Category Archives: Convention on Persons with Disabilities

from March 2006 Issue of Japanese Deaf News, JFD’s monthly newspaper:

Proposals on “Definitions”

(From left) Board members of JFD, Mr. Takada and Mr. Ogura, conversing
with Ad Hoc Chair, Ambassador Mac Kay, and Ms. Takagi of the Secretariat
interpreting (right).

The 7th UN Ad Hoc Committee Meeting on the Ad Hoc Committee on a Comprehensive and Integral International Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities was held from January 16 to February 3 at the UN Headquarters in New York. From the Japanese Federation of the Deaf, Board Members Eiichi Takada and Takeo Ogura attended the Ad Hoc from January 20 to January 27, as part of the observer delegation of the Japan Disability Forum.

Active Participation of WFD and Deaf Leaders Board Members Takada and Ogura From Japan

Present at the Ad Hoc were President Markku Jokinen and President Emerita Liisa Kauppinen of the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD), WFD board member Martha Lucia Osorno Posada of Colombia, and other Deaf representatives from Japan, Chile, Canada, etc. It was a pity that there wasn’t even one Deaf representative from the United States.

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from September 2004 Issue of Japanese Deaf News, JFD’s monthly newspaper:

International Seminar on the Convention Held in Kyoto

The United Nations is currently undertaking the process of elaborating a comprehensive and integral international convention to promote and protect the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities. On August 9th, an international seminar on this convention was held in Kyoto. This was the first such seminar on the convention to be held in the western part of Japan. Updates on movements related to the convention were reported, and the participants reconfirmed the significance of an international convention on the rights of persons with disabilities.

JFD President Ando Participates as a Panelist

Pres. Toyoki Ando of JFD (standing in center), presenting his views from the panel.

The International Seminar on Recent Movements Toward the “Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities” was held on August 9th at the National Center of Sign Language Education in Kyoto City, hosted by the Japanese Society for Rehabilitation of Persons With Disabilities (JSRDP), with cooperation from the Japan Disability Forum (JDF) Preparation Committee. Discussions at this Seminar were focused on such issues as the definition of “disability”, and the understanding of “reasonable accommodations” by which persons with disabilities can achieve equality.

Representatives of the Japan Disability Forum (JDF) Preparation Committee confirmed the need for action based on sound principles in order to attain a convention of high quality in as short a time as possible. To achieve this purpose, it was agreed the Japan Disability Forum, which is still in its preparatory stage, would be formally established in autumn. JDF will aim to develop its advocacy movements and endeavor to win nationwide support toward the convention.

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from July 2003 Issue of Japanese Deaf News, JFD’s monthly newspaper:

“Bangkok Recommendations” Adopted

Expert Group Meeting and Seminar
(WFD Board Member Eiichi Takada on left)

Executive Committee Members of the
National Association of the Deaf in Thailand
attending the Expert Group Meeting and Seminar

The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) hosted the “Expert Group Meeting and Seminar on an International Convention to Protect and Promote the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities” from June 2-4, 2003 at the UNESCAP Conference Center in Bangkok, Thailand. Eiichi Takada of Japan attended the meeting in his position as Board Member of the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD).

The meeting opened with an address by Mr. Kim Hak-Su, Executive Secretary of UNESCAP and the presentation of a message sent by Ambassador Luis Gallegos of Ecuador, who is the Chairman of the UN Ad Hoc Committee on the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

The conference was attended by about 130 people, including representatives of SHO of persons with disabilities, governments, UN agencies, related bodies, and resource persons. Among the attendees were Mr. Abdullah Wardak, Minister of Martyrs and Disabled of Afghanistan, Mr. Andrew Byrnes, Professor of the Faculty of Law of the Australian National University, Mr. Clinton Edward Rapley, and others. Discussions and presentations centered on the contents of the proposed International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. On the last day, the conference adopted the “Bangkok Recommendations on the Elaboration of a Comprehensive and Integral International Convention to Promote and Protect the Rights of Persons with Disabilities”. The conference itself and the Bangkok Recommendations reveal that UNESCAP is strongly committed to the realization of the convention.

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