11-15.11. Mission to El Salvador

During this mission, the Rapporteur met a number of government officials, DPOs, UN country office staff and so forth including Deputy Minister of Health, Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Welfare, Minister of Public Works, Human Rights Ombudsman and Members of the Congress dealing with disability. An official report of the Rapporteur will be submitted to the Secretariat of the CRPD shortly. 

New Article on an African Disability Forum

"Establishing an African Disability Forum: An African Disabled People's Organisations' Own Initiative Towards Capacity Building" is out. It is available at

 http://www.zbdw.de/projekt01/media/pdf/2013_2_BiE.pdf

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.

4-17.6.2013 Mission to Indonesia and Thailand

The Rapporteur was on his mission to Indonesia and Thailand. In Indonesia, the Rapporteur met government officials and organizations of persons with disabilities (DPOs). An interview in an Indonesian media is available at (not in English!) http://internasional.rmol.co/read/2013/06/14/114481/Prihatin,-Utusan-PBB--Tarik-Nafas-Panjang-

In Thailand, he met with UNESCAP, APCD and Thai DPOs.

Forthcoming African Disability Forum received the first funding from Abilis Foundation

The Rapporteur applied for funding from Abilis Foundation (www.abilis.fi) for the Interim Working Group members' meeting for establishing the African Disability Forum. Abilis Foundation has given a positive decision on this application. The meeting will be held in this autumn in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Further information will follow in the near future.