AG/RES. 2230 (XXXVI-O/06)
PROGRAM OF ACTION FOR THE DECADE OF THE AMERICAS
FOR THE RIGHTS AND DIGNITY OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES (2006-2016)
(Adopted at the fourth plenary session, held on June 6, 2006)
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,
RECALLING its resolutions AG/RES. 1249 (XXIII-O/93) and AG/RES. 1356 (XXV-O/95), “Situation of Persons with Disabilities in the American Hemisphere”; and AG/RES. 1369 (XXVI-O/96), “Panama Commitment to Persons with Disabilities in the American Hemisphere”;
TAKING INTO ACCOUNT that, in the Plan of Action of the Fourth Summit of the Americas (Mar del Plata, Argentina, November 5, 2005), the Heads of State and Government instructed the Organization of American States (OAS) to “consider at the next OAS period of regular sessions of the General Assembly to be held in the Dominican Republic, a Declaration on the Decade of the Americas for Persons with Disabilities (2006-2016), together with a program of action”;
REITERATING the continuing need to promote the right of persons with disabilities to participate fully in the social life and the development of their societies and to enjoy living conditions on an equal basis with others, as well as the improvement of living conditions as a result of social and economic development, with respect for their special needs;
RECOGNIZING that our region has produced regional instruments and policies, such as the Inter-American Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities and the Declaration of the Ibero-American Year of Persons with Disabilities, which need to be promoted and implemented through a region-wide program of action, which will also help to fight inequality in the region;
RECALLING other important international instruments, such as the Declaration on the Rights of Mentally Retarded Persons (United Nations General Assembly resolution 2856 (XXVI), December 20, 1971); the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Disabled Persons (United Nations General Assembly resolution 3447 (XXX), December 9, 1975); the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons (United Nations General Assembly resolution 37/52, December 3, 1982); the Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (Disabled Persons) Convention of the International Labour Organization - ILO (Convention No. 159); Recommendation Nº 168 of the ILO (1983); the Principles for the Protection of Persons with Mental Illness and for the Improvement of Mental Health Care (United Nations General Assembly resolution 46/119, December 17, 1991); and the Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities (United Nations General Assembly resolution 48/96, December 20, 1993); and recalling the ongoing work of the Ad Hoc Committee on a Comprehensive and Integral International Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities (2001), all of which provide a working basis for long-term efforts, in a framework of inclusive development and with a focus on rights;
BEARING IN MIND the “Declaration on the Decade of the Americas for the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities (2006-2016)” [AG/DEC. 50 (XXXVI-O/06)], adopted by the General Assembly at the present regular session, which will provide a genuine, meaningful impetus to activities related to equal opportunity for persons with disabilities, as well as to the prevention of disabilities and the rehabilitation of persons with disabilities at all levels; and
TAKING NOTE of the document entitled “Draft Program of Action for the Decade of the Americas for Persons with Disabilities (2006-2016),” presented by Peru (CP/CAJP-2362/06 corr. 1),
RESOLVES:
1. To request the Permanent Council to establish, in the framework of the Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs, a working group to prepare a Program of Action for the Decade of the Americas for the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities (2006-2016), taking into account the document entitled “Draft Program of Action for the Decade of the Americas for Persons with Disabilities (2006-2016),” presented by Peru (CP/CAJP-2362/06 corr. 1), as well as the inputs received at the special meeting referred to in operative paragraph 3 of this resolution. The final document will be submitted to the General Assembly at its thirty-seventh regular session for adoption.
2. To thank Peru for its presentation of the document entitled “Draft Program of Action for the Decade of the Americas for Persons with Disabilities (2006-2016).”
3. To request the Working Group to hold a special meeting during the second half of 2006 to receive inputs on the Draft Program of Action from the member states of the Organization of American States (OAS), from the pertinent OAS organs, agencies, and entities, from other regional and international bodies, and from civil society organizations, including organizations of persons with disabilities and their families.
4. To request the General Secretariat to provide, through the Office of International Law of the Department of International Legal Affairs, the broadest possible support for the Working Group’s activities.
5. To instruct the Permanent Council to follow up on this resolution, which will be implemented within the resources allocated in the program-budget of the Organization and other resources, and to present a report on its implementation to the General Assembly at its thirty-seventh regular session.
