Convention resolutions input call

The deadline for receipt at the National Office of Local resolutions for our forthcoming Convention is April 3, 2023. 

It is essential that this deadline for resolutions be strictly observed, to ensure that all resolutions may be properly indexed, reproduced and sent to delegates in advance of the Convention dates. 

LOCAL INPUT PROCEDURE 

UVAE Locals must provide their membership with the fullest opportunity for the solicitation, preparation and consideration of Convention resolution input. The following procedures are to establish equal means of participation for all members: 

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2022 Theme: Dignity, Freedom and Justice for All

International Human Rights Day – December 10

Human Rights Day is celebrated every year on December 10 — the day on which the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948.

World Human Rights Day inspires everyone to speak up and take action to end discrimination in all forms, whenever and wherever it happens. This, in a nutshell, is what World Human Rights Day is all about.

World Human Rights Day 2022, and every other World Human Rights Day, is a day to celebrate the achievements of those who have fought for and protected human rights. It is also a day to reflect on the future and work out what needs to be done to make society fairer for everyone.

Learning about human rights helps to develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes that empower us to stand up for our rights as well as those of others.

Here are suggestions for simple activities to get involved:

https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/services/human-rights-commemorative-days/human-rights-day.html

Countdown to Convention 2023

 Greetings! 

The UVAE National Executive has confirmed that the Nineteenth Triennial Component Convention is to be held in Vancouver, B.C. in 2023. 

The Place: Fairmont Waterfront Hotel 

The Dates: October 12-15, 2023 

A separate convention bulletin will be issued on the preparation and submission of convention resolutions. 

Local Presidents are asked to arrange their Annual General meetings of their Local as per UVAE Local By-Law 9, Section 9, “the Annual General meeting of the Local shall be between January 1st and March 15th.” As per By-Law 10, Section 12, “the Local President is the automatic first delegate to Convention.” These meetings will deal with the following important issues, approval and submission of convention resolutions, and election of alternate convention delegates as per By-Law 10, Section 12. 

If for any reason you must vacate your union position, please ensure that you share all convention material with your replacement and advise the National Office immediately. 

In Solidarity, 

Virginia Vaillancourt, 

National President 

International Day of Persons with Disabilities December 3rd, 2022

Today, the world population is over 7 billion people and more than one billion people, or approximately 15 per cent of the world’s population, live with some form of disability; 80 per cent live in developing countries.

What disability means

A disability is a condition or function judged to be significantly impaired relative to the usual standard of an individual of their group. The term is often used to refer to individual functioning, including physical impairment, sensory impairment, cognitive impairment, intellectual impairment, mental illness, and various types of chronic disease. This usage has been described by some disabled people as being associated with a medical model of disability.

Persons with disabilities, “the world’s largest minority”, have generally poorer health, lower education achievements, fewer economic opportunities and higher rates of poverty than people without disabilities. This is largely due to the lack of services available to them (like information and communications technology (ICT), justice or transportation) and the many obstacles they face in their everyday lives. These obstacles can take a variety of forms, including those relating to the physical environment, or those resulting from legislation or policy, or from societal attitudes or discrimination.

People with disabilities are at much higher risk of violence:

  • Children with disabilities are almost four times more likely to experience violence than non-disabled children.
  • Adults with some form or disability are 1.5 times more likely to be a victim of violence than those without a disability.
  • Adults with mental health conditions are at nearly four times the risk of experiencing violence.

Factors which place people with disabilities at higher risk of violence include stigma, discrimination, and ignorance about disability, as well as a lack of social support for those

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) recognizes that the existence of barriers constitutes a central component of disability. Under the Convention, disability is an evolving concept that “results from the interaction between persons with impairments and attitudinal and environmental barriers that hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others.”

Facts & Figures 

  • 7 billion people: world population
  • Over 1 billion people in the world have some form of disability, that’s 1 in 7
  • More than 100 million disabled persons are children
  • Children with disabilities are almost four times more likely to experience violence than non-disabled children
  • 80% of all people with disabilities live in a developing country
  • 50% of disabled persons cannot afford health care
  • 180 countries have ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
  • 7 targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) explicitly refer to persons with disabilities