The Fifth Session of the Working Group on the Asian and Pacific Decade of Persons with Disabilities was held on 21 and 22 February 2019 at the United Nations Conference Centre (UNCC) in Bangkok, Thailand. It was organized by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).
The Working Group was established in 2013 as per its Terms of Reference endorsed by the Commission. It held its last session back in 2017.
The main objectives of the upcoming session were:
(a) To review recent progress made on implementing the Incheon Strategy since the last session;
(b) To discuss the strategic direction and workplan of the Working Group for the remaining years of the Asian and Pacific Decade of Persons with Disabilities; and
(c) To review the Rules of Procedure of the Working Group for its second term (2018-2022).
This session was the first gathering of the Working Group after members and associate members of ESCAP endorsed the Beijing Declaration and Action Plan through resolution ESCAP/RES/74/7, and the new composition of the Working Group at the 74th session of the Commission (Bangkok, 11-16 May 2018). As such, the session was critical in setting the tone for the future work of the Working Group and the accelerated implementation of the Incheon Strategy to “Make the Right Real” for Persons with Disabilities in Asian and the Pacific.
During the two-day meeting, the Working Group adopted decisions and recommendations to expedite the implementation of the Incheon Strategy and the Beijing Declaration/Action Plan. The Report on this session will be submitted to Commission, at its 75th session, to be held in 2019.
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