ABOUT US
WHO AND WHERE ARE WE BASED
Disability Council International (Disabcouncil) - is an international non-profit organization registered in the Canton of Geneva, Switzerland
WHAT WE DO AND WHERE
We work to promote the human rights of persons with disabilities worldwide, through human advocacy projects in Geneva and around the world in line with the UN Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities 2008
OUR MISSION AND MOTTO
OUR mission and motto is to work for INCLUSIVE and accessible SOCIETIES for persons with DISABILITIES worldwide.
The mission of disability council international is to help to make the world a better place for all, by ensuring that our societies become fully inclusive and accessible to all persons with disabilities, without discrimination. Far too often, disability is viewed as a health or charity issue. Disability Council International believes that persons with disabilities should be seen as an asset for the future of their countries, rather than a burden to avoid. The overall aim is to remove society-made barriers (stereotypes, inaccessible environment, and lack of reasonable accommodation), which are in the way of a full and productive inclusion of persons with disabilities in all areas and forms of life in society. In sum, the organization's goal is to put ability and human dignity first.
To that effect, Disability Council International encourages the universal ratification and implementation of the UN Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities by states through human rights advocacy and capacity building programs to support states parties to the UN CRPD Convention, civil society organizations and national human rights institutions
WITH WHOM DO WE WORK
WE work closely with and support the activities of the UN Committee on the rights of persons with disabilities (CRPD), the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees, and other UN Agencies working in the disability field
OUR PROGRAM OF WORK
OUR work program includes:
- a)capacity building and awareness-raising work
To meet this goal our website contains regular information on news and countries under review by the UN CRPD Committee; submissions (past and present) by civil society organizations to these reviews (including our own submissions - shadow reports); the recommendations (concluding observations) of the CRPD Committee for reviewed states parties; other activities of the CRPD Committee regarding individual communications and general comments, etc.; the activities of the UN Conference of states parties to the CRPD Convention; policy statements by the UN Secretary-General on disability issues; the work of other UN human rights treaty bodies; the activities of the UN Human Rights Council; the UN Special rapporteur on disabilities, other UN human rights special procedures and the work of the Universal Periodic Review mechanism of the UN Human Rights Council. We also place updated information about ratification of the UN Disability Convention.
-Our capacity building and awareness-raising work also includes active work to help states to prepare their reports to the UN CRPD Committee for regular reviews, by conducting regular seminars intended for governments, and help in the drafting of their reports to the UN CRPD Committee;
-Help civil society organizations in preparing their shadow reports to the UN CRPD Committee.
-b)Human rights advocacy work
This includes:
- Help persons with disabilities in the successful litigation of specific individual cases of violations of disability human rights, before national entities, such as government institutions; national human rights commissions, anti-discrimination boards and other human rights institutions and courts and tribunals, and the UN human rights complaints procedures and mechanisms;
- Active participation in human rights seminars in countries around the world.
OUR PARTNERS/DONORS
Disability Council International relies on the generous contributions of donors (governments, charitable foundations, individual donations, membership fees) for the development of its important work of promoting the human rights of persons with disabilities
>ENTITIES that JOINED our list of partners/donors recently:
-Republic and Canton of Geneva, Switzerland
-Anne Frank Fonds, Switzerland
HOW TO MAKE DONATIONS
Disability Council International accepts donations via bank transfers or PayPal and credit card directly online.
Our bank account details for bank transfers:
Bank PostFinance
La Poste Suisse
Rue du Chateau d'en bas, 33
1832 Bulle, Suisse
Account number: 144434153
IBAN: CH680900 0000144434153
Swift/Bic Code: POFICHBEXXX
LEADERSHIP
Madam Anna Lachowska, a staunch and accomplished human rights defender, is the Chairperson of Disability Council International.
THE MEMBERS OF THE GOVERNING BODY
This leading international human rights NGO based in Geneva, at the international core center of world politics in human rights, works under the leadership of a governing body made up of distinguished world personalities including:
- Jia Yang, former vice-president, UN Committee on the rights of persons with disabilities, vice president of the blind union of China;
-Princess Hissa Al -Thani of Qatar, former UN special rapporteur on disability;
-Luis Nuno Correia de Azevedo, human rights activist;
-Constance de la Vega, professor of international human rights law, University of San Francisco;
-Martha Johanson, disability expert, a former member of the New York City board of education, and disability boards in Peru;
-Philippe Kirsch, former ambassador of Canada, and former president, the international criminal court;
-Monsur Choudhury, a former member of the UN disability committee, president of the blind cricket organization of Bangladesh;
-William Schabas, professor of international law, Middlesex University, London;
-Cherif Bassiouni - professor emeritus of international criminal law, De Paul University school of law, Chicago; president, Syracuse institute of criminal law.
DISABILITY COUNCIL INTERNATIONAL (DisabCouncil)
Geneva/Switzerland
Tel. +41774032345
