The IDA CRPD Forum has been set-up by the International Disability Alliance (IDA) to continue the work of the International Disability Caucus. The IDA CRPD Forum upholds the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) as the universal standard for the human rights of all persons with disabilities that takes precedence over previous instruments. It is a binding treaty that entered into force for States Parties on May 3, 2008, together with its Optional Protocol authorizing individual complaints, and it reflects the most recent consensus of the United Nations General Assembly on the subject matter of the human rights of persons with disabilities. As such, it is relevant as a guide to interpretation of other treaties and obligations under international law, all of which must be applied without discrimination based on disability.

The adoption of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) is not the end of the process, but the beginning of a long and difficult process to put the CRPD into practice.

If the Convention is really going to have the impact we all wish it to have, the disability movement led by the International Disability Alliance needs to engage actively and in a coordinated way in all the stages of ratification, implementation and monitoring of the Convention. It will be vital to ensure that the DPOs at national, regional and international level, representatives of our diverse constituencies, and allied NGOs such as development and human rights organisations, act in a coordinated way. The aim of the IDA CRPD Forum is to develop a strong unified voice from civil society led by Disabled people's organisations, DPOs, in matters concerning the CRPD.

The key to a strong Convention is the number of people we reach, so it is expected, that all participants of this Elist whether DPOs and/or Individuals will develop wide networks with whom they consult and whom they inform.