On December 13, 2006, the United Nations adopted the first international human rights treaty of the 21st century, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. It was the most rapidly negotiated human rights treaty in the history of international law, concluding a process that began five years ago. The treaty will be open for signature and ratification by U.N. member states beginning on March 30, 2007, and will enter into effect as soon as at least 20 countries have ratified it, which is expected to occur sometime within the next two years. Member states that have not yet enacted comprehensive domestic legislation protecting the rights of people with disabilities will be required to enact disability rights legislation upon ratification of the treaty. Currently, only 45 of the 192 countries that are UN members have such laws. In addition, member states that ratify an optional protocol to the treaty will confer upon their citizens the right to petition an international Committee on Rights of Persons with Disabilities once they have exhausted all avenues for relief within their own country.

The treaty was spearheaded and driven by the international disability community and was the first human rights treaty to gain momentum from lobbying conducted extensively through the Internet. It was negotiated by an Ad Hoc Committee of the General Assembly comprised of all U.N. member states. A Working Group of the Ad Hoc Committee led by disability NGOs (nongovernmental organizations) produced the draft text that formed the basis for the negotiations, an unprecedented level of NGO involvement in the treaty negotiation process.

Ambassador Don McKay of New Zealand, who chaired the Ad Hoc Committee sessions during the final two years, provided excellent stewardship of the negotiation process and is widely regarded as the key to the treaty becoming a reality. The United States was an active participant from the beginning, represented by a delegation of State Department officials and technical advisors from the Department of Justice and the Department of Health and Human Services who shared their expertise and experience with U.S. disability rights laws and helped to improve the text in several key areas.

Hailing the treaty on the day of its adoption, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan stated, "Today promises to be the dawn of a new era an era in which disabled people will no longer have to endure the discriminatory practices and attitudes that have been permitted to prevail for all too long. This convention is a remarkable and forward-looking document. While it focuses on the rights and development of people with disabilities, it also speaks about our societies as a whole - and about the need to enable every person to contribute to the best of their abilities and potential. Throughout the ages, the treatment of people with disabilities has brought out some of the very worst aspects of human nature. Too often, those living with disabilities have been seen as objects of embarrassment, and at best, of condescending pity and charity. Societies have even gone out of their way to ensure that persons with disabilities are neither seen nor heard. On paper, they may have enjoyed the same rights as others; in real life, they have often been relegated to the margins and denied the opportunities that others take for granted. . . [The treaty] will offer a way forward to ensure that those with disabilities enjoy the same human rights as everyone else."

The treaty reaffirms the fundamental principles of the disability rights movement that was its inspiration and extends those principles globally. Recognizing that "persons with disabilities continue to face barriers to their participation as equal members of society and violations of their human rights in all parts of the world" and that "a comprehensive and integral international convention will make a significant contribution to redressing the profound social disadvantage of persons with disabilities and promote their participation in the civil, political, economic, social and cultural spheres," the treat's central purpose is "to promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities."

Among the core principles reflected in the treaty are respect for individual autonomy, nondiscrimination, accessibility, equality of opportunity, full and effective participation and inclusion in society, respect for difference, and acceptance of disability as a part of human diversity and humanity. The treat's many detailed articles address issues such as access to justice, voting rights, and equal participation in political and public life; the right to be free from abuse, exploitation, medical or scientific experimentation, or institutionalization without due process; accessible buildings, communication and information technology; equal access to education, employment, health care and rehabilitation; independent living; protection during wars and humanitarian or natural disasters; participation in cultural, recreational and leisure activities; equal protection with respect to end-of-life decisions; availability of mobility aids; right to privacy; respect for choices relating to marriage and reproduction; and right to an adequate standard of living and social protection.

The full text of the treaty is available at http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/enable/rights/convtexte.htm. Additional background information is available at http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/enable/disovlf.htm.