Disability Treaty

What is the Disability Treaty?

• How will the Treaty help people around the world?
  • The treaty will set goals for other countries to help ensure that people with disabilities have the same basic rights as everybody else, in accordance with the ideals of our founding fathers: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that ALL men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
  • The treaty promotes global implementation of the gold standard in principles of equal human rights for people with disabilities as pioneered by the United States through passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990: equal protection of every person, nondiscrimination, the fundamental importance of independent living, and the right to make basic choices about our lives.
  • Provide a model for changing laws around the world to ensure that people with disabilities have rights equal to those of all people to access healthcare, housing, education, employment, and other services to fully participate in society.
  • Allow the United States to serve as a role model and advocate to end abuse, neglect, even torture still experienced by many people with disabilities around the world.  For example, between 70-80% of women with disabilities will experience sexual abuse or domestic violence in their lifetimes.
    
  • Endorse self-determination of people with disabilities worldwide.
  • Provide a platform for the exchange of information about new technologies and accessible and universal designs that will allow "products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design." (http://www.missouristate.edu/ud/73199.htm) 
  
  
• How will the Disability Treaty help the United States? Ratification will:
  • Significantly enhance the position of the United States as a global leader in exemplary practices to uphold basic human rights.
  • Allow our country to serve as a guiding light for worldwide equality for people with disabilities.
  • Support the U.S. economy by creating opportunities for wounded warriors to continue to work and serve abroad.

   

  
  
• Will the Disability Treaty interfere with parental rights or the right to homeschool?
  • NO!
  • The Disability Treaty is intended to PROTECT parental rights and highlights the important role of parents in raising children with disabilities. According to Article 23, entitled "Respect for home and the family," ensures "that a child shall not be separated from his or her parents against their will," and "In no case shall a child be separated from parents on the basis of a disability of either the child or one or both of the parents."

   

  
  
• Does the Disability Treaty promote abortion?
  • NO!
  • Article 10 of the Disability Treaty confirms that all people with disabilities have the right to life, stating "States Parties reaffirm that every human being has the inherent right to life and shall take all necessary measures to ensure its effective enjoyment by persons with disabilities on an equal basis with others."
  • The Disability Treaty addresses equal rights for people with disabilities. It does NOT address abortion.
  • The treaty package before the Senate states clearly that "Article 23(1) does not address abortion or any other particular health service. The convention does not affect U.S. law with regard to abortion... Article 25 is a nondiscrimination provision and does not address the matter of abortion."
  
  
• Does the Disability Treaty impact U.S. sovereignty or place a United Nations Committee in charge of U.S. law?
  • NO!
  • The Committee of 18 disability experts created by the Disability Treaty may only provide advice and make recommendations, but the U.S. is not required to follow any of it.
  • The Disability Treaty will not result in any international authority over U.S. law and will not require any changes to U.S. law. Reservations, Understandings, and Declarations (RUDs) have been put into place to ensure this. According to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, "These RUDs ensure that the treaty will require no new federal laws, and no new or revised state laws." Furthermore, "Nothing in the treaty undermines U.S. sovereignty...the disabilities committee is advisory only. Its suggestions, observations, and opinions are not binding and cannot compel any action in the U.S."
  
  
• Does the Disability Treaty have enough constituent support?
  • YES!
  • Over 550 American disability-related organizations nationwide signed on in support of the treaty. View the full list here: http://usicd.org/template/page.cfm?id=252
  • Ratification of the Disability Treaty has strong bi-partisan support, including support from Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Senator John Barrasso (R-WY), Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS), former senator Bob Dole (R-KS), and former president George H.W. Bush.
  
  

Treaty Resources

• AUCD Urges Senators to "Do the Right Thing" and Vote for International Disability Rights Treaty

  AUCD urges the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to move the CRPD forward and allow the U.S. to join the other 138 nations that have ratified this important human rights treaty.

• NASCAR Disability Treaty Letter of Support

  NASCAR Letter of Support for swift ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).

  NASCAR CRPD Letter.pdf [download]
• Chairman Menendez's Opening Remarks at the Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities Hearing
    from http://www.foreign.senate.gov

  Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, made the following remarks at this afternoon's hearing about the Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities (CRPD) Hearing.

• Why the U.S. must lead on Disabilities Treaty
    from http://blogs.reuters.com

  The Senate will tackle disability issues at the November 5th hearings on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) - the Disabilities Treaty. There are nearly 1 billion people worldwide living with a disability. For the sake of those individuals, the United States joined 158 other countries in signing the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2009. The Disabilities Treaty was drafted to promote and protect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of persons with disabilities - modeled on our own Americans with Disabilities Act, but on a global scale.

• AUCD Letter in Support of CRPD

  AUCD letter in support of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, sent to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

  AUCD CRPD Letter.doc [download]
• Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) Letter in Support of CRPD

  Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) letter in support of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, sent to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

  CCD Sign-On Letter in Support of CRPD Ratification (Oct 30 2013).pdf [download]
• Nov. 5th Senate Foreign Relations Committe Hearing on CRPD
    from http://www.foreign.senate.gov

  Senate Foreign Relations Committee announcement for the November 5th, 2013 hearing on the Convention on the Rights on Persons with Disabilities.

• Sample Tweets in Support of the Disability Treaty (CRPD)

  Use this helpful list of sample tweets to help you get started in tweeting for support of the Disability Treaty (CRPD).

• CRPD National Action Alert
  CRPD National Action Alert.pdf [download]
• Neglected and Abused Abroad: A Look at the Severe Mistreatment of Individuals with Disabilities Around the World and How the US Can Help

  A Report from the CCD International Task Force

  With the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities potentially before the Senate this fall, the CCD International Task Force developed this report on the conditions faced by people with disabilities around the world and why the US must ratify the Convention.

• Disability Treaty Myths and Facts
    from http://67.199.83.28
• Easy to Understand Version of Disability Treaty
    from http://odi.dwp.gov.uk
• Letter from Bob Dole in Support of Disability Treaty
    from http://67.199.83.28
• Letter from George H.W. Bush in Support of Disability Treaty
    from http://67.199.83.28
• Letter from Richard Thornburgh and C. Boyden Gray in Support of Disability Treaty
    from http://67.199.83.28
• Why the Business Community Support the Disability Treaty
    from http://www.usicd.org
• Senator Contact Information and How they Voted on the Disability Treaty in 2012
    from http://67.199.83.28
• Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities: Get the Facts

  Get the facts on the Disability Treaty, see what disability and veterans organizations support the treaty, and read some of the media response to the treaty's defeat in the Senate

• Status Update on the CRPD

  One page on the legislative history of the treaty and where it stands now.

  CRPD Status Update.pdf [download]

Treaty Support

(Above) AUCD Members rally in support of the Disability Treaty during the November 2012 AUCD Conference and prepare to visit Capitol Hill.
	(Left) AUCD Fellow Richard Davis shows support for the Disability Treaty at a Jule 2013 rally on Capitol Hill. His sign is signed by members of AUCD's Council on Community Advocacy in support of the CRPD.