New Horizons Un-Limited Inc. New Horizons Un-Limited Inc.In the context of the implementation of the convention (Treaty to Ban Discrimination Against People Who Have Disabilities,) the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), in cooperation with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, requests expressions of interest for the development of regional repositories of national legislation on persons with disabilities.
Such repositories should be provided by research centres or other interested institutions capable of collecting, analyzing and providing summaries of acts of parliament, constitutional laws, decrees, and other legal acts of relevance to areas covered in the draft convention at a regional level. Such legal acts should include comprehensive disability specific legislation, anti-discrimination legislation, legislation on specific issues such as employment and education, and relevant constitutional provisions.
This information will be organized and made available through a on-line database for the general public. The information would be organized by country, topic and date. The collection of databases, which will be searchable through search engines, should be useful not only to jurists, but also to government officials and disabled persons organizations in the implementation of the convention.
This month countries can begin signing this important resolution that will extend discrimination protections and the rights to education, health services and transportation for an estimated 650 people million people with disabilities around the world.
President Kaczyński, in his address at receiving the Franklin Delano Roosevelt International Disability Award, said, "For many years, their (650 million people with disabilities around the world) needs and rights tended to be overlooked. Thankfully, that has been changing, but much more must be done. Let us remember that equal participation requires not only dismantling barriers, but creating opportunities. Let us stress that societies that neglect the integration of persons with disabilities deprive themselves of the valuable contributions such individuals make. And let us, finally, reaffirm our commitment to the full participation of disabled people in the economic, social and political lives of their societies."
This article includes excerpts from an August 27th article published on the United Nations website.
This August, after five years of negotiations, member countries of the United Nations have agreed on a new international treaty to protect the rights of persons with disabilities throughout the world. Delegates from more than 100 countries worked with hundreds of representatives from non-governmental disability organizations in drafting the treaty. The message of the treaty, according to UN General Assembly President Jan Eliasson is that "we want to have a life with dignity for all and that all human beings are all equal."
It is no secret that in many countries, including here in the United States, people with disabilities continue to be treated as inferior, as incapable of leading full, productive lives. This mentality has bred insurmountable barriers that continue to limit those with disabilities. Proponents of the convention maintained that the treaty was necessary because persons with disabilities represented one of the most marginalized groups and that their rights had been routinely ignored or denied throughout much of the world.
While the convention does not create new rights, it specifically prohibits discrimination against persons with disabilities in all areas of life, including civil rights, access to justice and the right to education, health services and access to transportation. The convention was largely approved by consensus.
The convention will be formally sent to the General Assembly for adoption at its next session, which begins in September. It will then be open for signing and ratification by all countries.
To review the Draft Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities visit the UN website at www.un.org/esa/socdev/enable/rights/ahc8adart.htm.
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