Home > Make Your Voices Count! Calls for Input from Organizations of Persons with Disabilities

Make Your Voices Count! Calls for Input from Organizations of Persons with Disabilities

Photo of Indonesian OPDs and DRF's Indonesia program team gathered at a meeting room.

Women with disabilities in Indonesia advocating for an inclusive anti gender-based violence bill.

“When persons with disabilities participate in decision-making processes, it provides strong support towards ensuring that policies, strategies, programmes and operations to be more effective in addressing barriers to inclusion and more relevant in supporting their full and equal participation. Persons with disabilities have first-hand experience of the challenges they face and know better what can be done to enhance their rights and wellbeing. In addition, active participation of persons with disabilities and their representative organizations is a key part of shifting attitudes and dismantling stigma.”  

— United Nations Disability Inclusion Strategy Guidelines on Consulting Persons with Disabilities

Our views matter on all matters: Nothing without us! 

In line with Article 4(3) of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), persons with disabilities and their representative organisations should be closely consulted and actively involved in matters concerning them. This includes persons with disabilities in all their diversity- children, women, older persons, persons with diverse SOGIESC, Indigenous peoples, migrants and others, as well as persons representing different disability constituencies.

Our unique perspectives draw on our own expertise and experiences and can help shape and inform programmes, policies and practices – including beyond disability-specific matters- to strengthen inclusion for everyone. 

Let’s put our participation to practice by seizing these opportunities*:

*Information on this webpage will be updated regularly. Don’t miss out: place a bookmark for easy access to check on the latest calls for contributions.

At its fifty-second session, the Human Rights Council adopted resolution 52/12 on mental health and human rights. The resolution requests the High Commissioner for Human Rights to prepare a comprehensive report on challenges and best ways to implement at the local, national and regional levels enabling normative and policy measures for the realization of the human rights of persons with psychosocial disabilities and current or potential users of mental health services. It also requests the High Commissioner, in his report, to include suggestions of policy tools for the implementation of a human rights perspective to mental health, and to present the report to the Human Rights Council at its fifty-eighth session.

In this regard, OHCHR is seeking inputs on the following, in particular:

(a) Existing enabling normative and policy measures at the local, national and regional level applied for the realization of the human rights of persons with psychosocial disabilities and current or potential users of mental health services;

(b) Challenges encountered and good practices in the implementation of enabling normative and policy measures;

(c) Whether and if so, how, the OHCHR’s Mental Health Guide (Mental health, human rights and legislation: guidance and practice) was used and any feedback on the Guide itself;

(d) Suggestions of other policy tools for the implementation of a human rights perspective to mental health mindful of the centrality of mental health for the full realization of the right to health;

(e) Disaggregated data on persons with psychosocial disabilities and current or potential users of mental health service, as well as mental health services, including community-based services.

Submissions should be limited to five pages and be submitted in an accessible format (Microsoft Word) and be submitted by 4 October 2024, addressed to the Registry of OHCHR, indicating in the subject matter
‘Input to HRC resolution 52/12 – mental health.

Submissions will be made publicly available, in full and as received, on the OHCHR website, unless otherwise requested.
For any follow-up queries, kindly contact khaled.hassine@un.org and visit OHCHR’s dedicated webpage.

Human Rights Council Resolution 55/8 mandated OHCHR to go deeper on disability rights & digital & assistive technologies as time saving technologies.

The report seeks to build on the previous reports (A/HRC/52/52 and A/HRC/55/34) on support systems to ensure community inclusion of persons with disabilities, and their good practices by deepening on one of the elements of support systems, support products, such as digital technologies and devices, including assistive technologies from the human rights perspective. 

OHCHR welcomes views and information in relation to the questions included in the following questionnaire for civil society organisations and National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs):
For CSO-NHRI: English | Français | Español The questions in English are as follows:

Governance, Access to Information and Privacy

  1. How are digital technologies currently used in your country/region for
    governance coordination, including in care and support system transformation efforts, and people-centred social protection services for persons with disabilities?
  2. What are the main challenges and successes in using digital technologies to facilitate access to information, social protection, and other essential services for persons with disabilities (e.g. human support – personal assistance, sign interpretation -, transport, assistive technologies, housing and deinstitutionalization services)?
  3. What measures are you implementing to protect the right to privacy in the use of digital technologies?

Digital Technologies as Assistive Technologies

  1. How are digital technologies integrated as assistive technologies in personalized support plans (e.g. Remote sign language interpretation, image reading apps, voice-controlled assistants, screen readers, text-to-speech and speech-to-text applications, eye-tracking technology, adaptive keyboards and mice, AAC devices, navigation aids, wearable technology)?
  2. What barriers exist in accessing these digital assistive technologies and how can they be addressed?

Access and Affordability of Assistive Technologies

  1. What is the current state of access to assistive technologies in your
    country/region, particularly in rural areas and among marginalized groups?
  2. What measures are being taken to improve the affordability and availability of these assistive technologies (e.g. cash transfers, market shaping to reduce added value chain costs, logistics, etc)?

Integration and Quality of Assistive Technologies

  1. How are assistive technologies integrated with health and social services in your country/region?
  2. What steps are being taken to ensure the quality and cultural relevance of assistive technologies?

Policy, Training, and Innovation

  1. What policies and legislation support the use and development of assistive technologies in your country/region, and what improvements would you recommend?
  2. What training and awareness programs exist for users and service providers, and what gaps need to be addressed to enhance the effectiveness of these programs?

