A/HRC/31/62 I. Introduction 1. The present report is submitted by the Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities, Catalina Devandas Aguilar, to the Human Rights Council pursuant to its resolution 26/20. It describes the activities carried out by the Special Rapporteur since March 2015 and contains a thematic study on the right of persons with disabilities to participate in decision-making. In preparing the study, the Special Rapporteur analysed the responses to a questionnaire sent to Member States, national human rights institutions, agencies of the United Nations system, civil society organizations, and persons with disabilities and their representative organizations. As at 22 December 2015, she had received 144 responses.1 II. Activities of the Special Rapporteur A. Country visits 2. In 2015, the Special Rapporteur conducted country visits to the Republic of Moldova from 10 to 17 September (see A/HRC/31/62/Add.1) and to Paraguay from 19 to 27 November (the report will be presented at the thirty-fourth session of the Council). She thanks the Governments of those States for their cooperation prior to and during the visits. 3. The Special Rapporteur has agreed to make country visits to Morocco and Zambia during the course of 2016 and has made requests to visit France and Indonesia. B. Conferences, meetings and engagement with stakeholders 4. The Special Rapporteur participated in numerous conferences and expert meetings, which allowed her to exchange information, share good practices and raise awareness of disability-related issues. In March and April 2015, she participated in the Human Rights Council’s annual interactive debate on the rights of persons with disabilities and in the day of general discussion on inclusive education organized by the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Throughout the year she engaged in the process leading to the 2016 World Humanitarian Summit, and she moderated a session on disability inclusion during the related global consultation that took place in Geneva. 5. In May 2015, the Special Rapporteur undertook an unofficial visit to Helsinki at the invitation of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland to discuss collaboration on her mandate with a broad range of actors working to promote and protect the rights of persons with disabilities. In the same month, she also participated in a high-level meeting on disability organized by the Latvian Presidency of the European Union. 6. In June 2015, the Special Rapporteur participated in the eighth annual Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in New York, and its parallel events. She was closely involved in the final stages of the process leading to the establishment of the Sustainable Development Goals. She advocated for the inclusion of stronger references to persons with disabilities in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and for the adoption of indicators to measure progress in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals in relation to persons with disabilities. 1 See www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Disability/SRDisabilities/Pages/DecisionMaking.aspx. 3