61st Session of the Commission for Social Development

The 61st United Nations Commission for Social Development (CSocD61) will take place from 6 to 15 February 2023 in Conference Room 4 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.

Priority Theme:

Creating full and productive employment and decent work for all as a way of overcoming inequalities to accelerate the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

Review of relevant UN plans and programmes of action pertaining to the situation of social groups:

(i) Outcome document of the high-level meeting of the General Assembly on the realization of the Millennium Development Goals and other internationally agreed development goals for persons with disabilities: the way forward, a disability-inclusive development agenda towards 2015 and beyond;

(ii) World Programme of Action for Youth;

(iii) Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing, 2002;

(iv) Family issues, policies and programmes.

Full schedule of events, more info on NGO participation, and background documents available here.

Hosting Side Events:

Most CSocD61 side events will take place virtually. In person side events are ONLY open to Permanent Missions, intergovernmental organizations and United Nations system entities.

Each side event organizer is responsible for hosting and choosing their virtual event platform. All participants of the CSocD and users of the CSocD online platforms, and any contributions they make, must comply with the United Nations Code of Conduct.

General Instructions for Side Events

Deadline for submission of online application forms for side-events is 22 December 2022 for in person events and 6 January 2023 for virtual events (EDT – New York Time).

____________________________________________________________________________________________

CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Family/NY, please visit ngofamilyny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Family/Vienna, please visit viennafamilycommittee.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Migration, please visit ngo-migration.org.

Eliminating Extreme Poverty and Hunger Amongst Older Persons & People with Disabilities by Implementing a Supplementary Income Program: Evidence from Ethiopia

The NGO Committee on Intergenerational Solidarity (COIGENS) proudly invites you to the first meeting in their new series on Social Trauma and Intergenerational Solutions! This inaugural meeting will focus on:

Eliminating Extreme Poverty and Hunger Amongst Older Persons and People with Disabilities by Implementing a Supplementary Income Program: Evidence from a Program in Lalibela, Ethiopia

To attend this exciting virtual event, please contact COIGENS Program Coordinator Kevin Brabazon at NGOcommittee.COIGENS@gmail.com to receive the Zoom access link, which will be sent out prior to the meeting.

About Nov. 11 Meeting:

This first meeting will focus on the traumas of extreme poverty and hunger and will offer a simple approach to eliminating both traumas. The social protection program that is often found in social security systems (in the USA it is referred to as Supplementary Security Income or SSI). This meeting will introduce you to a demonstration project in Lalibela, Ethiopia that is sponsored by COIGENS. The Mayor of Lalibela will introduce five recipients of the supplementary income part of the Lalibela Project and will interview them to show how their lives have changed since joining the program. This will be a live feed so attendees will be able to ask questions in the last 30 minutes of the program.

In the Lalibela Project, Supplementary Income is provided to eligible participants on a monthly basis. The income is set above the Extreme Poverty level and is intended to show the government and international observers that this “social trauma” could be eliminated on a national level by implementing a 1% income tax.

Program:

Keynote Speech: Dr. Kurt Johnson, Pioneer in the Knowledge Field of Science and Religion Interface, “The Three Generational Family Model at the Interface of Social and Economic Sciences and Religion”

Program Presentation: Abebe Fentaw Sisay, Director of the Lalibela Project, “Honor Your Father and Mother and Love Your Neighbor as Yourself as a Basis for Social Development”

Mayor Tesefa Habte, Mayor of Lablibela, will introduce and interview five of the elders who have been lifted out of extreme poverty by the supplementary income program in the Lalibela Project

Please note: You do not need to be a member of COIGENS to join the Zoom meeting though we are offering free membership extended from December to run through April of next year. Any time you wish to join, let us know and we will add you to the list of members. If you prefer to follow our meetings as a non-member, we welcome that too. We are interested in building a community of common interests in which we can share ideas and shape the way the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) can be realized. – Dr. Susanne Seperson, Acting Chair, COIGENS; United Nations Representative, Generations United

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

CoNGO Notes: The NGO Committee on Intergenerational Solidarity is a Substantive Committee of the Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations. Likewise, for more information on the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Ageing/NY, please visit ngocoa-ny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Ageing/Vienna, please visit ngoageingvie.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Ageing/Geneva, please visit ageingcommitteegeneva.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Family/NY, please visit ngofamilyny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Family/Vienna, please visit viennafamilycommittee.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Human Rights, please email the co-chairs at bobbinassar@yahoo.com or bknotts@uua.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org.

