First Meeting of the Task Force on the Mainstreaming of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in the ASEAN Community, 5-6 December 2016, Bangkok, Thailand

The Task Force on the Mainstreaming of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in the ASEAN Community successfully convened its first meeting on 5 to 6 December 2016 in Bangkok, Thailand. The Task Force was led by Dr. Seree Nonthasoot, the Representative of Thailand to the AICHR with the support from the Government of Japan through Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund (JAIF).

The Task Force is entrusted with the mandate to draft a regional instrument that will serve to implement the ASEAN Vision 2025 on the mainstreaming of the rights of persons with disabilities across all three pillars of the ASEAN Community through consultation among relevant ASEAN Sectoral Bodies and stakeholders in the region, including disabled people organisations (DPOs).

On the first day, the meeting was briefed by the representative of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission on Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP) on the international and Asia Pacific framework for the promotion and protection of the rights and persons with disabilities as well on recent global developments. During the two-day meeting, the members of the Task Force extensively discussed current situations of persons with disabilities in the ASEAN region, and exchanged views regarding the gaps in the implementation of regional framework pertaining to disability rights and relevant challenges. The Task Force also deliberated on the framework for the draft regional instrument.

The second meeting of the Task Force is scheduled to take place on 2 to 3 February 2017 in Jakarta, Indonesia.