The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, adopted in New York, is not only the first human rights treaty of the 21st century and should not only mark a significant improvement in the treatment of disabled people but it also recognizes that a change of attitude is vital if disabled people are to achieve equal status. Persons with disabilities remain among the most marginalized of all sectors of the populations and are prevented by a wide range of physical, legal and social barriers from achieving their full potential. It is estimated, for example, that 90 percent of children with disabilities in developing countries do not go to school. As a result, they are less likely to get a job or have a chance at pursuing their dreams or fulfilling their potential than other people. Persons with disabilities often lack legal recourse to protect their rights and their needs for access to health, transportation and justice are often overlooked or ignored.
But the new convention could change so much of this inequality, leading the way to legislation that reshapes the public’s thinking about people with disabilities in everything from access to public buildings and other civic facilities such as transportation, education, employment and recreation. Those countries that have signed the treaty must now enact laws and other measures to improve disability rights and also agree to get rid of legislation, customs and practices that discriminate against the disabled. The signatories are now obliged to combat negative stereotypes and prejudices and to promote an awareness of people’s abilities and contributions to society.
The treaty is expected to be adopted by the UN General Assembly next month but countries will need some time before its provisions can be fully implemented. Given the economic, social and cultural differences across the world, it will be some years before the minimum standards set out in the convention will be universally applied. As such, a treaty-monitoring mechanism should work closely with intergovernmental mechanisms and UN agencies to ensure that all persons with disabilities enjoy their full human rights. As so often in past UN resolutions on world-shaping issues, there is a huge difference between resolutions passed and when, how, to what extent or indeed whether they are applied. An international monitoring mechanism is thus necessary to ensure compliance with the convention.
For campaigners who say that for too long the world’s largest minority has been pushed to the margins of society, the convention is seen as a welcome first step. Prior to the treaty’s adoption, only about 45 countries had legislation that dealt with the disabled. The new treaty should mark a major shift in the way the world’s 650 million people — or one in 10 of the world’s population — with disabilities are treated.
The convention is not in the business of telling countries what they can or cannot do. Its simple message is that the disabled are not to be pushed aside and that they must have access to the full range of human rights.
