ROMANIA IS SILENT AT UN

Bucharest, 28 September 2012. Romanian Representative had nothing to say in the Fifth States Parties Conference on the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Taking into account that none of the Romanian authorities with competences in the field of disability has not notified or announced this Conference, the European Centre for the Rights of Children with Disabilities (CEDCD) officially asked the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs who were the members of the Romanian delegation participating in the UN State Parties Conference and what was their official mandate in this crucial Conference.

The official answer of the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to our request shows that Romanian delegation was made up of the single member that is the Representative of the Romanian Permanent Mission with UN in New York due to budgetary restrictions, while the official Romanian mandate in this Conference was:  

“Romanian Delegation will monitor and will inform accordingly on the issues considered to be relevant, with focus on the situation of women and children with disabilities and will notify on the best identified practices at international level in relation to the exercise of  the rights of persons with disabilities.”

CEDCD is deeply worried about the lack of interest of the Romanian authorities with regard to the rights of persons with disabilities, manifested through passivity and lack of transparency. “We consider as a matter of concern the attitude of the Romanian authorities who chose to be silent in strategic moments like this State Parties Conference, where the voices of more than 700.000 persons with disabilities should have been heard. It is highly regretful that Romania was not prepared for the questions it was supposed to answer and, moreover, it did not bring into debate key issues like the access to education and specific assistance of the children with disabilities”, declared Madalina TURZA, CEDCD president.

Background information:

Romania has ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2010 by the Law no. 221/2010.

Between 12-14 of September 2012, at UN Headquarters, took place the Fifth States Parties Conference on the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

On this occasion, the State Parties had to answers to several questions like:

1)   How can States Parties mainstream the rights and concerns of children with disabilities in their efforts to advance the realization of international development goals, including the MDGs, for children more generally?  What examples exist with regard to the implementation of practical actions to ensure the right to an adequate standard of living for children with disabilities? How can international cooperation and effective partnerships be used to bring about better results for children with disabilities?

2)   What good examples exist with regard to reducing the education gap between children with disabilities and their peers without disabilities, including through the provision of early childhood education for children with disabilities? How have States Parties addressed, through a comprehensive and multi-sectoral approach, specific barriers to education faced by children with disabilities, including those related to accessibility issues (physical, transportation and teaching and learning materials) and curriculum? What good practices exist with regard to ensuring the capacity of public school teachers to appropriately include and instruct children with disabilities? What practices exist for reasonable accommodation in programs for students related to transition to work?

3)   What steps have States Parties taken to ensure access to quality health services by children with disabilities? What good practices exist with regard to inclusion of children with disabilities in immunisation, nutrition and HIV AIDS programmes? What are the barriers that prevent children with disabilities to access basic health services and how can they be addressed?

4)   How can governments promote the concept of the evolving capacity of children with disabilities and ensure meaningful participation of children with disabilities in all matters concerning them? What good practices exist on effectively involving children with disabilities, their families and their representative organisations in shaping policies, programmes and practices? How can barriers to participation, like social norms be addressed to enhance participation of children with disabilities?

5)   What good practices exist in terms of increasing the number of children with disabilities that remain in the care of their families? How are States Parties providing support to families caring for children with disabilities, including in the context of strengthening social protection systems? How have States Parties worked to reduce the use of residential care facilities and to ensure that those that exist comply with appropriate standards, keeping in mind findings of human rights abuses in facilities around the world?

6)   What steps have States Parties taken to prevent and redress violence against and abuse of children with disabilities?