20 June 2017: The tenth session of the Conference of States Parties (COSP10) to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) concluded with a call for data to be disaggregated by disability, in order to ensure the fulfillment of commitments made in the CRPD and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The following week, UN Secretary-General António Guterres announced the appointment of a Special Envoy on Disability and Accessibility.

CRPD10 took place from 13-15 June 2017, in New York, US. The session represented the start of the second decade of the CRPD. Delegates discussed how persons with disabilities can fully participate in the implementation of major global agreements, and States Parties committed to a more participatory and inclusive implementation of the Convention. It was noted that the 2030 Agenda includes the first recognition of persons with disabilities as agents of change for sustainable development. Over 75 side events took place on the margins of CRPD10.

The success of global agendas depends on how persons with disabilities are engaged and empowered to participate, said Panayotov.

In his closing summary, Conference President Georgi Panayotov (Bulgaria) noted that the conference had featured around 130 speakers, a record number compared with previous sessions. Three roundtable discussions took place during CRPD10, which focused on: addressing the impact of multiple discrimination on persons with disabilities; inclusion and full participation of persons with disabilities in humanitarian action; and promoting inclusive urban development and implementation of the New Urban Agenda. Panayotov emphasized that the success of the various global agenda would largely depend on how persons with disabilities are engaged and empowered to fully participate.

Catalina Devandas Aguilar, UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, noted that many advances have been achieved since the adoption of the CRPD in 2006. She recommended two priority areas for action: social protection policies that fully include persons with disabilities; and support networks, including facilities such as personal assistant devices and technology, so that persons with disabilities can fully participate on an equal basis with others.

Parties to the CRPD meet annually in New York to share ideas and experience of action on implementing the Convention. With 173 signatories, the Convention is one of the most widely ratified international human rights instruments. COSP11 will take place from 12-14 June 2018.

On 20 June, Secretary-General Guterres appointed María Soledad Cisternas Reyes of Chile as his Special Envoy on Disability and Accessibility. Cisternas was previously President of the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and served as an expert on the Ad-hoc Committee that developed the CRPD. [UN Opening Press Release] [DESA Press Release on Second Decade of CRPD] [DESA News on COSP10] [Conference Webpage] [UN Biographical Note on Cisternas] [UN Press Release on Special Envoy Appointments]