[Irl-dean] Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities set to enter into force on 3 May 08 (FYI)

[Mark Magennis]

WITH 20 RATIFICATIONS, LANDMARK DISABILITY TREATY SET TO ENTER INTO  
FORCE ON 3 MAY
Ecuador today became the twentieth country to ratify the landmark  
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which is now  
set to enter into force on 3 May. The Convention needed 20  
ratifications to take effect.

The Convention, the first new human rights treaty of the twenty-first  
century, is designed to protect the rights of the world’s estimated  
650 million people with disabilities.

With 126 countries having signed the Convention since 30 March 2007,  
and 71 having signed its Optional Protocol, which will enter into  
force at the same time, the treaty will allow individuals and groups  
to petition for relief. The Convention takes effect 30 days after the  
twentieth ratification, and a Conference of the Parties must be  
convened within six months.

Progress towards moving the Convention into force has been relatively  
quick and has been attributed to the strong commitment of United  
Nations Member States, as well as advocacy by the global disability  
movement, which was instrumental in drafting the pact. Jamaica was the  
first country to ratify the Convention, and this week, Jordan, Tunisia  
and Ecuador ratified it, providing a sufficient number of parties for  
the Convention to enter into force.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon congratulated the States  
that have already ratified the Convention so far. “The Convention,  
together with its Optional Protocol, is deeply rooted in the firm  
commitment of the international community to rectifying the egregious  
neglect and dehumanizing practices that violate the human rights of  
persons with disabilities.” He added: “This is a historic moment in  
the history of our quest for realization of the universal human rights  
for all persons.”


As many as two thirds of United Nations Member States have no legal  
protection for people with disabilities, according to the United  
Nations Focal Point on Disability, Akiko Ito, even though they  
comprise 1 in 10 of the global population.

The Convention seeks to “ensure that people with disabilities enjoy  
the universal human rights that everyone else does in their respective  
societies”.

Adopted by the General Assembly in December 2006, the Convention was  
one of the fastest treaties ever negotiated at the United Nations. The  
pact provides that States which ratify it must enact laws and other  
measures to improve disability rights and also abolish legislation,  
customs and practices that discriminate against persons with  
disabilities.

The Convention does not see disability as an unchangeable medical  
condition, but as the result of interaction between people and  
removable hurdles. “Disability,” it says, “results from the  
interaction between persons with impairments and attitudinal and  
environmental barriers that hinders their full and effective  
participation in society on an equal basis with others.”


The Convention has prompted action even before entering into force.  
Jamaica has drafted a National Disability Act, while Panama and  
Trinidad and Tobago has incorporated the Convention into national  
legislation. Activists around the world have called on their  
Governments to ratify and implement the treaty.

The United Nations will convene a special ceremony in the General  
Assembly Hall to mark the Convention’s entry into force, in New York  
on 12 May, with participants from Governments, United Nations agencies  
and civil society.

For more information, please contact Franck Kuwonu, Department of  
Public Information, tel.: +1 212 963 8264, e-mail: Kuwonu at un.org; or  
Sayre Nyce, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, tel.: +1 917  
367 8090, e-mail nyce at un.org.




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