22 September 2026
The United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD Committee) monitors how States implement the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and issues recommendations to strengthen the rights of persons with disabilities.
Each year, the Committee reviews a number of countries to assess progress in implementing the CRPD at the national level and identify areas where further action is needed.
The 35th Session of the CRPD Committee, held from 12 to 27 August 2026, reviewed the implementation of the Convention in Chile, Lithuania, Qatar, Slovakia and Sri Lanka.
For IFSBH Members, the UN review process is an important opportunity to ensure that the experiences, priorities and concerns of people with SBH are reflected in the Committee’s assessment and recommendations.
Putting SBH experiences on the UN agenda
Ahead of the 35th Session, IFSBH supported its Members to engage in the CRPD review process, through individual meetings, guidance, and follow-up. This support is available to Members whose countries are being reviewed by the Committee.
The Corporación Espina Bífida Chile, and the Slovak Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus Association, seized this opportunity to raise their experiences at the UN, demonstrating how IFSBH Members can contribute directly to the CRPD review process.
Both national SBH organisations prepared and submitted reports to the UN Committee, providing information from the perspective of people with SBH and highlighting areas where implementation of the CRPD needs to improve in their country.
Report of Corporación Espina Bífida Chile: https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=INT%2FCRPD%2FCSS%2FCHL%2F69628&Lang=en
Report of Slovak Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus Association: https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=INT%2FCRPD%2FCSS%2FSVK%2F69933&Lang=en
Their contributions demonstrate the important role that national SBH organisations can play in bringing lived experience and SBH-specific expertise into international human rights monitoring.
For Members considering engagement in the CRPD process, a report does not need to address every aspect of disability rights. By identifying the issues that matter most to their communities and providing evidence and concrete recommendations, national organisations can help the Committee better understand the realities faced by people with SBH.
Why this participation matters
People with SBH have lifelong and complex needs across healthcare, rehabilitation, education, accessibility, and independent living. These issues can be overlooked when disability rights are addressed only at a general level.
By engaging in the CRPD review, IFSBH Members can help ensure that:
- SBH-specific barriers are visible in the CRPD review process;
- the experiences of people with SBH and their families inform the Committee’s assessment;
- national governments receive concrete recommendations from the Committee addressing gaps in implementation;
- the Committee recommendation can be used as a tool for national advocacy and policy change.
Importantly, the reports prepared by our Members are not only useful for the UN review. They can also serve as advocacy tools at national level, providing evidence and recommendations that can support continued engagement with governments, policymakers and other stakeholders.
From UN recommendations to national action
Following the Session, the Committee publishes Concluding Observations for each country under review, setting out its recommendations on the steps States should take to strengthen the implementation of the CRPD at national level.
For Members, the publication of the Concluding Observations is not the end of the process. They provide an important advocacy tool that Members can use to engage with governments, policymakers and other stakeholders and push for concrete action and change.
IFSBH will continue to support its Members in using the CRPD framework and the Committee’s recommendations to advance the rights of people with Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus.
We thank our Members in Chile and Slovakia for their important contributions to the 35th Session and for helping ensure that the voices, experiences and priorities of the SBH community are heard at UN level.
Looking ahead, the countries to be reviewed during the 36th Session have not yet been officially confirmed by the CRPD Committee. IFSBH will monitor the publication of the official session programme and keep Members informed as soon as the dates and countries are confirmed. Members whose countries are selected for review will then have an opportunity to consider whether and how they wish to contribute, with support from IFSBH.
