Friday, May 30, 2008

BBC ONLINE: UN Disability Treaty

At-a-glance: UN disability treaty

The UN is expected to agree a new treaty giving greater rights to disabled people around the world.

Here is an at-a-glance guide to the draft United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities:

  • Participating countries to change laws and ban discriminatory customs and practices
  • Disabled people to have an equal right to life
  • Equal rights for disabled women and girls
  • Protection for children with disabilities
  • A right to own and inherit property, to control financial affairs and have equal access to financial services
  • Disabled people not to be deprived of their liberty "unlawfully or arbitrarily"
  • Medical or scientific experiments without consent to be banned
  • An end to enforced institutionalisation
  • Freedom from exploitation, violence and abuse
  • A right to privacy and access to medical records
  • Countries to remove barriers to accessing the environment, transport, public facilities and communication
  • A right to independent living
  • Essential equipment to be made affordable
  • A right to an adequate standard of living and social protection
  • An end to discrimination relating to marriage, family and personal relationships
  • Equal access to education
  • An end to discrimination in the job market
  • A right to equal participation in public life
  • A right to participate in cultural life
  • Developing countries to be assisted to put the convention into practice

End

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