[deadline for inputs] Draft guidance on Mental Health, Human Rights, and Legislation published jointly by WHO & OHCHR

Call for inputs: Draft guidance on Mental Health, Human Rights, and Legislation published jointly by WHO and OHCHR

Purpose: The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) invites Member States, and relevant regional and international intergovernmental organizations; national human rights institutions, equality bodies, United Nations funds, programmes, and specialized agencies, organizations of persons with disabilities and other civil society organizations, experts, academia and any other interested party to provide written input on the draft and to contribute to its development.

Submission Format + Where to Submit

Please include in your submission:

The name of the individual and organisation making the written submission.
The number of the section(s) to which your submission refers and page number. You may provide information on as many or as few sections as may be relevant in the form of:
1. Concise comments;
2. Specific proposed alternative text, if relevant;
Word limit: Less than 5,300 words;
In English, Spanish, or French. Submissions will not be translated;
In Word format. Please do not provide inputs in the text or margin of the draft. Submit inputs in a separate Word document.
Please include hyperlinks to relevant websites, documents, statistical data, public regulations and legislation providing more detailed information.

Please send contributions by email to: harumi.fuentes@un.org by 31 August 2022 with the email subject line: Input for joint guidance WHO-OHCHR

Download the draft joint WHO/OHCHR guidance here: ohchr.org/en/calls-for-input/calls-input/draft-guidance-mental-health-human-rights-legislation-who-ohchr

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Mental Health, please visit ngomentalhealth.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Human Rights, please email the co-chairs at bknotts@uua.org or bobbinassar@yahoo.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org. For more information on the Alliance of NGOs on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, please visit crimealliance.org.

27th Session of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

The twenty-seventh session of the Committee will be held at the United Nations Office at Geneva, in Room XVII at the Palais des Nations, from 15 August to 9 September 2022. The 1st meeting of the session will be convened on Monday, 15 August, at 10 am. A representative of the Secretary-General will open the session. The Committee will consider matters concerning the organization of the twenty-seventh session, in particular the adoption of its programme of work.

Registration available here: https://indico.un.org/event/1001249/

At its twenty-seventh session, the Committee will:

Consider the initial reports of Bangladesh, Indonesia, Japan, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and Singapore and the combined second and third reports of China, New Zealand and the Republic of Korea. In pursuance of established practice and in conformity with rule 41 of the rules of procedure, the Secretary-General has informed the parties concerned of the tentative dates on which their reports have been scheduled for consideration by the Committee. A schedule for the consideration of the reports will be set forth in the tentative programme of work, which will be made available on the web page of the Committee.
Discuss how to strengthen cooperation with United Nations bodies, specialized agencies, non-governmental organizations, including organizations of persons with disabilities, and other competent bodies in order to enhance the promotion and protection of the rights of persons with disabilities, including the empowerment and promotion of the rights of women and girls with disabilities. Representatives of such organizations and bodies may seek to address the Committee.

Continue its work on drafting a general comment on article 27 of the Convention, on the right of persons with disabilities to work and employment. The Committee will review the progress made by the working group established to draft guidelines on the deinstitutionalization of persons with disabilities, including in emergency situations, to supplement the Committee’s general comment No. 5 (2017) on living independently and being included in the community.

