The Convention

On December 13, 2006, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the first ever global treaty on the protection and promotion of the rights of persons with disabilities – the Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol. With more than 40 articles contained in the CRPD, the treaty looks to promote the inclusion of people with disabilities across all areas of life including; education, employment, accessibility.

The treaty was opened for signature on March 30, 2007 and there has been a very strong response from countries. The UN's Enable Web site provides updates on signatories and ratifications. There are also many disabled people’s organizations providing toolkits/resources on how to plan campaigns to get the treaty ratified, some examples include Disabled People International and Landmines Survivor Network

Once 20 states have ratified the treaty, it will enter into force and state parties will have to report on their progress of its implementation. The disability community will also have the opportunity to measure their country’s performance through the production of shadow reports.

To learn more about the Convention, visit www.un.org/disabilities/