Working Group on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

The Working Group on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was established at the GANHRI Bureau meeting held in Marrakech, Morocco in October 2018.

The Rights of Persons with Disabilities is one of the priority areas of the current GANHRI Strategic Plan and of the UNDP-GANHRI-OHCHR Tripartite Partnership.

Purpose

The Working Group facilitates the exchange of knowledge, experiences and good practices among NHRIs across all regions as regards:

Their work promoting the implementation of the Convention at the national level;
The monitoring of the Convention at the national level, including the role of NHRIs appointed as Independent Monitoring Mechanisms under article 33(2) of the Convention; and collaboration between IMM and NHRI that are not appointed as IMM and
Their work collectively promoting the implementation of the Convention at an international level where opportunities for collaboration and influence exist.
GANHRIs specific commitments and work priorities regarding the rights of persons with disabilities.

Current Members

The Working Group is composed of 8 GANHRI members; namely two members from each of the four GANHRI regional networks, and a representative of the GANHRI Chairperson designated by him or her, supported by the GANHRI HO.

South Africa- Human Rights Commission
Kenya- National Commission on Human Rights
Canada- Canadian Human Rights Commission (Vice-Chair)
El Salvador- Procuraduria para la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos
New Zealand- Human Rights Commission (Chair)
Philippines – Commission on Human Rights
Ireland – Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission
Latvia – Office of the Ombudsman of Latvia
Morocco – Conseil National des Droits de l’Homme
Georgia – Public Defender’s Office
Finland – Finnish National Human Rights Institution

Recent Activities

2019 Survey Report

The GANHRI Working Group on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities launches the findings of the survey conducted in the summer of 2019 on NHRIs and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), particularly the ongoing implementation and monitoring under Article 33 (2) of the Convention.

Video statement

The GANHRI Working Group on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities presented a statement at the Opening Session of the 23rd session of the Committee on Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)