16th Session of the CRPD Committee

CRPD Committee’s 16^th Session: 15 August – 2 September 2016

• • Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities adopts General Comment on Article 6: Women and Girls with Disabilities (adopted 26 August 2016)
  • Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities adopts General Comment on Article 24: Right to Inclusive Education (adopted 26 August 2016)

The 16^th Session of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) is now underway. Members of the CRPD Committee have gathered in Geneva to review reports on the CRPD from seven States Parties. The Committee will also hold a public reading of the upcoming General Comment on Article 24 of the Convention.

The CRPD Committee consists of 18 independent experts tasked with monitoring the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities worldwide. The members of the Committee serve in their individual capacities, not as government representatives, and are elected by the States Parties of the CRPD at the Conference of the State Parties.

All States Parties to the CRPD must submit to the Committee regular reports regarding the implementation of the Convention in their respective states. The Committee then examines these reports in discussion with State delegations and recommends steps for future improvement to CRPD implementation.

The 16^th Session will discuss reports submitted by Bolivia, Colombia, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Italy, the United Arab Emirates, and Uruguay. Committee members will also hold a public reading of the forthcoming General Comment on Article 24 of the Convention which guarantees the right to inclusive education.

This 16th session occurs in advance of the Committee’s 6^th pre-session, taking place 5-9 September 2016 and focusing on the list of issues on Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cyprus, Honduras, Iran, and Jordan.

Committee activities will be broadcast live at http://webtv.un.org/meetings-events/ and will include International Sign interpretation.

For more information on the 16th session of the CRPD Committee, please visit the Committee’s session website.

The schedule of discussions (in Geneva local time) is as follows:

Monday 15 August

• 10:00 - Opening of 16^th session
• 15:00 - Review of Uruguay

Tuesday 16 August

• 10:00 - Review of Uruguay (continued)
• 15:00 - Review of Ethiopia

Wednesday 17 August

• 10:00 - Review of Ethiopia (continued)
• 15:00 - Review of Bolivia

Thursday 18 August

• 10:00 - Review of Bolivia (continued)
• 15:00 - Review of United Arab Emirates

Friday 19 August

• 10:00 - Review of United Arab Emirates (continued)

Monday 22 August

• 15:00 - Review of Guatemala

Tuesday 23 August

• 10:00 - Review of Guatemala (continued)
• 15:00 - Review of Colombia

Wednesday 24 August

• 10:00 - Review of Colombia (continued)
• 15:00 - Review of Italy

Thursday 25 April

• 10:00 - Review of Italy (continued)

Friday 26 April

• 10:00 - Public reading of upcoming General Comment on Article 24 of the Convention