Provisional agenda

Adoption of the agenda
Organizational matters
Report of the Chair on activities undertaken between the twenty-sixth and twenty- seventh sessions of the Committee
Submission of reports by parties to the Convention under article 35
Consideration of reports submitted by parties to the Convention under article 35
Cooperation with other United Nations bodies, specialized agencies, organizations of persons with disabilities and other competent bodies
General comments
Methods of work of the Committee
Activities under the Optional Protocol to the Convention
Future meetings
Other matters
Adoption of the report on the twenty-seventh session

*Remote participation in private briefings may be granted only on an exceptional basis and under compelling reasons. Please contact Jorge.araya@un. org no later than 15 July, 2022.

However, civil society, including organizations of persons with disabilities and other civil society organizations may observe the dialogue in-person at in Room XXIII Palais des Nations. They can also follow all constructive dialogues on the UN Web TV webpage.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Human Rights, please email the co-chairs at bobbinassar@yahoo.com or bknotts@uua.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Mental Health, please visit ngomentalhealth.org. For more information on the NGO Committee for Rare Diseases, please visit ngocommitteerarediseases.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Status of Women-Vienna, please visit ngocswvienna.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Status of Women-Geneva, please visit ngocsw-geneva.ch. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Status of Women-NY, please visit ngocsw.org.

World Elder Abuse Awareness Day

This year’s observance of World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD) at 1:30pm (NYC time) on June 15 coincides with the fourth review of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing (MIPAA) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Ministerial Conference on Ageing in Rome, Italy. While there will be an in-person WEAAD observance, we are pleased to invite everyone to participate virtually.

Details and registration here: World Elder Abuse Awareness Day

In preparation for the event, this month the NGO Committee on Ageing-NY participated in the review and appraisal cycle of MIPAA in Rome. A new preamble paragraph has been added to recall the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of discrimination against women, and the convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, among other treaties and covenants. The fact remains that older persons remain invisible and unprotected. The pandemic’s excessive toll on older persons has documented that human rights of older persons are not being protected. We must continue to advocate for a legally binding document to protect the human rights of all older persons.

Please note: The UN International Day of Older Persons (UNIDOP) will be held once again in person at the UN (and live webcast). The exact observance date is pending due to space availability at the UN. The NGO Committee on Ageing-NY is collaborating on the theme with its counterparts in Geneva and Vienna on addressing older women and issues of climate change, pandemic and other issues, but from the perspective of the resilience and contributions of older women. Robin Fenley is chairing this year’s observance.

Note: The new chair of the Vienna Committee on Ageing is Shantu Watt and in Geneva, the new chair is Kelly Fitzgerald.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

CoNGO Notes: The NGO Committee on Ageing-NY is a Substantive Committee of the Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations. Likewise, for more information on the NGO Committee on Ageing-Vienna, please visit ngoageingvie.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Ageing-Geneva, please visit ageingcommitteegeneva.org.

Barriers, enablers, and solutions for disability inclusive education during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Dear colleagues,

The UNESCO Global Education Monitoring Report, Human Rights Watch, the World Bank’s Inclusive Education Initiative, Inclusion International and its Catalyst for Inclusive Education programme are co-hosting a side event in the framework of the 14th Session of the Conference of States Parties to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The event titled “Barriers, enablers, and solutions for disability inclusive education during the COVID-19 Pandemic” is also co-sponsored by the Italian Government, the Mission of Panamá to the United Nations, the International Disability Alliance, Instituto Jô Clemente and the Brazilian Coalition of Inclusive Education.

We invite you to join us in this side event that will be held on Tuesday 15 June at 8:30am – 9:45am EDT (New York time).

Registration link: https://hrworg.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Q0kjeYF4SW2AemQBhl7VjA

Speakers:

Opening Remarks: Antonio Caponetto, Director of the Office for Policies in favor of persons with disabilities of the Italian Government (Presidency of the Council of Ministers)
Moderator: Sue Swenson, President, Inclusion International

Panelists:

Gabriela Martinez, Inclusion International Regional Representative (Latin America)
Stella Reicher, Inclusion International / Instituto Jô Clemente (Brazil) Self-advocate, Inclusion International (Africa)
Karolina Kozik, Human Rights Watch (Italy – inclusive education in practice during COVID-19 example)
Charlotte McClain-Nhalpo, World Bank IEI Survey “Learners with Disabilities and COVID-19 School Closures”

Closing Remarks: Manos Antoninis, UNESCO GEM Report

For more information, please find our Guide to the Conference of State Parties 2021 at this link: https://inclusion-international.org/cosp-2021/

____________________________________________________________________________________________

CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Education, Learning, and Literacy, please visit facebook.com/NGOCELLatUN. For more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Children’s Rights-NY, please visit childrightsny.org.

