The groundbreaking legally binding treaty entered into force on May 3, 2008, marking an important milestone in efforts to promote, protect and guarantee the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights for all.
Ahead of the 17th Conference of States Parties (COSP17) starting on June 11, here are five quick facts about the Convention and how it affects the lives of 1.3 billion men, women and children with disabilities across the world. continues to influence the world:
© UNICEF/Gorana Banda
A four-year-old boy plays in a learning center in Bratislava, Ukraine.
1. Why the world needs the Convention
People with disabilities face discrimination and the denial of their human rights all over the world. Society’s barriers are the problem, not individual limitations.
That is why the Convention exists.
The Convention is a human rights treaty that sets out how global disability can be made inclusive.
The aim is to create an enabling environment so that people with disabilities can enjoy true equality in society.
UNICEF/Herwig
A nine-year-old child plays seesaw with her friends on an inclusive playground at her school in the Za’atari refugee camp in Jordan.
2. Protected Rights
The Convention emphasizes that people with disabilities should respect their dignity, hear their voices and be involved in making decisions that affect their lives. That includes all rights, from freedom of expression and education to health care and employment.
The treaty directs countries to remove barriers that prevent people with disabilities from fully participating in all areas, from technology to politics.
It addresses these barriers, including discrimination and accessibility, and also calls for equality for women and girls. In addition, the treaty maps out ways in which countries around the world can remove barriers that prevent people with disabilities from fully enjoying all their rights.
UNDP Moldova/Ion Buga
Despite all the technical difficulties when leaving home, Dmitry Kuzuk does his own shopping and leads an independent life in Moldova. (file)
3. How the treaty is enforced
There are different ways in which the Treaty is enforced, respected and implemented.
Individuals can petition the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to report violations of their rights.
“The very existence of the Convention gives persons with disabilities and their organizations the opportunity to say to their governments ‘you have accepted these obligations’ and insist that they be met.” said Don MacKay, chairman of the committee that drafted the treaty.
The 18-member Geneva-based commission can also investigate serious or systematic violations of the Treaty and monitor whether rights are properly applied online and offline in times of peace, war and other crises.
UN photo/Paulo Filgueiras
A young boy attends a panel discussion on health and wellbeing during an event marking World Down Syndrome Day at UN Headquarters. (file)
4. A place at the table
A key to progress is bringing people whose rights are being affected to the table.
This year, hundreds of delegates from non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are coming to New York to participate in the final Conference of States Parties, COSP17, to be held in June 2024, one of the largest global gatherings on the rights of disabled people.
Since the treaty was negotiated, the perspectives and input of people with disabilities have been heard at meetings at the UN and in countries around the world.
The larger table at UN Headquarters now meets accessibility requirements, including wheelchair access, use of hearing loops, braille documentation, use of large print or sign language.
UN photo/Amanda Voisard
Music legend and UN Messenger of Peace Stevie Wonder addresses the 2013 General Assembly high-level meeting on disability and development. (file)
5. In the spotlight
Global celebrities such as visually impaired singer-songwriter and UN messenger of peace Stevie Wonder have also added their voices.
“Someone being seen doesn’t mean they have to be blind to the things in the world that we need to fix,” Mr. Wonder said. saidnoting that there are 300 million people with visual impairment worldwide.
“We are really able-bodied people with different abilities. There must be inclusivity.”
Watch VN videos Stories from the UN Archives on how the music icon challenged assumptions about Braille: here.
“I think there are certain types of stereotypes that we hear about autism, and meeting people who were parents of autistic children or meeting people with autism, I learned very quickly that these types of stereotypes don’t really exist,” she said. the actor. said Dakota Fanning UN news in a conversation about her role as Wendy, who is autistic, in the film Please stand still.
“So I felt like I didn’t want to further the stereotypes and I really wanted to portray her the way I would portray any other young woman,” she said.
“I have lived with discrimination for part of my life,” says Canadian activist, actor and talk show host Nick Herd, born with Down syndrome.
“When I was young and growing up, I was bullied because of my disability, but now I can use that voice, of the child I was, to be heard louder and louder. I can shout it from the top of a building or from a mountain bigger than the UN, so that people with disabilities also have a seat at the table.”
“In wars, people with disabilities are often presented as victims, denied equality in humanitarian support and excluded from peace processes.” said renowned photographer Giles Duley, the first UN Global Advocate for persons with disabilities in conflict and peacebuilding situations.
“It is time for change, and if we work together, we have the power and opportunity to make that change happen.”
Who’s on board?
The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was opened for signature in 2006. These are the people on board:
UN photo/Paulo Filgueiras
The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, awaiting signature by representatives of the Member States in 2006. (file)
- From today, 191 countries and UN observers have ratified the treaty, and 106 have ratified the Optional Protocol
- Since the Convention came into force in 2008, the UN and its agencies have worked to expand its provisions
- The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development aims to leave no one behind in its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
- The Top of the future plans to realign international cooperation so that it is inclusive across the board
- look at the UN Strategy for Disability Inclusion
- The Treaty and its Optional protocol annual meetings of signatories to the treaties – the “Conference of States Parties” (COSP) – to monitor implementation and discuss current themes and trends, with this year’s COSP17 focusing on jobs, technology and humanitarian emergencies during a meeting at UN Headquarters from 11 to 13 June 2024
- Read more about the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities here
- Follow past and current annual Conferences of States Parties (COSP) here
