USICD Applauds Bipartisan Group of Senators for Supporting Ratification

Washington, D.C. (May 25, 2012) - Today, the U.S. International Council on Disabilities applauds the unified statement of bipartisan support for United States ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities that has been issued by seven senators.  Last week, the Obama Administration submitted the CRPD to the U.S. Senate for its advice and consent for ratification.  In their statement, Senators McCain (R-AZ), Durbin (D-IL), Moran (R-KS), Harkin (D-IA), Barrasso (R-WY), Coons (D-DE), and Udall (D-NM) affirm that the treaty upholds the American values of non-discrimination and equal access for persons with disabilities in all areas of life.  The seven senators joined together in promoting the ratification of the Convention which will help protect Americans with disabilities who work and travel abroad from discrimination, including disabled American veterans, and help ensure that all Americans enjoy the same rights outside the U.S. as they enjoy at home.

Read Senators' Press Release

Read USICD's Full Press Release

The campaign for U.S. ratification of the CRPD needs your support!  With your help, USICD can continue to provide the materials, education, and activities that are vital for success.

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Marca Bristo and David Morrissey lead a panel at USICD's 2011 Annual Meeting

Please join us for this annual meeting and reception with our membership and colleagues where we will celebrate transmittal of the CRPD to the U.S. Senate as well as USICD's work in the past year on international disability issues.

RSVP: Click here to RSVP

CART and ASL Interpretation will be provided.  If you have any question or if you would like to discuss accessibility accommodations, please contact Susie Richard at 202-347-0102 or at  srichard@usicd.org   

To USICD's international friends, please note: This afternoon event is only two-hours in duration, and USICD is unable to sponsor travel or lodging to Washington, DC.  We appreciate the interest in this event expressed by our friends outside of the U.S., and we look forward to future opportunities to interact with you.

On May 9-10, 2012, leaders from development and disability organizations from around the country and world converged at the U.S. State Department for the U.S. Leadership Conference for International Disability Rights. The conference's mission was to create a dialogue about solutions and strategies to increase disability inclusion in international programming and development and expand disability rights around the world. The conference included a key note speech by Samantha Power, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Multilateral Affairs & Human Rights, and ended with a call for commitment to disaiblity inclusion by Legal Advisor to the State Department, Harold Koh. Speakers highlighted barriers to enforcing rights for people with disabilities and explained how the CRPD is changing the status of people with disabilities globally.

USICD's Executive Director, David Morrissey, who assisted in development of the State Department conference, led a breakout session on challenges and opportunities in promoting disability rights and inclusion. USICD's Andrea Shettle and Ellis Ballard also hosted an interactive display of the Global Disability Rights Library Project, in order to show conference attendees an effective method of sharing disability resources throughout the world. Watch the video message from Secretary Clinton to conference attendees.

David Morrissey and Sefakor Komabu-Pomeyle

Following the State Department conference, David Morrissey joined a panel at World Learning on May 11^th with Sefakor Komabu-Pomeyle, a Ford Foundation Fellow and disability advocate from Ghana, and Leah Maxon of USAID. Read more about Sefakor's work on her World Learning blog.

Ellis Ballard trains colleagues on the use of the GDRL in Ethiopia

Blog from Ellis Ballard, USICD Program Development Manager

Ellis is traveling across East Africa in May and June to provide technical support and guidance for installations of USICD's Global Disability Rights Library in the countries of Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania. CLICK HERE to view the first of his blogs as he gives his reflections of his travels and work abroad.

International Disability News Updates

• On May 11^th, 2012, the United Nations hosted an interactive panel discussion that highlighted the voices of six indigenous leaders with disabilities from the Global South. The panel aimed to promote inclusion of indigenous persons with disabilities into the larger indigenous rights movement, and in turn into development work in the UN system in relation to this community. The meeting was intended as a side event to the most recent session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.

• Health Minister of Jamaica Dr. Fenton Ferguson has announced that health care workers in every region in the country are undergoing training related to disability services. According to Ferguson, 146 workers have already successfully completed their training. The renovation, funded by the National Health Fund (NHF) of Jamaica at over $5 million, is part of a larger $300 million rehabilitation initiative of Jamaica's primary healthcare infrastructure.  

• On May 5^th, 2012, 100 members of the disability community held a rally within the city of Minsk, in Belarus, in which they urged President Alyaksandr Lukashenka to ensure the constitutional rights of people with disabilities were respected. The protesters also demanded that the government give sole entrepreneurs with first-degree disabilities the right to hire employees outside of their immediate family, and increase social benefits for disabled individuals. Belarus has yet to sign the CRPD.

• The Fifth Session of the Conference of States Parties to the CRPD is set to take place from September 12^th to September 14^th, 2012. Further information on traveling and disability accommodations and a draft agenda can be found here. Elections for nine seats of the CRPD Committee will occur at the Conference of States Parties.

USICD Welcomes  

Christopher Damon-Cronmiller

Chris Damon-Cronmiller joins USICD as a summer intern through the Washington Internship Institute (WII). He is currently an undergraduate student at Fairfield University, where he is completing his Bachelors Degree in International Studies and Politics. Through Fairfield University, Christopher also recently completed a semester abroad in Nicaragua, where he studied at the Universidad Centroamericana.        

Christopher is very interested in bringing disability related issues to the forefront of international human rights and development agendas, and has been heavily involved in disability rights and advocacy for several years. For his high school senior thesis, he constructed an awareness panel on "invisible disabilities" held within his school, backed by statistics he gathered through a survey. He also spent a summer working at the Asperger's Association of New England where he focused on political advocacy pertaining to An Act Relative to Insurance Coverage for Autism (the Massachusetts State House passed the bill that same summer). In addition, Christopher interned at the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission under Commissioner Chai Feldblum, working on various disability rights related issues.  Welcome Chris!

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Member News and Opportunities

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