The International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD) is annually observed on December 3 to promote the full and equal participation of persons with disabilities and to take action for the inclusion of persons with disabilities in all aspects of society and development. To mark this important day, the American Center in Moscow is hosting a talk by Professor Kanter, an internationally regard expert whose research and teaching spans domestic, international, and comparative disability rights.

This talk will explore the rights of people with disabilities under international human rights law,  focusing on the development and impact of the Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities (CRPD). The CRPD was adopted by the United Nations in 2006 and has since been ratified by 183 countries, including the Russian Federation in 2012. Professor Kanter will share her research on the impact of the CRPD, including her work in various countries with governments and organizations seeking to implement the provisions of the CRPD in such areas as education, community living, access to justice, and equal recognition under law.  

About the speaker: Professor Arlene S. Kanter is the founder and Director of the Syracuse University College of Law’s Disability Law and Policy Program (DLPP) and the Faculty Director of International Programs.

The DLPP houses the nation’s most extensive disability law program, including joint degrees, certificates, clinics and externships, and the first LL.M. Program in the US with a specialization in international human rights and comparative disability law.

Professor Kanter is an internationally acclaimed expert in international and comparative disability law. She publishes and lectures extensively on domestic and international human rights and disability law and policy. Her recent book, The Development of Disability Rights Under International Law: From Charity to Human Rights (Routledge, 2015, 2017) traces the development of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities (CPRD). She is co-author (with Beth Ferri) of Righting Educational Wrongs: Disability Studies in Law and Education (Syracuse Univ. Press, 2014). This is the first book to bring together scholars from the fields of law, education, and disability studies. She also co-authored the first law casebook on international and comparative disability law, and has published over 100 articles and book chapters on topics related to international human rights and comparative disability law, US disability and special education laws, inclusive education, violence against women with disabilities, mental health law, legal personhood, and alternatives to guardianship.

From 2001-06, Professor Kanter worked with the UN committee on drafting the CRPD. Since then, she has worked with governments and disability organizations on implementing the CRPD in more than a dozen countries. She has been invited to speak at the UN General Assembly, the Committee of the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, and the Committee on the Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities. She is currently an expert consultant to the UN Rapporteur on Disability as well as several international and domestic disability organizations.

For Professor Kanter’s full professional bioraphy, please follow this link.

To join the livestream on December 3 at 18:30 MSK please follow the link to the AMC Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/acmoscow/. Please register below and leave your valid email address to receive a reminder 30 minutes before the online event starts.

To join other AMC Online programs, please check the American Center’s website and TimePad calendars.

#IDPD #disability #CRPD

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