Sri Lanka has assumed the presidency of the 19th session of the Conference of States Parties (CoSP19) to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) at United Nations Headquarters in New York, taking the chair as the global forum marks its 20th anniversary.
Ambassador Jayantha Jayasuriya, Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the UN, chaired the opening session, which brought together world leaders, UN officials and disability advocates to mark the achievements of the CRPD and chart its next phase of implementation, Newswire reported. The 20th-anniversary session recorded the highest number of speakers for the General Debate in the conference’s history.
The opening session was attended by UN Secretary-General António Guterres and Under-Secretary-General of UN DESA Junhua. In his opening remarks, the Secretary-General urged governments to prioritise persons with disabilities when addressing global challenges and to “empower persons with disabilities as full partners in policymaking and decision-making”.
Ambassador Jayasuriya delivered Sri Lanka’s national statement and stressed the importance of creating “a world free from exploitation, violence and abuse of persons of disabilities”. He outlined the convention’s role in transforming the global perception of disability over the past two decades.
Sri Lanka’s Youth Representative Nilshani De Silva drew on her lived experience as a person with Down syndrome to highlight the steps taken by the Government for the welfare of disabled persons. She emphasised that the CRPD represents “a commitment to dignity, inclusion, equality, and opportunity for all persons with disabilities” and called for the meaningful participation of persons with disabilities — particularly young people — in decision-making.
CoSP19 was organised around three high-level roundtables: building a world free from exploitation, violence and abuse for persons with disabilities; building resilient societies through stronger care and support systems; and enhancing accessible civic engagement, leadership and advocacy in political and public life. Ambassador Jayasuriya chaired an Interactive Dialogue among States parties, UN agencies and other stakeholders on the implementation of the convention.
The presidency adds to a busy year of Sri Lankan multilateral roles, including Bandula Kariyawasam’s re-election as Chair of the UN Committee on Migrant Workers in Geneva on May 28.
