Education & Scuola

EU: new UN treaty on disability rights

This is the first time the Community signs a core UN human rights convention, providing protection for 50 million EU citizens and 650 million people with disabilities worldwide

di Redazione

by Consorzio Civica (info@civica.cc) The European Community signs a new UN treaty on disability rights on its opening day for signature in New York. This is the first time the Community signs a core UN human rights convention. The Convention, which covers the rights of people with disabilities aims to ensure that people with disabilities enjoy human rights and fundamental freedoms on an equal basis with everyone else. It will provide protection for 50 million EU citizens and 650 million people with disabilities worldwide. The new treaty is the first comprehensive human rights convention to be adopted this century. It follows long-standing efforts by disability organisations and an increasing international recognition that existing UN human rights treaties failed to fully protect people with disabilities, who continue to suffer discrimination. This view is widely shared by Europeans, 53% of whom believe that discrimination based on disability is widespread, according to a recent Eurobarometer survey. The European Commission’s active role in the negotiations ensured that the Convention is in line with relevant EU legislation and jurisprudence – for example it takes on the definition of discrimination. In addition, the denial of ‘reasonable accommodation’ for people with disabilities ? set out in EU law since 2000 ? is now internationally recognised as a form of discrimination. The text also acknowledges that women with disabilities are more likely to suffer from multiple forms of discrimination and accordingly calls for measures combining mainstreaming of gender issues and specific gender sensitive measures in the disability field. Member States have given a mandate the European Commission to negotiate and sign on behalf of the Community on matters falling under Community competence, but the EU Member States themselves will also sign the Convention individually. Signature constitutes the first step of becoming formally party to the Convention. It will enter into force when ratified by 20 countries. For further information: http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/disability www.europa-eu-un.org


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