General information

12. Please provide any other relevant information and good examples on the use of digital technologies and assistive technologies as a means to reduce time invested in unpaid care work, including quantification of the impact of these technologies under time use surveys or similar.

Please send your submissions in accessible format so that it can be posted on OHCHR’s website to ohchrregistry@un.org by 1 September 2024 in English, Spanish or French with the email subject line: Input for report mandate by resolution A/HRC/RES/55/8

For further information, please visit OHCHR’s dedicated webpage or contact OHCHR’s Human Rights and Disability Unit at ohchr-disability@un.org or Ms. Martyna Balciunaite at martyna.balciunaite@un.org.

The Committee on the Rights of the Child is currently drafting general comment No. 27 on children’s rights to access to justice and effective remedies.

The concept note can be found here.

The CRC Committee is now seeking contributions from all interested stakeholders to clarify terms, approaches and actions States should take in order to implement the right of all children to access justice and effective remedies.

The call for submissions with guiding questions and instructions is available here.

Please send submissions by 23 August 2024. No submissions received after this deadline will be considered or posted on the webpage.

All submissions:

  • Should be in one of the official working languages of the Committee: English, French or Spanish;
  • Should be in one concise document and must not exceed 2,500 words;
  • Should be submitted in WORD format to ohchr-crc@un.org; 
  • Will not be accepted if they do not follow the above requirements;
  • Will not be translated;
  • Will be posted on the CRC webpage devoted to this draft general comment.

For more information, visit OHCHR’s dedicated webpage.

Background

Every child has the fundamental right to be registered at birth. The fulfilment of this right is closely linked to the realization of many other rights; socioeconomic rights, such as the right to health and the right to education, are at particular risk where birth registration is not systematically carried out, and the protection of children is jeopardized. Yet, a quarter of all children worldwide do not have a birth certificate. 

Human Rights Council resolution 52/25 on birth registration and the right of everyone to recognition everywhere as a person before the law requests the High Commissioner to conduct a comprehensive study on the use of digital technologies to achieve universal birth registration, its best practices, challenges and opportunities, and potential mechanisms to close the gap between the number of children whose births are reported as registered and those who actually have a birth certificate, to be presented to the Council at its fifty-eighth session. It also requests that the report be carried out in consultation with States, United Nations agencies, funds and programmes, civil society and other relevant stakeholders.

Objectives

The study aims to explore (i) the legal and policy framework concerning birth registration; (ii) the main gaps and challenges to ensuring universal birth registration; (iii) the main human rights challenges and opportunities concerning the use of digital technology to ensure universal birth registration; and (iv) good practices to ensure universal birth registration, including through the use of digital technology.

Key questions and types of input/comments sought

In order to inform the preparations of the study, the UN Human Rights Office has prepared a call for inputs for stakeholders to respond to concerning the focus areas of the report.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights invites all interested States, civil society organizations, international and regional organizations, national human rights institutions, academics and others, to provide written inputs to the following questions for this thematic study.

Respondents are requested to limit their comments to a maximum of 5 pages. Additional supporting materials, such as reports, academic studies, and other types of background materials may be annexed to the submission.

  1. What are the main gaps and challenges to ensuring universal birth registration in law, policy, and practice in your country and the impacts on the rights of the child? Please consider the specific situation of marginalized children and those in vulnerable situations in your response.
  2. What steps is the Government taking to ensure that universal birth registration is accessible for everyone? Please provide examples of specific laws and regulations, measures, policies, and programmes directed at ensuring universal birth registration.
  3. What steps is the Government taking to use digital technologies to ensure universal birth registration and how can digital technologies enable and enhance birth registration processes? Please provide examples of specific laws and regulations, measures, policies, and programmes.
  4. What are the main human rights challenges and opportunities concerning the use of digital technology to ensure universal birth registration in law, policy, and practice in your country? Please consider the specific situation of marginalized children and those in vulnerable situations in your response.
  5. What mechanisms exist in your country to close the gap between the number of children whose births are reported as registered and those who actually have a birth certificate? Please consider the specific situation of marginalized children and those in vulnerable situations in your response.

Please provide any relevant statistical or disaggregated data based on age, gender, disability, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation and gender identity, migration status, or other categories.

Input/comments may be sent by e-mail to ohchr-registry@un.org , cc: helen.griffiths@un.org with the Email subject line: Inputs for study on universal birth registration and the use of digital technologies. They must not exceed 5 pages, be submitted in Word or PDF formats, in English, French or Spanish and must be received by 5 August 2024 18:00 CET.

For more information, please visit the OHCHR’s dedicated webpage.

Background

The United Nations Working Group on discrimination against women and girlswill hold a regional meeting for Southern Africa from 14 to 18 October 2024 to strengthen its networks in Southern Africa.

Objectives

The Working Group plans to carry in-person consultations with civil society on the main challenges faced by women and girls in the region, including in relation to its upcoming report on gendered dimensions of the care and support system.

Next steps

Organizations who are interested in participating in the consultations (14 October in Johannesburg and/or 15 October in Pretoria and/or 16-18 October in Cape Town) can express their interest by registering at the following link.

The Working Group regrets that it does not have funds to cover travel expenses. Only participants who can attend the meeting in person at their own expense should register at this point. Preliminary registration will close on 31 July 2024. Registered participants will be contacted with further details. The Secretariat of the Working Group can be contacted at OHCHR-DL-wgdawprofessionalteam@un.org. 

For more information, please visit the OHCHR’s dedicated webpage.