21-26.9 Mission to New York: UN High-level Meeting on Disability and Development

(The first picture: the Rapporteur on the left is talking with the President of Gambia in his white clothes)

(The second picture: Stevie Wonder is making his speech chaired by the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon on the left)

On 23rd September, the Rapporteur participated in the historical High-level Meeting on Disability and Development in the United Nations Headquarter, New York. The meeting was attended by highly profiled decision makers such as Presidents, Prime Ministers and other relevant Ministers. The meeting adopted an outcome document which was agreed by the member states: 
http://www.un.org/disabilities/documents/hlmdd/daisy/Sign_Language/index.html

"Nothing about us, without us" was strongly promoted with the presence of 500 registered civil society representatives in the meeting. Now, it is high time for implementing promises in practice by leaving no one behind. The post-2015 agenda should have a stand-alone goal on disability and/or, at the very least, clear indicators measuring inequality reduction particularly of persons and children with disabilities who were left behind in the Millennium Development Goals. 

This Meeting was encouraging, I felt.

16-19.9. Mission to Ethiopia

(<-- Second from the left is the Rapporteur)
The Rapporteur attended a symposium to end discrimination related to leprosy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He was one of the panelists. 

25.8.-1.9. Mission to Vietnam

The Rapporteur was on his mission to Vietnam to attend an ASEAN Seminar to promote the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.