Conference of States Parties
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Conference of States Parties (CoSP) to the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of persons with Disabilities (CRPD)
We are providing you with information on how to virtually attend the 13th session of the Conference of States Parties (CoSP) to the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Please feel free to share this information with your networks, including youth councils or groups.
Originally scheduled to take place in June 2020, COSP was rescheduled by the UN in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and is taking place November 30, December 1 and 3, 2020.
The Honourable Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion, will be leading Canada’s delegation. Due to the virtual nature of CoSP this year, you will be able to watch all formal sessions and register for side events that may be of interest to you. Side events are smaller interactive discussion panels on specific priority topics and are typically co-hosted by a range of government, stakeholder and international bodies. The link to the CoSP sessions will be made available the morning of each day on the UN Web TV site.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The overall theme of this year’s CoSP is “A decade of action and delivery for inclusive sustainable development: implementing the CRPD and the 2030 Agenda for all persons with disabilities”. Three virtual roundtables will take place December 1 and 3 on the following sub-themes:
- Disability and business: realizing the right to work in open, inclusive and accessible environments for persons with disabilities;
- Addressing the rights and needs of older persons with disabilities: ageing and demographic trends; and
- Promoting Inclusive environments for the full implementation of the CRPD.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]In addition, there is a cross-cutting theme of “Strengthening capacity-building to fully implement the CRPD and the SDGs for persons with disabilities, in particular women and girls with disabilities”, which will be included in all three roundtables.
For your information, the Government of Canada is hosting a side-event on “The path to equality: from accessibility to disability inclusion”, taking place December 1 from 1:15 to 2:30 PM EST. To register for this event, please contact: accessible-canada@hrsdc.gc.ca.
Other side events organized by Canadian stakeholders include:
- “Public sector leading by example on the employment of persons with disabilities during the pandemic” on November 30, 2020 from 11:30 AM to 12:45 PM EST, hosted by the International Labour Organization, co-sponsored by Canada and New York.
- “Disability & Business: Initiatives in Inclusive Corporate Leadership” on December 3, 2020 from 10:00 to 11:15 AM EST, hosted by Inclusion Canada (formerly Canadian Association for Community Living).
- “Promoting Inclusive environments for the full implementation of the CRPD for children with disabilities” on December 3 from 6:00 to 7:15 PM EST, hosted by Kids Brain Health Network.
- “Disability, consent, sexuality & reproduction: perspectives on how to dismantle ableism within sexual and reproductive health from the global south” on December 4, 2020 from 8:30 to 9:45 AM EST, hosted by Action Canada for Population and Development.
Information on COSP, including the full schedule of side events, is available at: https://www.un.org/development/desa/disabilities/conference-of-states-parties-to-the-convention-on-the-rights-of-persons-with-disabilities-2/cosp13.html
We hope that you are available to participate in this unique opportunity as COSP goes fully virtual for the first time![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
