Vision Australia’s Deputy Chairman, Professor Ron McCallum has been appointed as one of 12 independent experts from across the globe to serve on the first monitoring committee for the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at the United Nations.
This prestigious appointment makes Prof. McCallum the only Australian currently serving on a U.N. treaty body.
“The purpose of the Convention is to ensure that people with disabilities have the same rights as anyone else within the global community. My role on the committee will be to monitor how different nations work to achieve this,” Prof. McCallum said shortly after his appointment last month.
“Issues such as education, employment and health are key to ensuring that people with disabilities are able to live the lives they choose. My work with Vision Australia has given me insight into how increasing access to print information is vital to improving these three areas,” he said.
Prof. McCallum is a leading figure in the blindness community and a great inspiration for many Australians.
Vision Australia CEO, Mr. Gerard Menses says: “Professor McCallum’s appointment to this U.N. Committee is a real step towards removing all barriers for people with a disability. We are thrilled that his wisdom and passion will serve the globe through monitoring such an important Convention.”
The Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is a body of independent experts which monitors implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
As well as his position as Deputy Chairman of Vision Australia, Prof. McCallum is Chairman of Radio for the Print Handicapped and the inaugural President of the Australian Labour Law Association. In 2006 he was awarded an Order of Australia for services to academia and Australia’s disability sector.
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