A/HRC/43/41 I. Introduction 1. The Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities submits the present report to the Human Rights Council pursuant to resolution 35/6. It contains a description of the activities she undertook in 2019 and a thematic study on the impact of ableism in medical and scientific practice, research and experimentation. In the report, the Special Rapporteur aims to provide guidance to States on how to adopt a human rights-based approach to disability in legislation, policies, customs and practices related to prevention, cure and assisted dying. 2. In preparing the study, the Special Rapporteur commissioned a background paper, convened an expert group meeting in Geneva on 16 and 17 September 2019 and analysed the 45 responses received to a questionnaire sent to Member States, national human rights institutions, bodies of the United Nations system, persons with disabilities and their organizations, and other civil society groups. 1 II. Activities of the Special Rapporteur A. Country visits 3. In 2019, the Special Rapporteur visited Canada from 1 to 11 April and Norway from 2 to 11 October. She thanks both Governments for their cooperation prior to, during and after her visits. She has agreed to undertake visits to Botswana and China in 2020. B. Engagement with stakeholders 4. On 5 March 2019, the Special Rapporteur presented her thematic report to the Human Rights Council on the right to liberty and security (A/HRC/40/54) and on 21 October 2019 her report to the General Assembly on older persons and disabilities (A/74/186). Both reports are available in accessible formats. 2 5. In 2019, the Special Rapporteur continued to actively promote a process to strengthen system-wide accessibility, inclusion and mainstreaming of the rights of persons with disabilities in the United Nations. The findings of her 2018 baseline review of United Nations action to mainstream accessibility and disability inclusion – conducted at the request of the Executive Office of the Secretary-General – informed the development of the United Nations disability inclusion strategy in 2019. 3 During this process, the Special Rapporteur engaged with the Secretary-General and the Deputy Secretary-General and collaborated with the Inter-Agency Support Group on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The strategy was endorsed by the Chief Executives Board for Coordination in May and launched by the Secretary-General in June. Following its adoption, the Special Rapporteur continued to advocate with the Secretary-General’s Senior Adviser on Policy, the President of the General Assembly, United Nations entities and Member States on the need to secure the long-term sustainability of the strategy and maintain it as a top-level priority across all pillars of the United Nations system. 6. The Special Rapporteur participated in numerous conferences and expert meetings, including a Security Council Arria formula meeting on persons with disabilities in armed conflicts; the annual day on the rights of the child and the interactive debate on the rights of persons with disabilities at the Human Rights Council; a hearing of the General Assembly of France on protected adults; a hearing of the Committee of Ibero-American Affairs of the Senate of Spain; and the twelfth session of the Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. She also organized an expert group meeting on the intersections between women’s rights and the rights of persons with 1 2 3 2 See www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Disability/SRDisabilities/Pages/BioethicsDisabilities.aspx. See www.ohchr.org/en/issues/disability/srdisabilities/pages/reports.aspx. See www.un.org/en/content/disabilitystrategy/.