Home Meetings & Statements Events & Activities China & UN Documents About China 中文
  Home > China & UN > Social Development and Human Rights
Statement by Mr. JIA Yong,Vice president of China Disabled Person's Federation at the General Debate of the Tenth Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

2017-06-15 23:00

Distinguished Mr. President, colleagues,

Having actively advocated for and participated in the formulation of the CRPD, China was among the first to sign and ratify the Convention and has faithful implemented its Convention obligations and staunchly defended the spirit of the Convention.

Over the past decade, the Chinese government has actively implemented all obligations under the Convention. We submitted our compliance reports on time for review by the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and spared no efforts to promote the effective implementation of the Convention in China. It is particularly worth mentioning that on July 7, 2016, China hosted in Beijing a conference to celebrate the 10th anniversary of CRPD. The then Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Vice Chair of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Ms. Sylvia Quan attended and addressed the conference, focusing once again the attention of China and the whole world on the Convention, thus producing far-reaching social impact.

Over the past decade, in compliance with the principles and spirit of the Convention, China has amended the Law on the Protection of Persons with Disabilities which is the basic law of the country for this group. We have also amended the Regulations on the Education for Persons with Disabilities, promulgated the Regulations on Barrier-Free Construction and the Regulations on the Prevention of Disability and the Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities, making the legal system to protect the rights and interests of persons with disabilities more complete and robust. To implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Chinese government has mainstreamed the cause of persons with disabilities into the overall planning for national economic and social development. Multiple special programs and plans for persons with disabilities were drafted and carried out with the goal clearly defined, namely “to build China into a moderately prosperous society in all aspects by 2020 and to leave no persons with disabilities behind”. With the help of organizations of persons with disabilities, the Chinese government conducted face-to-face surveys of around 30 million persons with disabilities and subsequently established a dynamic and updated database on the situation and needs of this group nationwide. This is probably the biggest real-name database in the world at the moment.

Over the past decade, the Chinese government has made it a point to incorporate the affairs of persons with disabilities into bilateral and multilateral mechanisms. China has been working with the international community to push for the inclusion of the affairs of persons with disabilities in multilateral cooperation frameworks such as APEC, ASEM, China-ASEAN Expo and the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. China holds regular governmental coordination meetings with the US on affairs of persons with disabilities, and has set up cooperation and exchange mechanisms with Russia and Australia.

Mr. President, Colleagues,

China notes with appreciation that this conference has selected as its theme the role of persons with disabilities and their representative organizations with emphasis on the important and indispensable role of persons with disabilities in the implementation of the Convention. Looking back over the past decade, representative organizations of persons with disabilities at various levels in China have always played a significant part in promoting the effective implementation of the Convention. Looking forward into the next decade, we call upon all states parties to take practical measures, including policy and financial support, to create equitable social conditions for the participation of persons of disabilities, especially their representative organizations, in Convention implementation. Their voice should be respected and heeded, their roles valued and given full play, and their rights and interests ensured.

No persons with disabilities should be left behind in the implementation of the Convention.

Thank you!

Suggest to a friend
  Print