Summary of International Watch Recommendations for NCD Consideration and Action

April 6, 2000

SCOPE AND PURPOSE:

On April 6 and 7, 2000, the National Council on Disability’s Foreign Policy Team (FPT) and International Watch (IW) met to discuss policy-related issues that NCD should address as it sets for itself an international agenda to promote the full inclusion of children and adults with disabilities around the world.

On the first day, officials from federal agencies having international programs and overseas operations were invited to share their agencies’ policies and initiatives to include people with disabilities at every level of their operations. IW and FPT members, as well as official observers with disability expertise from various backgrounds, had the opportunity to ask questions and offer observations to the federal agency representatives regarding the inclusion of people with disabilities in U.S. programs and facilities. This dialogue was followed by discussion among IW members relating to furthering international recognition of the human rights of persons with disabilities. On the second day, IW and FPT members deliberated on the input from the federal agencies and the policy areas discussed by IW members to develop a list of suggested actions for advancing the human rights of people with disabilities in the international arena.

What follows is an identification of the five areas in which NCD’s International Watch recommended actions that might be taken over the next several years to promote inclusion abroad. Discussions that occurred during both days of the meeting were captured primarily in these five categories. The Foreign Policy Team and International Watch recognize that NCD itself may not be the appropriate primary actor or leader in each of these areas, but NCD is being asked to 1) recognize these areas as having import, and 2) when appropriate, identify leaders other than itself (or partners with which it can work) to address these issues.