una Vida" Plan, Ecuador (Spanish)
• H.E Ms. Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Public Services and Procurement and Accessibility, Canada
• Mr. Jaime Cruz, Member of the Autogestores SPSD and Sociedad Peruana de Síndrome Down, Peru (Spanish)

Interactive Dialogue

• Ms. Maria-Francesca Spatolisano, Assistant Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and Inter-Agency Affairs Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA)
• Mr. Craig Mokhiber, Director and Deputy to the Assistant Secretary General of the New York Office, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
• Ms. Roxana Widmer-Iliescu, ITU Senior Programme Officer, Focal Point for ICT Accessibility, International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
• Mr. Werner Obermeyer, Executive Director of the World Health Organization (WHO) Office at the UN in New York (WHO)
• Mr. Vinicius Pinheiro, Head of ILO Office in New York and Mr. Charles Chauvel, Officer-in-Charge for Governance, Bureau of Policy and Programme Support, UNDP, Co-Chairs for the sub-working group of the Inter-Agency Support Group for the CRPD (Sub-working group of the IASG)
• Ms. Catalina Devandas, Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (Spanish)

Closing Statements

• Statement by the Chair of COSP12, H.E. Mr. Luis Gallegos Chiriboga, Ambassador, Permanent Mission of Ecuador (Spanish)
• Statement by the President of the General Assembly, Her Excellency Ms. María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés (Spanish)

All the Statements are available on:

• PaperSmart Portal (for document/statements; queries: papersmart4@un.org)

Photos and Videos 

• Photos
• UNICEF's Video on 10 Principles for my protection, well-being and development as a girl, boy or adolescent with disabilities
• Archived Webcasts

Press Conferences 

• Press Conference on 11 June 2019: Speakers: Luis Gallegos Chiriboga, Permanent Representative of Ecuador to the United Nations and President of the Conference; Catalina Devandas, Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; Maria Soledad Cisternas, Special Envoy on Disability and Accessibility; and Ana Lucia Arellano, Civil Society Representative, International Disability Alliance.
• Press Conference on 12 June 2019: Speakers: Gertrude Oforiwa Fefoame, Global Advocacy Adviser on Social Inclusion for Sightsavers and Member of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities of the UN; Yetnebersh Nigussie, disability rights activist and lawyer, and 2017 Alternative Nobel Prize Recipient; Liisa Kauppinen, former President of the World Federation of the Deaf and 2013 Awardee of the United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights; and María Soledad Cisternas Reyes, Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Disability and Accessibility.

Informal briefing 

• Informal briefing to Member States: Preparation of the twelfth session of the Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the rights of Persons with Disabilities (A/RES/61/106) (co-organized by the Bureau (Ecuador) (President), Finland, Hungary, Liberia and Singapore (Vice-Presidents)), in collaboration with the Secretariat/Department of Economic and Social Affairs/Division for Inclusive Social Development)), Tuesday, 7 May 2019, 15:00 - 16:00 pm, Conference Room 11, United Nations Headquarters in New York.
• Informal briefing to Civil Society: Preparation of the twelfth session of the Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the rights of Persons with Disabilities (Organized by Bureau in collaboration with the Secretariat/Department of Economic and Social Affairs/Division for Inclusive Social Development), Tuesday, 7 May 2019, 16:15 to 17:00, Conference Room 11, United Nations Headquarters in New York. Interested NGOs ( up to 2 participants each organization, including personal assistant if applicable) who wish to participate shall register by emailing to enable@un.org, copying to zhangg@un.org and lamrabat@un.org with the full names of the participants and their affiliated NGO name, accessibility requirements may have in attending the meeting.Applications along with all requested information mentioned above must be received no later than 5 p.m on 2 May (New York time), in order to help plan the meeting and to make necessary arrangement to facilitate the attendance of all participants of the meeting. The United Nations or the secretariat is NOT at the position to financially sponsor any participants or to assist them in obtaining travel permits or visas that may be required for travelling to New York to attend this meeting. Thank you for attention and cooperation.

Mandates and background

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was adopted by the General Assembly by its resolution 61/106 of 13 December 2006. It came into force on 3 May 2008 upon the 20th ratification. Article 40 of the Convention stipulates that “The States Parties shall meet regularly in a Conference of States Parties in order to consider any matter with regard to the implementation of the present Convention.” Since 2008, ten sessions of the Conference of States Parties have been held at United Nations Headquarters, New York. The 12th session, per decided by States Parties at the 11^th session of the Conference of States Parties on 14 June 2018, will be scheduled to take place at the United Nations Headquarters, New York,  from 11 to 13 June 2019.

