The following excerpt from The Huffington Post comes to us via The Inclusion Daily Express.
Obama's Chance To Lead: Sign the Disability Treaty
(Huffington Post)
July 6, 2009
WASHINGTON, DC-- [Excerpt] President Obama has made it a priority to re-position the United States as a leader in the global arena. One area where we are conspicuously silent -- and could lead or at least participate more fully -- is disability rights.
Over all, according to the U.N., 650 million people, 10% of the world population, live with a disability. This makes them the world's largest minority. Worse yet, the World Bank reports that 20% of the world's poorest people have some kind of disability. They tend to be regarded in their own communities as the most disadvantaged.
On December 13th, 2006, The UN General Assembly adopted the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. At the time of its adoption, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan called the CRPD a "remarkable and forward-looking document . . . The first human rights treaty to be adopted in the twenty-first century." The purpose of the Convention is to promote, protect, and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights by persons with disabilities. A staggering 139 countries having signed the Convention and 58 have ratified it, including the United Kingdom this past month.
What are we waiting for?
Entire article:
Obama's Chance to Lead: Sign the Disability Treaty
http://www.inclusiondaily.com/news/2009/red/0706f.htm
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The answer (offered here in the spirit of speculation) is that the United States is reluctant to sign a world wide treaty on human rights for people with disabilities because our military activities (remember "Shock and Awe"?) create civilian populations with disabilities. We wouldn't want to be responsible for this, would we?
S.K.
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