What is the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities?

The rights of persons with disabilities are grounded in a broad human rights framework based on the United Nations Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, international covenants on human rights and other human rights instruments.

On December 13, 2006, the General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Optional Protocol to the Convention was opened for signature at the United Nations headquarters in New York on March 30, 2007…

What is the Optional Protocol?

The Protocol is a separate document that will enable individuals to seek redress for treaty violations after exhausting remedies available under their national laws. It requires its own ratification, and becomes legally binding when 10 nations ratify.

Why do we need the UN Convention?

Human rights treaties, also known as conventions, put into words commonly agreed upon human rights shared by human beings around the world. Most treaties are developed through the United Nations and other international bodies.

For countries that sign and ratify them, conventions become legally binding international law. Some apply to all human beings while others focus on the rights of specific populations such as women, children, or refugees.

The existing core human rights treaties are rarely used to enforce the human rights of people with disabilities. They don’t adequately address the physical, social, cultural, economic and legal barriers to inclusion of, and participation by, people with disabilities in all aspects of life.

Want to Know More?

The above summary comes from the Ratify Now website. It is a great resource for everything Convention related.

The official United Nations Convention site can be found here.

The Mental Disability Advocacy Centre is another great resource for more Convention information.

Still Want More?

The UN has published a Handbook for Parliamentarians that contains the Conventionas well as a discussion on the meaning behind each of the sections. You can download the PDF here, or apply here for a free hardcopy.