Toronto, June 30th 2016 – Today is an historic day as Canada became the 20th country to ratify theMarrakesh Treaty (full name is the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works by Visually Impaired Persons and Persons with Print Disabilities). The twenty ratifying countries will be able to enjoy the benefits enshrined in the treaty […]
Election leaves UN disability committee with 17 men and just one woman
Published by Disability News Service John Pring, June 23, 2016. Go to Original Source Disabled activists are calling on the UN to take action after elections to the 18-strong committee that oversees the implementation of its disability rights convention left it with just a single female member alongside 17 men. The committee on the rights of persons […]
Guatemala: advocacy to include disability and indigeneity in justice reforms
Commissioner Iván Velásquez and Maira Véliz, secretary general of the Ministry for Public Health presided over a discussion addressing constitutional reforms in the justice sector. Participating were representatives from Maya organisations and the justice and disability sectors. Guatemala’s El Periodico reported how in the meeting, organisations advocated for reforms in the justice sector that would have […]
UN calls on Chile to protect disabled people from torture
Geneva, 26th April: The UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) expressed serious concerns on the continued use of neurosurgery, electroconvulsive therapy and prolonged isolation in cells without basic services in Chile. It went on state how ‘Chile must explicitly end and prohibit the use of these and other cruel, inhuman or […]
Zambia: working towards an accessible electoral process
Zambia’s general elections in August are met by a new constitution that significantly impacts the electoral and voting environment. Persons with disabilities have long been fighting for recognition and protection of their rights to political and public participation through an inclusive and accessible electoral process. These demands seem to have been heard and changes in […]