April 9 Conference on UN Disability Rights Convention

Arlene Kanter passes along this announcement:

Join us on April 9^th 2007:

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The new UN Disability Rights Convention:

Building support in the United States for

ratification and implementation

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On March 30, 2007, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities will open for signature and ratification. On April 9, 2007, the disability, human rights, and international development communities will come together to examine the Convention, its guarantees, and its implications for US law and foreign policy. We will consider ways to encourage US government and public support.

The United States is a country that has historically been a world leader in the recognition of disability rights. This conference examines how we can bring about continued US leadership in the international protection of disability rights.

9:00 – 9:30 a.m. Welcome and Introduction

9:30 – 11:00 a.m. Overview of the new UN Convention on Disability Rights

11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. Implementation through Domestic Law, Policy & Practice

1:00 – 2:30 p.m. Keynote Address: Mr. Aryeh Neier, Open Society Institute

2:30 – 3:00 p.m. Video presentation: Overcoming Abuses in Orphanages & Institutions

3:00 – 4:30 p.m. Implementation through International Advocacy and Development Policy

4:45 – 6:15 p.m. Strategy Session: Seeking U.S. Government & Public Support

6:15 p.m. Reception

For registration information, please visit: http://www.wcl.american.edu/secle/

CLE Credit Available

Co-Sponsors:

Washington College of Law, American University

Mental Disability Rights International

US International Council on Disability

Syracuse University College of Law Disability and Policy Program of the SU Center on Human Policy, Law, and Disability Studies

Syracuse Journal of International Law and Commerce

World Institute on Disability

Sensenbrenner to Give Third Annual Coelho Lecture at NYLS

Seth Harris passes along this announcement of the Third Annual Coelho Lecture at the New York Law School. Here's the text of the invite letter:

Dear Friend:

I invite you to join me in New York Law School's Wellington Conference Center at 8:30AM on March 26th for the Third Annual Tony Coelho Lecture in Disability Employment Law & Policy. Our speaker will be Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner, the former Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, and one of the most important voices in Congress on disabilities employment issues.

This is a critical time in Washington for the Americans with Disabilities Act. As you know, the Supreme Court has dramatically curtailed the scope of this essential civil
rights law. Most troubling, the Court has interpreted the ADA to deprive millions of Americans of the law's protections. That's not what Jim Sensenbrenner and I intended when we originally sponsored the ADA in the late 1980s.

Now, I am working with Congressman Sensenbrenner to restore the ADA. His speech on March 26th will lay out some of the principles and goals of the legislation he will co-sponsor with other leading members of Congress from both parties. In my view, the speech will be a critical moment for the disabilities movement and anyone who is interested in civil rights and justice. I hope you will be there to witness
it.

If you would like to attend the Coelho Lecture, please go to www.nyls.edu/coelho to get more information and to register or simply respond to this email. If you cannot attend the live Coelho Lecture, you can watch a national webcast at the time of the event or any time thereafter. Again, register for the webcast at www.nyls.edu/coelho.

I look forward to seeing you on March 26th.

Tony Coelho