UN pact on disabled rights signed
Ap, United Nations
In what the UN human rights chief called an unprecedented show of support to empower the physically and mentally impaired, 80 countries signed a UN convention enshrining the rights of the world's 650 million disabled. The United Nations held a ceremony Friday on the first day the convention opened for signatures and not only did 80 countries and a representative of the European Union sign it but Jamaica announced that it had also ratified the convention. That means only 19 more ratifications are needed before the convention comes into force, and speaker after speaker urged speedy approval. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour announced the huge level of support at a news conference afterward. "It's certainly unprecedented in terms of support for a human rights instrument, but it's apparently setting records for the signature of any convention in the United Nations," she said. The convention is a blueprint to end discrimination and exclusion of the physically and mentally disabled in education, jobs, and everyday life. It requires countries to guarantee freedom from exploitation and abuse for the disabled, while protecting rights they already have such as voting rights for the blind and wheelchair-accessible buildings.
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