AG/RES. 2231 (XXXVI-O/06)
(Adopted at the fourth plenary session, held on June 6, 2006)
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,
RECALLING its resolutions AG/RES. 1904 (XXXII-O/02), AG/RES. 1944 (XXXIII-O/03), AG/RES. 2052 (XXXIV-O/04), AG/RES. 2127 (XXXV-O/05), and AG/RES. 2134 (XXXV-O/05);
TAKING INTO ACCOUNT that the problem of missing persons and assistance to members of their families is addressed in both international humanitarian law and international human rights law within their respective spheres of application, their legal frameworks being distinct;
DEEPLY CONCERNED over the suffering caused both by the disappearance of persons as a result of armed conflict or other situations of armed violence and by forced disappearances;
RECOGNIZING the need to alleviate the anxiety and uncertainty suffered by the relatives of persons who are presumed to have disappeared;
MINDFUL of the need to prevent the disappearance of persons, to ascertain the fate of those who have disappeared, and to respond to the needs of members of their families, both in situations of armed conflict or other situations of armed violence and in cases of forced disappearances;
BEARING IN MIND resolution 59/189, “Missing Persons,” adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 20, 2004; resolution 2005/66, “Right to the Truth,” adopted by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights on April 20, 2005; resolution 2005/26, “Human Rights and Forensic Science,” adopted by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights on April 19, 2005; and the Basic Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Remedy and Reparation for Victims of Gross Violations of International Human Rights Law and Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 16, 2005;
RECALLING the Declaration and Agenda for Humanitarian Action adopted by resolution 1 of the 28th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, held in Geneva, Switzerland, from December 2 to 6, 2003, which address the question of persons missing as a result of an armed conflict or other situations of armed violence;
RECALLING ALSO the Inter-American Convention on Forced Disappearance of Persons, adopted on June 9, 1994;
CONVINCED that compliance with international humanitarian law by all parties involved in an armed conflict would, in large measure, prevent disappearances, and also convinced that the member states are duty-bound to observe and protect human rights in order to prevent forced disappearances; and
CONVINCED ALSO of the need to continue to apply or to develop effective national mechanisms for preventing, and applying sanctions for, the disappearance of persons and for searching for and locating missing persons,
RESOLVES:
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To urge all parties involved in armed conflict or other situations of armed violence to prevent the disappearance of persons, in accordance with the provisions of international humanitarian law, as applicable; and likewise to urge member states to observe and protect human rights, in order to prevent forced disappearances.
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To encourage member states to continue moving forward in preventing the forced disappearance of persons by considering, where appropriate, the adoption of laws, regulations, and/or instructions requiring the establishment of official registries in which records will be kept of all detained persons, among other reasons to allow, as appropriate, family members, other interested persons, judicial authorities, and/or bodies that have a recognized mandate to protect detainees to learn, within a short period of time, of any detention that has taken place, all of the foregoing without interfering with appropriate communications between detainees and their families.
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To urge member states to shed light on the fate of persons who have disappeared, to establish registry systems to collect and centralize information on persons presumed to have disappeared, to take appropriate measures to guarantee an impartial investigation by the competent authorities, and to involve the families of presumed disappearance victims in the efforts to clarify what has happened to them.
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To encourage member states to address as fully as possible the psychological, social, legal, and material needs of the families of presumed victims of disappearances through measures including, where appropriate, provision of periodic information to relatives on the efforts to cast light on the fate of the disappeared and on their whereabouts.
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To encourage member states to consider enacting, as applicable, domestic laws that recognize the situation of the families of disappearance victims, taking into account the specific needs and particular interests of women heads of household and children, including the consequences of disappearances on property management, child custody, parental rights, and marital status, as well as devising adequate compensation programs.
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To urge member states to treat human remains appropriately, in compliance with the legal standards and professional ethics applicable to their handling and exhumation, in order to successfully identify them and issue death certificates.
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To urge member states to punish those guilty of violating the provisions of international human rights law and international humanitarian law applicable to the disappearance of persons and, in particular, to forced disappearances.
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To urge member states to guarantee adequate protection of the personal data gathered in connection with disappeared persons, in accordance with the law.
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To urge member states to cooperate among themselves in addressing the problem of the disappearance of persons.
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To encourage member states to request support in addressing this problem from international and civil society organizations.
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To invite member states to continue their cooperation with the International Committee of the Red Cross, a recognized humanitarian institution, in its various areas of responsibility and to facilitate its work.
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To urge those member states that have not yet done so to consider signing and ratifying, ratifying, or acceding to, as the case may be, the Inter-American Convention on Forced Disappearance of Persons.
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To instruct the Permanent Council to follow up on this resolution.
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