(New York, United Nations, November 3, 2008): Today, the first Conference of States Parties on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) elected the new Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities which will be in charge of monitoring the implementation of the CRPD. The Committee comprises seven men and five women, of which nine are persons with disabilities. The twelve Committee members elected are:
Monsur Ahmed Choudhuri (Bangladesh) (4-year term)
Amna Ali Al Suweidi (Qatar) (4-year term)
György Könczei (Hungary) (2-year term)
Ana Peláez Narváez (Spain) (4-year term)
Cveto Uršič (Slovenia) (2-year term)
Jia Yang (China) (4-year term)
Mohamed Al-Tarawneh (Jordan) (4-year term)
Ron McCallum (Australia) (2-year term)
Maria Soledad Cisternas Reyes (Chile) (4-year term)
Germán Xavier Torres Correa (Ecuador) (2-year term)
Lotfi Ben Lallohom (Tunisia) (2-year term)
Edah Wangechi Maina (Kenya) (2-year term)
The Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is the body of independent experts and will monitor implementation of the CRPD by the States Parties.