Nothing about us, without us! / Medicus Mundi Switzerland

IIn 2006, the UN adopted the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), reaffirming that all persons with disabilities enjoy all human rights and fundamental freedoms. While the concerns of people with disabilities were previously perceived medically, the focus is now on promoting, protecting, and ensuring the full enjoyment of all human rights by persons with disabilities. The rights-based approach to disability views the person and her/his rights first, and recognizes capacity, right to participation and social responsibility for inclusion for all. Switzerland ratified the CRPD 2014. This means that Switzerland is legally bound to implement the Convention including in its international cooperation and humanitarian action.

In this episode, Carine Weiss talks to the Head of Advocacy at CBM Switzerland, Mirjam Gasser, and Chris Heer, self-advocate on the rights of persons with disabilities and head of Equality and Social Policy from the organization of persons with disabilities AGILE.CH. They talk about what it means to live with a disability in Switzerland and about the historical background to the Swiss disability movement. We talk about the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), what a human rights-based approach to disability means, and the implementation of the CRPD in and by Switzerland. Lastly, we discuss why equal participation is so essential for the inclusion of persons with disabilities and how this can and should look like both nationally and within Swiss international cooperation.

Transcript of the Podcast Season on Disability Inclusive Development - Episode 2

Mirjam Gasser has been working at CBM Switzerland as Head of Advocacy for the last 4.5 years and set up and shaped the advocacy department. Mirjam is also a member of the management team of CBM Switzerland. Beforehand, she worked at WWF Switzerland in the field of energy politics as well as for the Swiss Federal Office for the Equality of Persons with Disabilities on the inclusion of persons with disabilities in Switzerland. Mirjam holds a Masters in Political Science and International Relations as well as a Certificate of Advanced Studies in Development and Cooperation.

Chris Heer is head of gender equality and disability policy at AGILE.CH since May 2021. After several years as a lawyer in the private sector and state-affiliated companies, most recently at Swissgrid AG, Chris Heer is now full-time at AGILE.CH for the equality and inclusion of people with disabilities. Chris Heer brings a wide range of expertise in the legal bases of the areas of equality and social policy. She has been campaigning for the equality and visibility of people with disabilities for two decades, has many years of experience in leading self-help organizations for persons with disabilities, has experience in intersectional campaigns and project work and is used to representing the demands of persons with disabilities in the media.

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Season 4

Nothing about us, without us!

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