September 2009 Major Figure in Disability Law to Speak at NUI Galway

Professor Oddny Arnardottir of Reykjavik University in Iceland is to deliver a public lecture on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at NUI Galway. The lecture, which is being hosted by the Centre for Disability Law and Policy at NUI Galway, will take at 7pm on Friday, 11 September, 2009. Professor Arnardottir is one the world's leading thinkers on equality and non-discrimination law and sees the UN disability convention as advancing a fresh perspective on securing equal justice for persons with disabilities. She is co-author of the first book on the new UN Convention entitled The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities – European and Scandinavian, which she wrote with the Director of the NUI Galway Centre for Disability Law and Policy, Professor Gerard Quinn. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is the first human rights treaty adopted by the United Nations in the 21st century. It seeks to secure the equal and effective enjoyment of human rights for the estimated 650 million persons with disabilities in the world. It does so by tailoring general human rights norms to their circumstances. It reflects and advances the shift away from welfare to rights in the context of disability. The Convention itself represents a mix between non-discrimination and other substantive human rights and gives practical effect to the idea that all human rights are indivisible and interdependent. The Centre for Disability Law and Policy at NUI Galway was established in 2008 and is one of the first of its type in Europe. The primary purpose of the Centre is to conduct research on best international practice to assist in the ongoing process of reform taking place here in Ireland and throughout the world. Professor Gerard Quinn said: "We are excited to host such a prominent thinker and activist on equality law and policy. Anybody interested in disability – either here in Ireland or throughout the world would benefit from her presentation". The lecture will take place in Room MY129, Áras Moyola on campus and is open to all members of the public. For further information on the lecture please contact Karen Walsh on 091 494020 or email karen.walsh@nuigalway.ie. -ends-