The worldwide network of National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies which we represent in the United Nations has a long and active history of work with and support for persons with disabilities.
We are deeply impressed by the level of commitment of governments to the Convention and its Optional Protocol. The large number of signatures so quickly is itself a testament to that support, as is the strength of commitment shown by governments and partner national organizations each year on the International Day, 3 December.
Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies everywhere in the world give priority to the same issues as those set out as guiding principles through the Convention.
Respect for dignity, autonomy and full inclusion in society is a principle which is basic to the Red Cross and Red Crescent. Equally, respect for difference and acceptance of persons with disabilities as part of human diversity is fundamental. So is the vital importance of respect for the evolving capacities of children with disabilities and respect for the right of children with disabilities to preserve their identities.
The guiding principles include the principle of non-discrimination, which is equally fundamental for us.
Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies have of course given priority to the needs of persons with disabilities for very many years. Our involvement with persons injured on the battlefield since the beginnings of our Movement in 1859 is a significant starting point in this history.
And by the time the UN General Assembly started its own serious work towards an international instrument in the 1970s our National Societies had developed their own programming for persons with disabilities of many different kinds. This is why so many National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies have welcomed the opportunity to join in marking the International Day when that programme began in 1981.
The elaboration of the Convention less than one year ago was, as the Chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee which finalised the text made clear, due in large part to the determination of civil society. We pay tribute to Ambassador Don MacKay for his own determination, and the time has come now to look ahead. Every government, every organisation including the IFRC, and every National Red Cross and Red Crescent Society now needs to assess its own best role as the Convention moves towards entry into force.
Some of our functions are well-known. The work of National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in mine-affected countries is widely appreciated, as is the support they receive from the International Committee of the Red Cross and the IFRC through its membership network.
One example is the Mozambique Red Cross, which is working at the national level in partnership with the Government and other organisations. This work is based on the experience it gains at the local level where its thousands of volunteers take part in mine-awareness programmes and the provision of assistance to victims.
It is also thoroughly consistent with Article 6 of the Ottawa Mine Ban Treaty, to which I shall refer again later.
In general, National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies find governments willing and ready to accept them in their role as auxiliaries to the public authorities in this field.
In Bulgaria, for example, the Red Cross Society manages a Home Care Programme the main activities of which are the provision of qualitative medical and social services to targeted population groups, including persons with disabilities.
The programme is managed with the support of the Government, but it is also important to note that it receives the support and the knowledge obtained from other National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies doing similar work - in this case the Red Cross Societies of Switzerland, Germany and Italy. This action, although generated through the Red Cross network, is thoroughly consistent with the international cooperation objectives set out in Article 32 of the Convention.
Knowledge sharing is integral to the management of effective programmes in the area of disability. It is pleasing that it receives such emphasis in the Convention, which follows the work of the NGO groups which did so much to bring the Convention to reality.
In this context we make particular note today of CRIN, the Child Rights Information Network, for its place as a strong and effective disseminator and provider of information on many issues relating to disability. It is very relevant to the work of the IFRC and our National Red Cross and Red Crescent Society members as well as to governments, international organisations and the NGO world.
This clear wish of governments, NGOs and the Red Cross Red Crescent to define roles, work in partnership, design programmes in partnership with persons with disabilities themselves, is a clear expression of the best way forward in all situations where vulnerability needs must be addressed.
We are also pleased to see this so well recognised by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs and brought to the world by its new website, so appropriates entitled "Enable".
Work with and for persons with disabilities in many ways exemplifies the theme "Together for Humanity" under which all governments, all National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and more than 200 other partners will meet at the end of November in Geneva at the 30th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.
This event will set a new pattern of partnerships for the future, involving all stakeholders in work together. It will draw lessons from the past, of course, and will make abundant use of building blocks provided by the UN and others, especially through treaties.
The two recent most relevant treaties in this context are the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Ottawa Mine Ban Treaty.
I will say a few words now about the Ottawa Treaty, for it is highly relevant to any discussion about persons with disabilities. It starts with the challenge posed by the suffering which anti-personnel mines cause, with words which deserve to be repeated here:
"Determined to put an end to the suffering and casualties caused by anti-personnel mines that kill or maim hundreds of people every week, mostly innocent and defenceless civilians and especially children … and have other severe consequences for years after emplacement".
The Ottawa Treaty is ten years old this year. The Convention on persons with Disabilities is one year old. Both depend for their success on the wholehearted involvement of governments, communities and the private sector.
The IFRC and its member Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies are committed to the success of both, and we will intensify our work with partners to these ends.
We look forward to the entry into force of the Convention and its Optional Protocol, and will discuss with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights the best ways of contributing to the work of the future Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
We will also seek to work on these issues with another important partner organisation, the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU). The Handbook produced by the IPU together with the Department of Economic and Social Affairs and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights is an excellent supplement to the Convention, and fits well with a guidance note issued in 2002 by the IFRC and IPU on Volunteers and Legislation.
The two handbooks should help build understandings of the needs and rights of persons with disabilities and the essentiality of the volunteers who are the backbone of the support communities provide.