GENERAL ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON DISABILITY CONVENTION TO MEET AT UN HEADQUARTERS, 23 AUGUST – 3 SEPTEMBER

GENERAL ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON DISABILITY CONVENTION TO MEET

AT UN HEADQUARTERS, 23 AUGUST – 3 SEPtEMBER

NEW YORK, 19 August (UN Department of Public Information) -- The United Nations committee that is drafting the first-ever international convention on the rights of persons with disabilities will continue its work at a two-week session that starts on Monday at United Nations Headquarters.

The fourth session of the General Assembly Ad Hoc Committee on a Comprehensive and Integral International Convention on Protection and Promotion of the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities will open on Monday, 23 August, at 10 a.m. in Conference Room 4.

The Committee will continue the elaboration of the draft convention, addressing issues deferred from its previous session:  the convention’s title, structure, part of the preamble, definitions (article 3) and monitoring (article 25).  It will then review articles 1 through 15 of the treaty, on the basis of the proposed revisions and amendments contained in the report (document A/AC.265/2004/5) of the Committee’s third session, held from 24 May to 4 June.

The 25-article convention covers, among other things, equality and non-discrimination; equal recognition as a person before the law; promoting positive attitudes towards persons with disabilities; living independently and being included in the community; participation in political and public life; accessibility; personal mobility; right to health and rehabilitation; right to work; social security and adequate standard of living; participation in cultural life, recreation, leisure and sport; and international cooperation.

The breakthrough treaty would create a legally binding framework for protecting and promoting the rights of the some 600 million people worldwide who experience disabilities of various types and degrees.  It would move beyond the traditional concept of access to the physical environment to broader issues of equal access, social opportunities, health, education, employment, and political, economic and social development.  Governments that ratify it would be legally bound to treat persons with disabilities not just as victims or a minority, but as subjects of the law with clearly defined rights.

Side events to the session include briefings and panel discussions organized by the European Union, the United States, France, Japan, the Center for International Rehabilitation, the World Rehabilitation Fund, Support Coalition International and others.  For a list of side events, see www.un.org/esa/socdev/enable/rights/ahc4sideevents.htm.

For information, visit www.un.org/esa/socdev/enable or contact Edoardo Bellando, United Nations Department of Public Information, tel.:  (212) 963-8275, e-mail: bellando@un.org.

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