Nadia Hadad, European Network for Independent Living (ENIL), Belgium

H.E. Lenín Voltaire Moreno Garcés, UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy on Disability and Accessibility

Lenin Moreno Garcés was the Vice-president of Ecuador from 2007 to 2013, carrying out unprecedented work to promote the rights of persons with disability in his country. The national programs “Misión Manuela Espejo” and “Joaquín Gallegos Lara” have been successfully replicated in several Latin American countries. In recognition of his achievements Mr. Moreno was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2012. He is appointed as Special Envoy on Disability and Accessibility.

Catalina Devandas, new Special Rapporteur on Disability, OHCHR, Costa Rica

She is a lawyer by training and human rights advocate, who has worked extensively on disability issues at the national, regional and international level. Before taking up her duties as first Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities on 1 December 2014, she was working as a Program Officer for Strategic Partnerships with the Disability Rights Advocacy Fund, and was formerly with the United Nations Secretariat unit responsible for the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).

She is a human right activist since her young age. She became a disability-inclusion policy officer for ngo PHOS (Platform Disability and development Cooperation), also a member of the EU and UN task group of IDDC (International Disability Development Consortium). She became board member of: BROG (Brussels healthcare council), Onafhankelijk Leven and European Network Independent Living (ENIL). She’s a member of the Belgian Supervising Commission inside the independent mechanism of the UN CRPD for GRIP (Equal Rights for each person with a disability).

Ingrid Heindorf, Human Rights Officer, World Future Council, Switzerland

Ingrid is Human Rights Officer of the World Future Council and the Coordinator of the WFC’s Geneva Liaison Office, from where she coordinates the Zero Project’s policy research and conference organisation. Previously, she worked at the UNESCO Chair for Religious Pluralism and Peace, and collaborated with † Professor Pier Cesare Bori, Chair of Human Rights and Moral Philosophy, both at the University of Bologna. She holds a Master’s Degree (with honours) in International Relations.

Frederique Wiemeijer, Essl Foundation, Austria

Frédérique Wiemeijer joined the Essl Foundation in 2014 and assists in building new partnerships with international organizations and in identifying new opportunities for the Zero Project. She has a background in Communication, Programme and Resource Mobilization and served UNICEF for almost a decade. She supported the development of the organizations’ global fundraising strategies and was active in different thematic areas contributing to many successful partnerships and cause- related marketing - and advocacy campaigns. H.E. Thomas Hajnoczi, Permanent Representative of Austria to the UN in Geneva

Ambassador Thomas Hajnoczi has been serving as Permanent Representative of Austria to the United Nations Office at Geneva since April 2013.

Prior to his appointment to Geneva, from 2009 to 2013, Mr. Hajnoczi was Permanent Representative of Austria to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. From 1999 to 2003 Mr. Hajnoczi held the position of Austrian Ambassador to Norway. Mr. Hajnoczi studied law and economics in Vienna and received his doctorate degree in law in 1977. He joined the Austrian Foreign Service in 1978.

H.E. Thani Thongphakdi, Permanent Representative of Thailand to the UN in Geneva

Biography forthcoming

H.E. Regina Cordeiro Dunlop, Permanent Representative of Brazil to the UN in Geneva

Biography forthcoming