In association with
The United Nations Convention on the
Rights of Persons with Disabilities:
Getting Ready to Ratify
Friday 17th May 2013
Jury’s Inn, Custom House Quay, Custom House, Dublin 1
10.00 a.m. – 1.00p.m.
A Conference hosted jointly by Disability Federation of Ireland (DFI) and the Centre
for Disability Law & Policy, at the National University of Ireland, Galway on
preparing for Ireland’s forthcoming ratification of the United Nations Convention on the
Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). The keynote address will be delivered
by Prof. Theresia Degener, Professor of law and disability studies at the University of
Applied Sciences in Bochum, Germany and a member of the United Nations
Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Key Objectives of the Conference:

To provide an update on developments in Ireland since the signing of the
Convention, in anticipation of our forthcoming ratification of the Convention.

To inform people with disabilities, their families and organisations of what
implementing the Convention involves.

To explore the impact of the imminent ratification of the UNCRPD on the lives of
people with disabilities in Ireland.

To provide an opportunity to learn from the experiences of other countries that
have ratified the Convention and those which have signed but not yet ratified, like
Ireland.

To enable people with disabilities to come together and discuss how best to use
the Convention to achieve change in Ireland, once ratified.
The Convention has already had an impact in reminding us of the need to uphold the
rights of people with disabilities. It establishes government priorities, as well as
supporting practice and implementation issues. The government has stated that the
National Disability Strategy is key to meeting Ireland’s obligations under the Convention.
This is a positive development in envisaging a whole of government approach to
meeting the diversity of needs people with disabilities may have. However, challenges
remain, in relation to implementation, and in seeing the kind of change that will truly
improve people’s lives.
The delay in ratifying the Convention is a concern, as disability reform is proceeding
internationally particularly in relation to the supports needed for community living,
equality of opportunity, and legal capacity. However, even before Ireland has ratified,
there are many steps people with disabilities, families, and organisations can take to
make sure that we know what is needed to implement the Convention. We can learn
from other countries, including those who have ratified, and those who are preparing to
ratify, about the changes required. If the Convention is to be taken seriously, we must
understand what it requires, and hold our government and other stakeholders
accountable to implement the promises the Convention contains.
Who Should Attend the Conference?
 People with disabilities, family members and friends.
 Voluntary Disability Organisations.
 Wider Community and Voluntary sector Organisations.
 HSE, Government Departments, Local Authorities.
Registration Deadline and Fee

Closing date for Registration: Friday 3rd of May

Conference Fee: €25 per delegate

Registration Process: Click here for registration form and payment options

Please make a note of any particular needs or accessibility requirement you may
have when registering

