First EU Candidate elected to UN CRPD Committee

First EU Candidate elected to UN CRPD Committee

There’s always a first time for everything: Inmaculada Placencia Porrero has been the first EU Candidate to the UN Committee on the rights of persons with disabilities, and she was elected in June! This was the first time that the European Union—acting as a regional body—presented a candidate to a United Nations human rights treaty body. On behalf of all the EPR colleagues, huge congratulations to Ima.

She is a Senior Expert on Disability at the European Commission, leading work on the rights of persons with disabilities with a focus on accessibility and assistive technologies. She has led the development of several policies and legislation, such as the landmark European Accessibility Act.

Ahead of the appointment, she shared her vision: “”Disability policies must be designed to benefit all of society but most of all to ensure that persons with disabilities have effective access to their rights and improve their socio-economic participation and situation.” Her top priorities in the role encompass: 

• advancing the dialogues with State Parties in the area of accessibility and new technologies where solutions should be of a global nature, particularly in the area of ICT;
• promoting independent living and access of persons with disabilities to services, education, and the labour market. 

For further details consult her campaign website here.