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OAS Co-Organized International Virtual Conference on the Reform of the Peruvian Civil Code regarding People with Disabilities

The Organization of American States (OAS) today co-organized the International Conference on the Reform of the Peruvian Civil Code referring to legal capacity and access to justice of people with disabilities. The event was carried out in coordination with the Congress of Peru and the National Council for the Integration of People with Disabilities of Peru and the support of the Inter-American Commission for Human Rights (IACHR) and the United Nations Commission for the Rights of People with Disabilties.

During the conference, carried out virtually, participants analyzed the concepts set forth in the conventions of the OAS and the UN on the issue, including concrete legal cases and best practices to promote actions of legislative harmonization, and the promotion and protection of these rights, so that they can be replicated in other countries of the region.

Among those who participated in the event were Peruvian legislators, their advisors, members of the College of Lawyers of Lima, officials of the Interior Ministry, the Ministry of Justice, the Judicial Power, universities with law faculties, and international experts in the field. In addition, the Chair of the Special Commission for revision of the Civil Code in reference to the exercise of the Juridical Capacity of People with Disabilities of the Congress of Peru, John Reynaga Soto; the Chair of the Committee for follow-up on the Inter-American Convention against the discrimination against people with disabilities of the OAS, Silvia Bersanelli; and the Director of the Department of Social Inclusion of the OAS, Betilde Muñoz-Pogossian, among others.

The contents of the event centered on that stipulated in articles 12 and 13 of the International Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities of the UN, which affirm that people with disabilities have the right to the recognition of their juridical personality and the right to access to justice in equal conditions with other people. Also, they considered the recent actions of the Committeee of follow-up of the Inter-American Convention of the OAS on the same issue.

The Department of Social Inclusion of the Executive Secretariat for Integral Development of the OAS serves as the technical secretariat for the promotion of the rights of people with disabilities. In its work on the issue of social inclusion, the OAS will continue to contribute to articulating efforts between actors of the political sector, civil society, and academia toward the harmonization of the national legislative frameworks with international and Inter-American norms on the subject.

For more information, please visit the OAS Website at www.oas.org.

Reference: E-042/15