The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: Getting ready to ratify

17 May 2013, 10:00am - 4:00pm

On the 17th May 2013 Disability Federation of Ireland (DFI) and the Centre for Disability Law & Policy, at the National University of Ireland Galway jointly hosted a conference on preparing for Ireland’s forthcoming ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD).

Prof. Theresia Degener (Professor of law and disability studies at Evangelische Fachhochschule RWL - University of Applied Sciences in Bochum, Germany) spoke on her experiences as a Member of the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and what is involved in the ratification process.

Martin Naughton, from DFI and ENIL, spoke on the rights of persons disabilities, and the importance of the CRPD. Agnes Van Wijnen (Independent Developer and Adviser on Disability Policy & Strategy, and Researcher in Disability Studies) presented on her experience being involved in grassroots initiatives involving organisations representing people with disabilities, campaigning for ratification.

Prof. Gerard Quinn (Director of the Centre for Disability Law and Policy at the National University of Ireland, Galway School of Law.) was the final speaker, and he covered the area of legal capacity reform.

The opening and concluding remarks were provided by John Dolan, CEO of DFI. The event was chaired by Michael Corbett from DFI.