World Elder Abuse Awareness Day: Access to Justice

Participate in part of the UN’s observance of World Elder Abuse Awareness Day on Tuesday, 15 June at 15:00- 16:15 Geneva time/ 9:00 – 10:15 NY time!

The International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse (INPEA) founded the first World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD) in 2006. WEAAD was designated as a United Nation’s International Day in 2011 in GA resolution A/ RES/66/127. This year’s theme is Access to Justice.

COVID-19 highlighted distressing reports of abuse and neglect of older persons in long-term care institutions and in the community where the majority of older persons live. Older persons who have experienced situations of violence, abuse and neglect face multiple barriers in accessing judicial remedies such as issues of accessibility, affordability, excessive delays and backlogs in judicial processes, impact of digitalization, gender bias, discrimination, and entrenched ageism in policy, norms and practices.

Access to justice is a fundamental right in itself and an essential prerequisite for the protection and promotion of all human rights. An expert panel will discuss ways to overcome the barriers and showcase examples of access to justice by older persons who suffered violence, abuse and neglect, including during the current COVID 19 pandemic. Register here today: https://bit.ly/3x3YiSj

Program:

Opening words:

Susan Somers, President of INPEA
HE Mr. Federico Villegas, Permanent Representative of Argentina to the UN in Geneva, co-chair of the Group of Friends of the human rights of older persons, Geneva
HE Mr. Enrique Austria MANALO, Permanent Representative of the Philippines to the UN, New York (TBC)

Panelists:

Claudia Mahler, Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons
Maria Soledad Cisternas Reyes, Special Envoy of the UN SG on Disability and Accessibility
Etienne Krug, Director of the department of Social Determinants of Health, World Health Organization
Tlaleng Mofokeng, Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health (TBC)
Natasa Todorovic, Health and Care Program Manager, Red Cross of Serbia and INPEA Europe
Bill Mitchell, Principal Solicitor, Townsville Community Law Inc, Australia

Moderator: Silvia Perel-Levin, INPEA representative to the UN and Chair of the NGO Committee on Ageing, Geneva

The event will be accessible with sign language and captioning. It will have French, Spanish, German and Russian interpretation. It will also be webcast on webtv.un.org.

This event is funded by the European Union’s Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme (2014-2020). The content represents the views of the participants only and is their sole responsibility. The European Commission does not accept any responsibility for use that may be made of the information it contains.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Ageing-NY, please visit ngocoa-ny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Ageing-Vienna, please visit ngoageingvie.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Ageing-Geneva, please visit ageingcommitteegeneva.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Intergenerational Solidarity, please email the vice chair at susanneseperson@gmail.com.

Access to Justice at the Intersection of Disability and Older Age: A Moderated Discussion

Access to Justice at the Intersection of Disability and Older Age

This event includes a dynamic high-level moderated discussion between two UN experts, the UN Independent Expert on the Enjoyment of all Human Rights by Older Persons, Ms. Claudia Mahler, and the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Mr. Gerard Quinn. Time will also be devoted to Q & A with registrants on Zoom.

Access to justice is a basic principle of the rule of law: a guarantee for people to exercise their rights, and hold perpetrators and decision-makers accountable. However, both older persons with or without disabilities, and persons with disabilities regardless of their age, are disproportionately impacted by abuses to their right to access to justice.

Register here!

Virtual Format Accessibility: The International Disability Alliance will support accessibility and inclusion of participants by providing International Sign (IS) and communication access real-time translation (CART).

