A group of disability rights non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have launched a campaign to criticise the United Nations during the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) meeting that began on Tuesday, announced Beit Issy Shapiro.
The campaign was designed to denounce the UN’s double standards in promoting inclusion for people with disabilities while failing to guarantee equal human rights for Israelis.
Beit Issy Shapiro was the first Israeli NGO to accede to the CRPD and holds special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). According to the organization’s website, Beit Issy Shapiro is “a leading Israeli company developing and providing innovative therapies and cutting-edge services for children and adults with all disabilities, affecting over 500,000 people each year.”
Amir Lerner, CEO of Beit Issy Shapiro, which is leading the campaign, explained the reason for launching it: “We believe that the social sector has an important role to play in our democratic society. We must join society in its efforts to safeguard equality for all people, regardless of their background.”
He further stated, “Now, in this time of trauma and turmoil, the international community must stand up and act with moral clarity to support all disabled people affected by the war, including Israelis,” according to Hersh Pollin Goldberg. (Image credit: Screenshot/Hamas Telegram)
He ended his statement by saying, “All those newly injured as a result of the ongoing war and terrorism must be guaranteed the same rights as everyone else. Their voices must be made heard.”
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
The CRPD Convention was established in 2006 to “further UN efforts to change attitudes and approaches towards persons with disabilities,” according to its website.
The committee is one of the UN’s 10 human rights “treaty bodies,” each responsible for overseeing the implementation of a specific UN human rights treaty.
The mission of the CRPD is to promote the human rights of people with disabilities and to “reaffirm that all persons with disabilities of any kind must enjoy all human rights and fundamental freedoms.” Any UN member state or associated NGO from around the world can apply to participate in the Conference.
The conference will run until Thursday. Beit Issy Shapiro stressed that the fact that it is taking place on the holiday of Shavuot “is in itself an act of non-exclusion.”
Typically, Israel submits a video message each year that is central to the conference’s theme, but this year it submitted a video highlighting the unequal treatment of Israelis by the UN since the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attack.
The founder of another NGO, the Network for Persons with Disabilities and Children (ALEH), wrote in a social media post that while the CRPD’s goals should be universal, “after October 7, 2023, we are facing total contradictions in its implementation…We urge all delegates to the CRPD Conference to adhere to the declaration to promote, protect and ensure the equal and consistent realization of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all persons with disabilities in every country around the world.”
In a video message to the Beit Issy Shapiro conference, Lerner commented, “Much has been said about disabled refugees in Gaza. But what about people with disabilities who have fled Israel? Tens of thousands of children and adults with disabilities have been forced to flee their homes. How do we promote, protect and ensure their full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms?”
While none of the groups expect their videos to be featured at the conference, they have all made them available online with relevant hashtags in an effort to spread awareness of the double standards.