Burton Blatt Institute and the Syracuse University College of Law to pay tribute to Ecuadorian Ambassador Luis Gallegos Chiriboga in commemoration of the First Anniversary of the UN Disability Convention.
The Burton Blatt Institute and the Syracuse University College of Law would like to commemorate the first anniversary of the UN Disability Convention by highlighting the dignity and rights of persons with disabilities and paying tribute to one of the leaders whose important work has successfully gained international attention to people with disabilities’ struggles and aspirations to be valued as part of communities worldwide.
The reception will serve to publicly thank Ambassador Gallegos for his commitment to forge a consensus in the Ad Hoc Committee on a Comprehensive and Integral International Convention on the Rights of Persons with disabilities and for his constant advocacy to advance the social, civic, and economic participation of people with disabilities worldwide.
Ambassador Gallegos chaired the Ad Hoc Committee on a Comprehensive and Integral International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2002-2005), a subsidiary body of the General Assembly of the United Nations charged with the mandate of elaborating an international convention on the rights of persons with disabilities. Approved December 13, 2006 by the General Assembly’s 192 member states, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is the start of equalizing opportunities around the world.
Mr. Gallegos, who began his foreign service career in 1969 as a general assistant in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Organization of American States Department, is taking up his new position after having served since January 2002 as Ambassador Designate, Permanent Representative of Ecuador to the United Nations.
Prior to that posting, from 1997 to 2000, Mr. Gallegos was his country’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office in Geneva. From 1994 to 1997, he served as Ecuador’s Ambassador to El Salvador. Mr. Gallegos’ other foreign postings include as Minister, from 1985 to 1989, in the Ecuadorian Embassy in Bulgaria, and as Counsellor, from 1979 to 1980, in the Embassy of Ecuador in the United States. From 1975 to 1978, he served as Ecuador’s Consul-General in Chicago, United States. He was the Alternative Representative of Ecuador to the Organization of American States from 1978 to 1979.
From 1984 to 1994, Mr. Gallegos held the position of Director-General in his country’s Foreign Ministry with responsibility for a succession of areas, including: International Projects; Eastern Europe; Information and Press; and Technical Cooperation and External Credit.
In addition to representing his country at many international conferences, Mr. Gallegos served as Vice-Chairman of the Human Rights Commission, Geneva, 1998; Vice-Chairman of the General Assembly of the Parties to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), 1997 to 1999; Chairman of the Second Main Committee of the Diplomatic Conference for the Adoption of a New Act of the Hague Agreement, WIPO, Geneva, 1999; Vice-Chairman of the Group of 77 Meeting, Morocco, 1999; and Chairman of the Berne Union, 1999-2001. He is an expert of the Committee against torture since 2006.
Mr. Gallegos received a Master of Arts from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, in 1983. He also holds a diploma from the Institute of Advanced National Studies, Ninth Course on Security and Development. He received both his law degree and his Doctorate in Jurisprudence from the Universidad Central, Ecuador, in 1975.
In November 2001, the UN General Assembly established an Ad Hoc Committee (AHC) to consider proposals for a convention addressing the rights and of persons with disabilities. This action came as a result of many years of advocacy by the disability community for the inclusion of disability in the UN human rights legal framework. The reception is to take place on Wednesday, December 5, 2007 from 5:30 p.m. until 7 p.m. in Washington, D.C. at 1667 K Street, Suite 640. Light refreshments will follow. RSVP by Thursday, November 22nd to Nakia Matthews at 202-296-2040, or nmatthews@ndi-inc.org.
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