Blog
US Senate Fails to Ratify UN’s Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
December 4, 2012
The nastiness in Congress has now extended to people with disabilities. The Senate voted not to ratify the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, denying even an expression of support for such rights to those who make up the “largest minority.” Whatever their reasons for this action, their failure highlights the deeply destructive nature of current political debate as well as the challenges facing this group of people on a global scale. Even though the convention has been ratified by 126 nations, including some of the most repressive on Earth, the failure of the US to express its support and demonstrate its willingness to lead on this issue is disheartening and shameful. We hope that this poor judgment will be corrected by a new vote in 2013.
To learn more about the UN’s efforts on behalf of the disabled, please visit http://www.un.org/disabilities/default.asp?id=1597