A signature for the UN Convention on the disabled

Thomas Hammarberg, Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, has urged the member states of the organization to sign the UN Convention relating to the rights of the disabled and its optional protocol, once the documents are opened to signature and ratification on 30 March. “Once it comes into force – said Hammarberg – the Convention will fill a gap in international human rights law. The Convention clarifies what governments must do to ensure the effective observance of these rights”. The keywords of the Convention, regarding the needs of disabled persons, are “reasonable accommodation, accessibility, individual autonomy and social inclusion”. These are principles that “need to be ensured through the establishment of specific rights such as the right to make decisions on personal and legal matters, the right to live independently in society, the right to community-based support services and healthcare, and the right to inclusive education and equal work opportunities”. The optional protocol will allow individuals and groups to take complaints to the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, once all national recourse procedures have been exhausted.