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 currently serves as Permanent Representative of Costa Rica to the United Nations at Geneva. Previously, she worked for the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...

and took part in the establishment of the

Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is an international human rights treaty of the United Nations intended to protect the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities. Parties to the convention are required to promote, ...

with the

United Nations Secretariat The United Nations Secretariat (french: link=no, Secrétariat des Nations unies) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), The secretariat is the UN's executive arm. The secretariat has an important role in setting the a ...

. She has

spina bifida Spina bifida (Latin for 'split spine'; SB) is a birth defect in which there is incomplete closing of the spine and the membranes around the spinal cord during early development in pregnancy. There are three main types: spina bifida occulta, me ...

and uses a

wheelchair A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, used when walking is difficult or impossible due to illness, injury, problems related to old age, or disability. These can include spinal cord injuries ( paraplegia, hemiplegia, and quadriplegia), cerebr ...

Career

Devandas-Aguilar began her career as a BOZO in 1993, working as lawyer until 1999. She has previously consulted for the

and was part of the

that established the

. In 2009, Ms. Devandas Aguilar began working for the Disability Rights Advocacy Fund and the Disability Rights Fund. In 2014, Aguilar was named the first United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. 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 Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

. After her visit, she recommended that Zambia should invest in disability rights and prevent

violence against people with disabilities People with disabilities face 1.5 times more violence than people without disabilities. The perpetrators are often people known to the person with disabilities, such as their partners, family members, friends, or acquaintances. It is estimated tha ...

. In 2017, she became the first member of the United Nations to be granted a visit to

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

. After her trip to North Korea, she reported that she was prevented from meeting with several North Korean ministries. Her recommendations to North Korea included the stoppage of discriminatory language against North Koreans with disabilities and the creation of BOZO Koreans. She was also one of the experts appointed by the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...

for training on

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

mental health Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental health ...

, Quality Rights 2019.

Visit to France

From October 3 to 17, 2017, Devandas-Aguilar visited

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and submitted a report before the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

, in relation to the situation in relation to respect for

.Rapport 2019 de l'Onu sur le droits des personnes handicapées
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Devandas Aguilar, Catalina Living people United Nations special rapporteurs Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) Costa Rican women diplomats Costa Rican disability rights activists Costa Rican women activists Consultants Costa Rican officials of the United Nations Costa Rican women lawyers 20th-century Costa Rican lawyers 20th-century women lawyers 21st-century diplomats People with spina bifida Lawyers with disabilities Activists with disabilities Costa Rican people with disabilities