On International Disability Day, Number of States Ratifying UN Disability Rights Convention Climbs to Ten
Rehabilitation International - Global Disability Network Urges Governments to Continue to Build on Momentum
(United Nations, New York, USA, 3 December 2007): RI congratulates the Governments of Bangladesh, South Africa and Spain for ratifying the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) on November 30, 2007 and today, in honor of the UN's International Day of Disabled Persons. South Africa and Spain also ratified the Convention's Optional Protocol. As part of its Global Advocacy Campaign, RI continues to urge all countries to ratify the CRPD and the Optional Protocol as soon as possible and without reservations and declarations.
Today marks the first UN International Day of Disabled Persons since the CRPD opened for signature on March 30, 2007. Both the Convention and the observance of the International Day aim to promote the rights of persons with disabilities and raise awareness of disability-related issues.
RI President Michael Fox stated, "RI applauds the Governments of Bangladesh, South Africa and Spain for recognizing the importance of this day by taking real steps toward improving the lives of persons with disabilities in their countries and throughout the international community. As only 10 more states need to ratify before the UN Convention becomes international law, we trust that this day will encourage more states to move towards achieving this significant threshold."
http://www.un.org/disabilities/
To commemorate the day's theme of "Decent Work for Persons with Disabilities," RI, the School of Information Science and the Burton Blatt Institute (BBI) at Sycracuse University and the Global Applied Disability Research and Information Network (GLADNET) organized a virtual dialogue with participants from different sectors (e.g., government, UN, private companies, disabled peoples' organizations) in New York, Washington DC, Beijing, Budapest, Geneva, Islamabad and Johannesburg, among others. RI extends its gratitude to the World Bank, the International Labour Organization (ILO) Office in Washington, DC, and the Permanent Mission of Finland to the UN in New York for sponsoring this event. Participants in the e-dialogue, entitled "Roadmap Out of Poverty: An Initiative to Promote Inclusive Economic Development and Work and Economic Empowerment Strategies for Persons with Disabilities Worldwide", discussed ways to address barriers to the employment for persons with disabilities and strengthen alliances for inclusive economic development. The dialogue opened with statements from Ambassador Luis Gallegos of Ecuador, who served as the first Chair of the CRPD negotiations, and Sheikha Hissa Al-Thani, UN Special Rapporteur on Disability.
The web dialogue is the first stage of the Roadmap Out of Poverty project, an 8-month initiative, which includes e-discussion, virtual forum activities, a repository of papers, and presentations on relevant topics such as employment, micro-enterprise, health, education, housing, transportation, good practices, and a series of checklists for the implementation of Article 27 and other CRPD articles related to decent work and economic self-sufficiency for people with disabilities.
The CRPD, the first human rights treaty of the 21st century, represents an essential legal instrument prohibiting discrimination against persons with disabilities in all areas of life, and includes specific provisions related to rehabilitation, habilitation, education, employment, health and access to information, public facilities and services - all of these interlinking issues must be addressed when it comes to promoting decent work and employment for persons with disabilities. The Optional Protocol concerns how individuals or groups can seek redress for violations of the CRPD once national remedies are exhausted. (Attached is a current list of all signatories and state parties to the CRPD and Optional Protocol).
For more information on the UN Convention and contact details of experts within the RI membership, please contact Tomas Lagerwall ([log in to unmask]), RI Secretary General, or Shantha Rau ([log in to unmask]), Senior Program Officer, at +1-212-420-1500. www.riglobal.org
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