Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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410. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the steps Ireland is taking to support the diversity and gender balance on the committee that oversees the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36180/20]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The Department of Foreign Affairs is fully committed to addressing the needs and rights of people living with disabilities. This commitment is reflected in actions across our development cooperation programme as well as in our broader engagement with the EU, UN and other international bodies.

Ireland formally ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in March 2018. The convention seeks to promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities, and to promote respect for their inherent dignity. I was very pleased to note the appointment this month of Professor Gerard Quinn as the UN rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities.

The Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) is composed of 18 members and elections are held every two years to appoint nine members for a four year term. Elections to the CRPD are decided by secret ballot and it is our practice not to disclose publicly how we vote in such elections.

I am committed to ensuring that our vote will reflect our general approach to ensuring that membership of Human Rights Treaty Bodies should be broad based, inclusive, with committee members appointed on merit, and reflecting our commitment towards achieving gender equality at all levels.

In this regard, Ireland’s vote will take particular account of the following criteria: the need to achieve an improved gender balance; equitable representation from the various geographic regions including low and middle income countries; and finally to ensuring that the Committee includes members who bring expert and preferably their own “living experience” across diverse areas of disability.

In the meantime my Department will continue its efforts to promote and protect the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities.