Catalina Devandas Aguilar

Catalina Devandas Aguilar is a Costa Rican lawyer who served as the first United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities from 2014 until 2020. She worked previously for the World Bank and took part in the establishment of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities with the United Nations Secretariat. She has spina bifida and uses a wheelchair.[1][2]

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Devandas and the second or maternal family name is Aguilar.
Catalina Devandas Aguilar
United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Assumed office
1 December 2014
Preceded byPosition established
Personal details
NationalityCosta Rican

Career

Devandas-Aguilar began her career as an attorney in 1993, working as lawyer until 1999.[2]

She has previously consulted for the World Bank and was part of the United Nations Secretariat that established the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. In 2009, Ms. Devandas Aguilar began working for the Disability Rights Advocacy Fund and the Disability Rights Fund.[3] In 2014, Aguilar was named the first United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.[4]

During her time as Special Rapporteur, she traveled to multiple countries to determine the conditions of people with disabilities. In 2016, Ms. Devandas Aguilar analyzed the status of people with disabilities in Zambia.[5] After her visit, she recommended that Zambia should invest in disability rights and prevent violence against people with disabilities.[6]

In 2017, she became the first member of the United Nations to be granted a visit to North Korea.[7] After her trip to North Korea, she reported that she was prevented from meeting with several North Korean ministries.[8] Her recommendations to North Korea included the stoppage of discriminatory language against North Koreans with disabilities and the creation of more accessible methods for deaf and blind North Koreans.[9]

References
  1. "OHCHR | Ms Catalina Devandas Aguilar". www.ohchr.org. Retrieved 2019-12-12.
  2. "Catalina Devandas Aguilar: empowering people with disabilities". Bulletin of the World Health Organization. 97 (1): 8–9. 2019-01-01. doi:10.2471/BLT.19.030119. ISSN 0042-9686. PMC 6307513. PMID 30618460.
  3. "Catalina Devandas-Aguilar appointed as Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities". United States Council on Disabilities. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  4. "Ms Catalina Devandas Aguilar". Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  5. "UN rights expert arrives in Zambia this week to assess the situation of persons with disabilities". Lusaka Times. 17 April 2016. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
  6. ""Zambia has the potential to become a disability champion in the African region" – UN expert". Office of the High Commissioner. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
  7. England, Charlotte (28 April 2017). "North Korea agrees to visit from UN human rights expert for first time". Independent. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  8. Shim, Elizabeth (16 May 2017). "U.N. disabilities rapporteur denied multiple requests in North Korea". UPI. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
  9. "End of Mission Statement by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities, Ms. Catalina Devandas-Aguilar, on her visit to the DPRK". Office of the High Commissioner. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
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