Mobilizing to Promote a United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities

The following articles report on two initiatives to promote the proposed UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities. The first article by Rehabilitation International analyzes the existing international human rights instruments and recent deliberations about the impact of these instruments and non-binding instruments such as the UN Standard Rules. The article makes a strong case for creating a new convention and will serve as the background paper for a special seminar on this topic during the RI World Congress in Rio de Janeiro, August 25-29.

The second piece is a "Resolution Regarding an International Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities," adopted 8 July 2000 by the U.S. National Federation of the Blind. The Resolution notes the current opposition of the U.S. State Department to the concept of such a convention and calls upon the White House, the Congress and the State Department not only to support it, but to "take leadership in marshalling broad international backing for such a convention."