The Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is one of the human rights bodies in the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights of the United Nations. It is tasked with monitoring the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. It initially consisted of 12 independent human rights experts, with half elected for two-year terms and half elected for four years.[1] Thereafter, members will be elected for four-year terms, with half the members elected every two years. As the Convention has achieved 80 ratifications, the committee was expanded to 18 members.[1]
All states parties are required to submit regular reports to the Committee outlining the legislative, judicial, policy and other measures they have taken to implement the rights affirmed in the Convention. The first report is due within two years of ratifying the Convention; thereafter reports are due every four years.[2] The Committee will examine each report and address its concerns and recommendations to the state party in the form of “concluding observations”.
The initial membership of the Committee was elected by secret ballot at the first conference of states' parties to the Convention on 3 November 2008 in New York.[3] The first chair, elected at the first session in February 2009, was Mohammed Al-Tarawneh, who was succeeded with effect from February 2010 by Ron McCallum.
As of February 2011, membership of the Committee is:[4]
The committee meets twice a year in Geneva.[5]