Disability rights conference marks one year since convention became law

ÖBÍ Rights Association is holding a conference at Harpa on Monday to mark one year since Iceland’s parliament passed the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities into law, mbl.is reports. The event is being streamed live.

The keynote speaker is Markus Schefer, a professor of constitutional and administrative law at the University of Basel in Switzerland and a former member of the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. He is described by the organisers as one of the world’s leading experts on the convention.

Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir and Social Affairs and Housing Minister Ragnar Þór Ingólfsson are also due to address the conference. Frostadóttir’s remarks will be delivered by video.

The programme runs from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Alma Ýr Ingólfsdóttir, chair of ÖBÍ, will open the event. Eiríkur Smith of the Icelandic Human Rights Institute is also scheduled to speak, followed by a panel discussion chaired by Kári Hólmar Ragnarsson.