The final meeting of the 7^th session of the conference of state parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York . This meeting was a culmination of a series of meetings that took place from the 10th to the 12th of June, 2014.

The purpose of this conference was to discuss the incorporation of the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in the post-2015 development agenda, matters related to the national implementation of the convention and its monitoring, and concern for youth with disabilities. Delegations from all the states party to the convention were present this afternoon to put forward their views and recommendations. The international community recognizes that there is a significant portion of persons with disabilities in the world (15% of the population), who are most likely to be deprived of social and economic opportunities and therefore, they require special attention towards developmental activities if we are to achieve the Millennium Developmental Goals.

The rights of persons with disabilities are deeply rooted in the foundational principles of the United Nations Charter, which aims to promote and encourage respect for fundamental human rights. Therefore, the international community has made a commitment to the advancement and development of persons with disabilities by ensuring their inclusion and equal treatment in society.

The delegation of Honduras suggested that persons with disabilities are almost invisible because there is a lack of reliable data. All states should strive to set up a reliable system that will centralize all the information and provide high quality quantified information about their people. Jamaica stressed upon the importance of transforming global perspectives of persons with disabilities. Highlighting the role of education, many states emphasized on improving access to education in order to inform persons with disabilities about their rights and freedoms.

Meeting Title – Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Speakers: Ambassador Macharia Kamau of Kenya, the President of the Conference; Thomas Gass, Assistant Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and Inter-Agency Affairs in the Department of Economic and Social Affairs; Ivan Šimonović, Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights; Maria Soledad, Chair of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; Shuaib Chalklen, Special Rapporteur on Disability of the Commission for Social Development; and Lenin Moreno, the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Disability and Accessibility
Date – June 12^th, 2014
Location: CR 4, North Lawn Building, United Nations HQ, New York
Written by WIT Representative– Nusrat Laskar