Contact: Erin Hardin ehardin@ida-secretariat.org

______________________________________________________________________________________________

CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Ageing-NY, please visit ngocoa-ny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Ageing-Vienna, please visit ngoageingvie.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Ageing-Geneva, please visit ageingcommitteegeneva.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Intergenerational Solidarity, please email the vice chair at susanneseperson@gmail.com.

World Autism Awareness Day

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed and heightened glaring inequalities around the world, especially when it comes to income and wealth distribution, access to health care, protection under the law, and political inclusion. Persons with autism have long faced many of these inequalities, which have only been further exacerbated by the pandemic. It’s a problem made worse by long recognized discriminatory hiring practices and workplace environments that present major obstacles for persons with autism; all of which contribute to the unemployment or severe underemployment of a large majority of adults on the autism spectrum.

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals adopted by world leaders at the United Nations in 2015 provide a blueprint for addressing the major challenges facing the world, including strategies for reducing inequalities that hinder prosperity for people and the planet. One of the aims of Sustainable Development Goal 8 (SDG 8) – Decent Work and Economic Growth – is to promote full and productive employment and decent work for all, including persons with disabilities. Article 27 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities also recognizes “the right of persons with disabilities to work, on an equal basis with others,” and to a “work environment that is open, inclusive and accessible to persons with disabilities.”

Some employers have recently launched inclusive employment programmes, which accommodate people with diagnoses of autism and related conditions, such as ADHD, OCD, etc., often referred to as neurodivergent persons. Based on the experience gained from these programmes, and motivated by the desire to both be socially responsible and to gain a competitive advantage by benefitting from the skills and abilities of a more diverse talent pool, an increasing number of employers are now creating models to make the workplace and hiring practices more inclusive generally.

The pandemic has undoubtedly impacted the efforts of companies to implement these new models, at a time when the international economy is undergoing the worst economic recession since the great depression, with the loss of hundreds of millions of jobs. At the same time, new ways of working, including remote working and the use of new technologies, have created opportunities for employees on the autism spectrum that previously found it difficult to thrive in traditional workplace environments.

The 2021 World Autism Awareness Day observance will address these issues through a virtual event that will include moderated panel discussions with individuals on the autism spectrum who have themselves experienced the challenges and seen these new opportunities in the employment market.

The event is organized by the UN Department of Global Communications and UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, in collaboration with the Specialisterne Foundation.

As presented at the 2015 UN observance of World Autism Awareness Day, the mission of the Specialisterne Foundation is to leverage knowledge gained from the employment of autistic persons to support the creation of meaningful and fulfilling employment for one million persons, in a world where there are equal opportunities for all in the labour market.

Inclusion in the Workplace: Challenges & Opportunities in a Post-Pandemic World

Thursday, 8 April 2021
10:00 -11:00 a.m. EST/16:00 – 17:00 p.m. CET

Register here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdCe1tiFE7QlebOFoN97jT3okXKM6ZzDT13ZzxWTh6w8WekJQ/viewform

Click here to view the full event program and past events commemorating World Autism Awareness Day.

______________________________________________________________________________________________

CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Education, Learning, and Literacy, please visit facebook.com/NGOCELLatUN. For more information on the NGO Committee for Rare Diseases, please visit ngocommitteerarediseases.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Human Rights, please email the co-chairs at bknotts@uua.org or bobbinassar@gmail.com.

[UN Observance] World Braille Day

Every year on January 4, the United Nations commemorates World Braille Day. To learn more and stay apprised of this year’s events, visit https://www.un.org/en/observances/braille-day. To learn more about the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the importance of eradicating ableism, click here.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Education, Learning, and Literacy, please visit facebook.com/NGOCELLatUN. For more information on the NGO Committee on Human Rights, please email the co-chairs at bknotts@uua.org and/or bobbinassar@gmail.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Rights of the Child, please email the co-chair at marjones@nyc.rr.com.

persons with disabilities

Recent Posts