Obama Directs U.S. to Sign ‘First New Human Rights Treaty of the 21st Century’

CNSNews.com
Monday, July 27, 2009
By Susan Jones, Senior Editor

(CNSNews.com) - President Barack Obama on Friday announced that the United States will sign the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, a treaty that elevates disability beyond a health and social welfare issue to a human rights issue. "Disability rights aren't just civil rights to be enforced here at home. They are universal rights to be recognized and promoted around the world," the president said at a White House ceremony. All treaties require Senate ratification. Adopted by the U.N. General Assembly in December 2006, the lengthy treaty describes the human rights of persons with disabilities, including the right to equality under the law; the right to live in the community; the right to education, health, and work; and the right to participate in political, public and cultural life. The treaty also discusses disabled people's "right" to health care, saying that parties to the treaty "recognize that persons with disabilities have the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health without discrimination on the basis of disability."

Countries signing on to the treaty agree to:
-- Provide the disabled with the same “range, quality and standard of free or affordable health care” as provided to other people, including in the area of sexual and reproductive health;
-- Provide health services needed by the disabled specifically because of their disabilities, including early identification and intervention as well as services designed to minimize and prevent further disabilities;

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