Human Rights Watch: "Ratify Disability Rights Treaty Without Further Delay"

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US: Expand Protections for People With Disabilities

Ratify Disability Rights Treaty Without Further Delay

(New York) – The United States should mark July 26, 2013, the 23rd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), by strengthening legal protections for people with disabilities at home and abroad, Human Rights Watch said in a letter to US senators today. The US should ratify the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities– the Disability Rights Treaty – without further delay.

The Disability Rights Treaty embodies the basic principles of individual dignity and autonomy, non-discrimination, full inclusion and participation in society, equality of opportunity, accessibility, and respect for difference, Human Rights Watch said.

“The US has been a pioneer in recognizing the rights of people with disabilities,” said Shantha Rau Barriga, disability rights director at Human Rights Watch. “By ratifying the Disability Rights Treaty,the US would be renewing its commitment to the values embodied in the Americans with Disabilities Act.”

The US Senate voted on the treaty on December 4, 2012, but was five votes short of the two-thirds vote needed to consent to ratification. The vote was 61 to 38.

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http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/07/26/us-expand-protections-people-disabilities

The 38 Republican Senators who voted against the treaty for disabled rights
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021926064

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