Overarching theme of the 12^th session

Ensuring inclusion of persons with disabilities in a changing world through the implementation of the CRPD Sub-themes for the three round table discussions

1. Technology, digitalization and ICTs for the empowerment and inclusion of persons with disabilities
2. Social inclusion and the right to the highest attainable standard of health
3. Inclusion of persons with disabilities in society through participation in cultural life, recreation, leisure and sports

Cross-cutting theme

• Awareness-raising

Bureau (elect)

President: Ecuador (Latin American and Caribbean Group) Vice-Presidents: Liberia (African Group), Singapore (Asia-Pacific Group), Hungary (Eastern European Group) and Finland (Western European and Others Group)

Civil Society Participation

• Registration for NGOs with ECOSOC status and NGOs Accredited to the Conference of State Parties: Deadline is now CLOSED
• Information for wheelchair users attending the COSP:
  
  • Due to the latest UN security regulations, please note that access for wheelchair users to the main conference rooms of the COSP (General Assembly Hall and Conference Room 4) is limited and will be available on a first come first served basis.
  • For wheelchair users who are not able to enter the main conference room of the COSP, an overflow room will be available to follow the conference LIVE on a large screen.
  • Side-events will be taking place in a number of smaller conference room during the three days of the Conference. Each of these rooms will be accessible to a limited number of wheelchair users during the COSP.
• Application for New NGO accreditation: Deadline is now CLOSED
• The Civil Society Coordination Mechanism, facilitated by the International Disability Alliance will host a Civil Society Forum, as an addition to the 12th Session of the CoSP to the CRPD, to leverage the opportunity to amplify the voice and facilitate the adequate and active participation of persons with disabilities. The Civil Society Forum will be held on 10 June, from 10am to 6pm, in Conference Room 4 at the UN headquarters in New York.
• List of NGOs Accredited to the Conference of States Parties to the CRPD

Requests by UN entities and NGOs for speaking at the General debate during the COSP12

The general debate will take place, under the agenda item 5 (a), on 12 June 2019. The list of speakers is now OPEN for inscription. The deadline is 4 June 2019 at 6 pm.

• Non-Governmental Organizations accredited to COSP12, National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) registered to the COSP12 and  UN entities wishing to inscribe on the list of speakers are requested to do so through submitting a written request to the Secretariat using an online application form (see link above), with the following information on the full name, level of representation and functional title of the speaker. The delivery of each statement is limited to 3 minutes.
• Non-Governmental Organizations accredited to COSP12, National Human Rights Institutions registered to the COSP12 and   and UN entities wishing to circulate their statements electronically through the PaperSmart Portal should send a copy of the statement via emailing to papersmart4@un.org, copying to enable@un.org,  at least [one] hour(s) in advance of delivery. Microsoft Word format is preferred. The agenda item should be indicated in the heading of the statement and in the subject line of the e-mail. The statements will be posted on the PaperSmart portal after delivery.
• Speakers  are kindly reminded to provide 30 hard copies of the text for the technical services no later than 1 hour before delivery of the statement.

National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs)

• Application for NHRI participation in COSP12: Deadline is now CLOSED
• NHRIs Accredited by the International Coordinating Committee of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (Accreditation status as of 4 March 2019)
• OHCHR and NHRIs

Side Events

• Side events provide an excellent opportunity for Member States, UN entities and NGOs to discuss the themes of the COSP and other critical issues related to persons with disabilities.
• Side events are for COSP attendees and registered participants as well as invited registered external guests.
• All questions on side events should be directed to ngo@un.org

View online the list of COSP side events (as of 3 June 2019) Download the COSP12 Logistics Note (PDF)

Accessibility

Accessibility Center at UN Headquarters The Accessibility Centre at UN Headquarters provides equipment and services to delegates and NGO participants at the Conference. Devices can be borrowed by submitting a valid Photo ID and are for use on UN premises only. (Queries? AccessibilityCentre@un.org)” The products and services available include:

• List of Devices available at the Accessibility Centre English | Français | Español | Русский | عربي | 汉语
• Wheelchair charging provisions at various locations around UN Headquarters
• Staffed desk to provide assistance on borrowing and using the devices

The Accessibility Center opens at 8:00 a.m. and devices are loaned daily on a first come, first served basis. Devices are in limited quantity and must be signed for and returned on the same day no later than 5:00 p.m. Accessibility Resources: (DISCLAIMER: The information below is provided for informational purposes only. This does not constitute endorsement of, or an approval by, the United Nations.)

• Accessibility / nycgo.com
• Official Accessibility Guide – NYC.gov (PDF)
• Accessible NYC
• DisabledNYC.com
• Accessible Dispatch: Wheelchair-Accessible Taxi Service
• Accessible taxis (to be reserved in advance): Telephone: (646) 599-9999
• Rentals: wheelchairs, scooters
  • Big Apple Mobility
  • American Mobility Rentals
  • Scooters Depot NYC

       Photos contributed by Ms. Galina Shevlak, who is a Medical Doctor. She has M.S. and has been in a wheelchair for ten years. Ms. Shevlak cannot hold a brush or a pencil, and she is drawing using her finger. Her choice of colors reflects her positive outlook and love for life.