UN Disability Convention news item
From DADEL
UN Convention on Disability Rights Takes Another Step Towards Entry into Force
1 August 2007 -- The Comprehensive and Integral International Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities was adopted by the UN General Assembly in New York on December 13, 2006. There are currently 101 signatories to the Convention and 55 signatories to the Optional Protocol. On July 20, 2007, Hungary became the second country to ratify the Convention, after Jamaica. The Convention will enter into force 30 days after it has been ratified by twenty countries.
The Convention was the fastest treaty ever negotiated at the UN and provides that signatory States should improve disability rights, as well as abolish discriminatory practices. This Convention is of great necessity, since as many as two-thirds of UN Member States currently do not have any legal protection for persons with disabilities.
In her call for ratification, Louise Arbour, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, noted that the Convention fills a major gap in international human rights law. “The convention… marks a historic step in ensuring that persons with disabilities enjoy full participation in society and can contribute to the community to their full potential. Speedy ratification… will end the protection vacuum that has, in practice, affected persons with disabilities,” Ms. Arbour said.
More information
UN press release on signatories milestone (11 July 2007)
UN press release on adoption of convention (13 December 2006)