This past fall 2023 semester, HPOD advanced research and awareness-raising activities at the intersections of the human rights of older persons, climate change, international humanitarian law, and more, as part of its ongoing efforts to enabling civil society to undertake informed disability rights advocacy.
HPOD continued its advocacy and awareness-raising activities to inform the work of both policymakers and civil society stakeholders on key disability rights issues, including raising awareness of the need for stronger international legal protections for older persons’ human rights, promoting disability justice in the context of climate change litigation, and empowering self-advocates to use research as a tool for making their voices heard.
HPOD organized a series of timely events on emerging issues, including reckoning with the history of state institutions for persons with disabilities, strengthening international humanitarian legal protections for marginalized groups, and advocating for a disability-inclusive global climate agenda. Finally, in December 2023, HPOD’s Executive Director, Professor Michael Ashley Stein, was awarded the prestigious Dole-Harkin Award by the U.S. International Council on Disability in recognition of the exceptional impact his scholarship and advocacy has had on the global disability rights movement.
By partnering with HPOD, you help amplify the voices of persons with disabilities worldwide. Your support helps provide legal innovation, global advocacy, and access to essential human rights research.
HPOD organized a series of timely events on emerging issues, including litigation strategies for advancing disability climate justice, ongoing efforts to end the mass incarceration of persons of color with disabilities, and promoting awareness of the CRPD in the context of climate risks and emergencies. HPOD also assessed the implications of the passing of Sir Robert Martin, the only person with intellectual disability ever named to a UN treaty body, for self-advocates’ future involvement in the CRPD Committee’s periodic monitoring process. Last, in May 2024, HPOD’s China Program Director, Dr. Fengming Cui, was awarded the Maria McTernan Leadership Award by the Charles River Center in recognition of her demonstrated outstanding leadership in supporting the disability community.