The Third Session of the Working Group on the Asian and Pacific Decade of Persons with Disabilities was held from 2 to 4 March 2016 in Bangkok. The Session was hosted by the Royal Government of Thailand through the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Ministry of Social Development and Human Security.
This Session welcomed more than 70 participants and reviewed the progress and good practices in the implementation of the Asian and Pacific Decade of Persons with Disabilities, including the decisions made by the Working Group at its previous Session. It further discussed the links to the Sustainable Development Goals, preparations for the 2017 High-level intergovernmental Meeting of the midpoint review and other matters as deemed necessary.
The Working Group made 14 decisions and five recommendations, many of which focused on how Working Group members could take steps to ensuring a timely and high-quality submission of information to the ESCAP midpoint survey as well as promote high-level participation at the 2017 High-level Intergovernmental Meeting. Decisions and recommendations also suggested practical steps for Working Group members to effectively communicate, share and coordinate information and efforts between Governments and CSOs.
The Working Group was established in 2013 by the Commission at its sixty-ninth session to provide technical advice and support to ESCAP Governments with the aim to promote a full and effective implementation of the Asian and Pacific Decade of Persons with Disabilities, 2013-2022.
The Session is convened annually, and has previously been held in Incheon, Republic of Korea (2014) and New Delhi (2015). The Working Group is composed of 30 members: 15 Government representatives from ESCAP member States and 15 representatives from regional and subregional civil society organizations working on disability issues.
The documents of the meeting can be found here.
