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Signature Ceremony
Information for Civil Society participants
Entrance to the United Nations Headquarters
Please note that entrance will be granted only to individuals who have registered their names via the Enable website prior to 16 March 2007. Any accompanying persons, who have not registered online, will not be granted entrance.Due to increased security at the United Nations Headquarters this week, kindly allow plenty of time for the on-site registration process which will begin on Thursday, 29 March from 3:00pm to 5:00pm, and continue on Friday, 30 March from 8:00am to 11:00am, in the Visitors Lobby. Please be aware that you will have to pass through a Security Check Point prior to entering the building.
Please note that there will be no opportunity or space available for the distribution of literature, flyers, or any other type of promotional or informational material.
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The Secretariat of the United Nations is committed to supporting the implementation of the letter and spirit of the Convention in all aspects of its work. Improving accessibility of the United Nations itself is included in this commitment, as stated in the resolution adopting the Convention in which the General Assembly ‘Also requests the Secretary-General to implement progressively standards and guidelines for the accessibility of facilities and services of the United Nations system, taking into account relevant provisions of the Convention, in particular when undertaking renovations’.
In preparation for the attendance of civil society organizations at the Opening for Signature Ceremony of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, we draw your attention to the following arrangements including reasonable accommodation measures:
General Seating for Civil Society Representatives
General seating for civil society representatives will be on the 4th floor of the General Assembly Hall. However, due to the lack of accessibility of the 4th floor and the high number of attendees using wheelchairs, civil society representatives using wheelchairs will be given access to the main floor of the General Assembly Hall. UN security has requested that they be seated as close to the exits as possible. Registrants were asked to self identify as wheelchair users during online registration in order to allow us to secure special access passes for the main floor of the General Assembly Hall. We thank you in advance for your cooperation and patience, as we expect the General Assembly Hall to be full at least to capacity.Copies of the Convention in Alternate Formats and Standard Formats
Copies of the Convention in standard print in all United Nations official languages will be made available to attendees at the on-site registration table; one copy per person in the official UN language of their choice. Limited copies of the Convention will be available in large print in English, French, and Spanish; and in braille in all United Nations official languages except for Chinese (due to current software limitations). English braille is available in Grade 1 and Grade 2. If you would like a copy of the Convention in one of these formats, please email enable@un.org by 17:30 EST, Tuesday 27 March 2007 specifying which format and language you require. We will provide one copy per request and this copy will be available at the on-site registration table. Please note that copies in alternate formats will only be available for those persons who have emailed their requests by the above deadline.Sign Language
Consultations on the technical aspects of rendering the United Nations more accessible, including those aspects requiring decisions by Member States will commence once the Convention has entered into force. The provision of interpretation into sign language will be addressed during these consultations. The existing rules and budget allocation call for interpretation during official events into the six official United Nations spoken languages, Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish. For each of these spoken languages, there exists several sign languages. Until changes are agreed upon and adopted by Member States, the entire United Nations Secretariat is bound by the existing rules for language interpretation.In consideration of the historic occasion of the Opening for Signature Ceremony of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on 30 March 2007, an anonymous donor from the host country of the United Nations Headquarters has generously offered to provide American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation during the signing ceremony. The interpreters will be displayed on a large screen which is easily viewed throughout the General Assembly Hall.
Hearing loops
Hearing loops will be made available to those who request at the Registration table. They will be distributed on a first come first serve basis. In order to obtain a hearing loop, you will be required to leave a photo identification which will be given back to you when you return the loop.