Concessions are available; contact Cathy McGrath on 086 384 7440 /
events@disability-federation.ie.
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Speakers
Prof. Dr. Theresia Degener
Professor of law and disability studies at Evangelische Fachhochschule RWL - University
of Applied Sciences in Bochum, Germany and a member of the United Nations
Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. She studied law in Frankfurt am Main
Germany and Berkeley, California, USA. She has been teaching law in Germany, Finland,
Ireland, South Africa and USA. She is an affiliate to the Harvard Law School Project on
Disability, USA and a Board member of the Centre for Disability Law and Policy at the University
of the Western Cape, South Africa.
In addition she is a Board member of the German Institute on Human Rights and a member of
the Expert Group on Inclusion of the German Section of UNESCO. She is a founding member of
the German association on disability studies.
She has been working as a legal advisor to the German Government during the negotiation
process of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), which was
adopted in 2006. During the Working Group of the Ad Hoc Committee which produced the first
draft of the CRPD she acted as the representative of Germany.
Her research fields are international human rights, anti-discrimination law and gender and
disability studies.
Agnes van Wijnen M Sc
Independent developer and adviser on disability policy & strategy, and researcher in
disability studies. She holds a Masters in political science from the University of Amsterdam
and studied social work in Kampen. Currently she is coordinator of the project “UN-Treaty
around the corner” for the Coalition for Inclusion. In addition she developed a project on the
Right to Inclusive Education for the Dutch foundation of children with disabilities. She developed
the Makkekaart and recently finished research on self determination and the personal budget.
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Prof. Gerard Quinn
Director of the Centre for Disability Law and Policy at the National University of Ireland,
Galway School of Law. He led the delegation of Rehabilitation International (RI) during the UN
Working Group that elaborated the basis for the new Convention on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities. He has worked in the European Commission (as a civil servant), and held a number
of posts such as Director of Research for the Irish Government’s Law Reform Commission and
Vice President of the European Committee of Social Rights (Council of Europe). He sits on
various advisory boards dealing with disability law and policy issues such as the Commonwealth
Secretariat, SOROS-OSI (Washington, DC), Disability Rights Fund (Boston, MA), European
Foundation Centre Consortium on Disability (Brussels), European Coalition for Community
Living (London), Interights (London).
In January 2012 President Michael D. Higgins appointed Professor Quinn to the Republic of
Ireland’s Council of State.
John Dolan
Chief Executive of the Disability Federation of Ireland since 2000 during a period that has
seen the development of the National Disability Strategy (NDS). John has led DFI in its
engagement with Government through social partnership and structures and specifically on the
development and implementation of the NDS. DFI has also led the drive to embed better
governance and collaborative working to increase organisational capacity across the voluntary
disability sector. John is a member of the following Boards: Higher Education Authority, The
Wheel and the European Association of Service Providers for Persons with Disabilities and he
represents DFI on the governing assembly of the European Disability Forum. John is a member
of the Chartered Institute of Secretaries and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and
Development.
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Conference Organisers
The event is jointly organized by the Disability Federation of Ireland and the Centre for
Disability Law & Policy at the National University of Ireland, Galway.
Disability Federation of Ireland represents the interests and the expectations of people with
disabilities to be fully included in Irish society. It comprises organisations that represent and
support people with disabilities and disabling conditions.
The vision of Disability Federation of Ireland is that Irish society is fully inclusive of people
with disabilities and disabling conditions so that they can exercise their full civil, economic,
social and human rights and are enabled to reach their full potential in life. DFI’s mission is to
act as an advocate for the full and equal inclusion of people with disabilities and disabling
conditions in all aspects of their lives.
For further information go to www.disability-federation.ie
The Centre for Disability Law & Policy at the National University of Ireland, Galway, was
founded with generous support from Irish philanthropy (Atlantic Philanthropies) in 2008 to
develop innovative policy solutions based on best international practice on the rights of persons
with disabilities. Its Director, Professor Gerard Quinn, was directly involved in the drafting of the
United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Centre staff and students
are very closely involved in international, comparative and European-level debates about how to
implement the UN Convention, and secure the rights of persons with disabilities.
For further information go to http://www.nuigalway.ie/cdlp/index.html
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Conference Agenda
10.00 -10.30 a.m.
Registration
10.30 – 10.40 a.m.
Welcome:
John Dolan
DFI CEO
10.40 – 11.05 a.m.
Keynote Address:
Prof. Dr. Theresia Degener
Professor of Law and Disability studies at Evangelische
Fachhochschule RWL - University of Applied Sciences in Bochum,
Germany.
Member of the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities
11.05 – 11.20 a.m.
Representation of People with Disabilities:
Martin Naughton
DFI Support Officer
11.20 – 11.30 a.m.
Break
11.30 – 11.45 a.m. Experiences on the Implementation of the UNCRPD:
Agnes van Wijnen
Disability Policy Consultant / Researcher at Visie in Uitvoering
11.45 – 12.25 a.m. Questions & Answers Session
12.25 – 12. 45 p.m. UNCRPD Update:
Professor Gerard Quinn
Director of the Centre for Disability Law and Policy, NUIG
12.45 – 13. 00 p.m. Closing Remarks:
John Dolan
13.00 p.m.
Close with light lunch
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