Disability and Emergencies - Exhibition launch
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© European Union 2011 PE-EP
Rodolfo Cattani (Member of EDF Executive Committee) speaks during the launch of the CBM photo exhibition in the European Parliament to mark the first year anniversary of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. Also shown (from right to left) are Heidi Hautala MEP (Chair of the Sub-Committee on Human Rights), Valerie Scherrer (CBM Emergency Coordinator) and Lars Bosselmann (Advocacy Manager, CBM EU Liaison Office).
On 11 January 2011 CBM's EU Liaison Office, with Fiona Hall MEP (Member of the European Parliament), launched a photo exhibition at the European Parliament in Brussels recognising the one-year anniversary of the 2010 Haiti earthquake.
Various speakers - including two MEPs - talked about the 'positiveness' of the images, and constant reference was made to the fact that in December 2010 the EU ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCPRD), paving the way for the inclusion of disability in all EU policies.
Photo exhibition at European Parliament
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©European Union 2011 PE-EP
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"The pictures show a great deal of positiveness"
Fiona Hall, MEP
One year after the devastating earthquake in Haiti, and in cooperation with Fiona Hall MEP (Member of the European Parliament), CBM launched a photo exhibition 'Disability and Emergencies' at the European Parliament.
The exhibition celebrates the efforts of the people in Haiti to overcome the devastation of the earthquake, and portrays the work that CBM and local and international partner organisations have done to assist the Haitian people in the last year. It shows that people with disabilities are more at risk in emergencies, and illustrates the capacity that they and their organisations have to respond to challenges.
“The pictures show a great deal of positiveness; They exemplify the determination and hopes of persons with disabilities to build a just society for all” declared Fiona Hall.
EU ratification of the UNCPRD
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©European Union 2011 PE-EP
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CBM Emergency Coordinator Valerie Scherrer tells the audience that persons with disabilities are usually invisible and forgotten during emergencies
On the 23rd of December 2010, the EU ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCPRD).
All speakers at the launch of the photo exhibition agreed that this constitutes a historic step: It makes the EU the first intergovernmental body to ratify this Convention, and this paves the way for the inclusion of disability in all EU policies.
Following its ratification, the EU will have to report about its efforts to live-up to the high standards set by the Convention, including in its emergency responses.
“And the European Parliament will constantly remind the other EU institutions to take those commitments seriously”, said both MEPs Thijs Berman and Heidi Hautala.
Furthermore, the EU is now able to put substantial pressure on the 11 EU member states that have not yet ratified the Convention.
All speakers at the launch of the photo exhibition agreed that this constitutes a historic step: It makes the EU the first intergovernmental body to ratify this Convention, and this paves the way for the inclusion of disability in all EU policies.
Following its ratification, the EU will have to report about its efforts to live-up to the high standards set by the Convention, including in its emergency responses.
“And the European Parliament will constantly remind the other EU institutions to take those commitments seriously”, said both MEPs Thijs Berman and Heidi Hautala.
Furthermore, the EU is now able to put substantial pressure on the 11 EU member states that have not yet ratified the Convention.
