First Israeli to serve on the UN CRPD
Occupied Palestine (QNN)- Despite the long Israeli record of violations against disabled Palestinians, an Israeli woman was elected on Monday to serve on the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRDP).
Odelia Fitoussi, 43-year-old with muscular dystrophy, is the first Israeli to serve on the committee.
She was elected with the support of 109 countries, according to Israel’s Mission to the UN in New York.
An historic and exciting moment for #Israel and our #UN mission! With the support of 109 countries, Odelia Fitoussi was elected to the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the first Israeli to hold this position. Good luck Odelia🇮🇱 pic.twitter.com/j6s2elrC6K
— Israel Mission to UN (@IsraelinUN) November 30, 2020
“I am sure your important voice at the UN will be a positive influence for people with #disabilities around the world. We are so proud of you!” Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin tweeted.
Warm congratulations to Odelia Fittousi who has been elected as a member of the @UN #CRPD panel for persons with disabilities. I am sure your important voice at the UN will be a positive influence for people with #disabilities around the world. We are so proud of you!@UN_Enable pic.twitter.com/pMPMHua93O
— Reuven Rivlin (@PresidentRuvi) December 1, 2020
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also called Fitoussi and told her he appreciates her “abilities and skills that led her to be elected to a significant and important position in the international arena.”
התקשרתי לברך את אודלי-ה פיטוסי על שנבחרה לכהן כחברה בוועדת האו״ם לאנשים עם מוגבלויות.
הישג חשוב וכל כך ראוי לאודלי-ה, מקצוענית ומוכשרת, שהגיעה בזכות עצמה לתפקיד משמעותי וחשוב בזירה הבינלאומית. בהצלחה רבה! עם ישראל גאה בך 🇮🇱 pic.twitter.com/HjP4892CCA
— Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) December 1, 2020
It’s worth mentioning that Palestinians with diaabilities are not spared Israeli occuption widespread and systematic human rights violations targeting the Palestinian people in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Israeli occupation authorities have failed to fulfil the rights of Palestinians under the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and their obligations under international humanitarian law and international human rights law.
14 Palestinian persons with disabilities have been killed by the Israeli occupation forces in the occupied Palestinian territories since the start of 2018.
8 persons with disabilities have been killed by the Israeli occupation forces during the Great Return March demonstrations in the Gaza Strip.
More recently, the Israeli occupation forces shot dead 31-year-old Palestinian peeson with disability, autism, Iyad Al-Hallaq in occupied East Jerusalem, in what amounts to a war crime.
