COMMENTARY: US Senate should ratify disabilities treaty - The Washington Post

COMMENTARY: US Senate should ratify disabilities treaty

By Curtis Ramsey-lucas | Religion News Service,

Published: February 24

Nearly one billion people worldwide live with a disability but many do not enjoy the same rights,
freedoms, and opportunities as those without a disability.

In many countries people with disabilities are denied basic
rights to family life, education, or even a name. People with mental or
physical disabilities are often kept against their will in institutions
in deplorable conditions, chained to beds or confined to cages. Even in
countries where they are not forced into institutions, many people with
disabilities are effectively prisoners in their own homes because of
widespread physical inaccessibility. Throughout the world people with
disabilities face poverty because of severe employment discrimination.

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities,
known as the disabilities treaty, is designed to address these
injustices and inequities.

COMMENTARY: US Senate should ratify disabilities treaty - The Washington Post

Under Obama Order, Workers With Disabilities To Get Pay Hike - Disability Scoop

Under Obama Order, Workers With Disabilities To Get Pay Hike

By Michelle Diament
February 12, 2014

An executive order requiring federal contractors to be
paid at least $10.10 per hour will apply to workers with disabilities
too, White House officials say.

President Barack Obama plans to sign an executive order Wednesday
raising the minimum wage for federal contract workers, including those
with disabilities employed under service or concessions contracts with
the government.


Under Obama Order, Workers With Disabilities To Get Pay Hike - Disability Scoop

Obama brings back UN disabilities pact | LifeHealthPro

Obama brings back UN disabilities pact

By Bradley Klapper

November 19, 2013 •

Samantha Power (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

 

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration is pushing for ratification of a U.N. accord on the rights of the disabled.
The move comes less than a year after Senate Republicans rejected pleas for its passage from two former GOP presidential nominees and delivered a stinging rebuke to a global treaty modeled largely on American law.

Obama brings back UN disabilities pact | LifeHealthPro

Human Rights Advocates Urge Senate to Ratify Disability Treaty

Human Rights Advocates Urge Senate to Ratify Disability Treaty

November 8, 2013 - Posted by Avril Lighty

Human rights and disability rights advocates packed three rooms and tuned in via social media on Tuesday to watch the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations hearing regarding the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). The CRPD is an international disability treaty that provides a vital framework for creating legislation and policies around the world that embrace the rights and dignity of all people with disabilities.
Human Rights Advocates Urge Senate to Ratify Disability Treaty

Anhörung zur UN-Konvention im US-Senat | kobinet-nachrichten

Anhörung zur UN-Konvention im US-Senat

Veröffentlicht am Donnerstag, 31. Oktober 2013 von Ottmar Miles-Paul

Flagge der USA
© kobinet/omp

Washington, D.C. (kobinet) 138 Staaten dieser Welt haben die UN-Behindertenrechtskonvention bereits ratifiziert und damit als rechtliche Grundlage in der nationalen Gesetzgebung verbindlich verankert. Nicht dazu gehören die USA. Versuche, die Ratifikation zu erreichen, scheiterten in der Vergangenheit an den Rebublikanern. Nun soll ein neuer Versuch zur Ratifizierung in den USA unternommen werden, hierfür findet am 5. November eine Anhörung im US-Senat statt.
Anhörung zur UN-Konvention im US-Senat | kobinet-nachrichten

 Obama To Announce U.S. Signing Of International Treaty On The Rights Of Persons With Disabilities | American Civil Liberties Union

 NAD Urges U.S. Senate to Ratify the CRPD | National Association of the Deaf

 Rights of Persons with Disabilities treaty goes before U.S. Senate

Rights of Persons with Disabilities treaty goes before U.S. Senate - Spinal Cord Injury and Paralysis Community

Rights of Persons with Disabilities treaty goes before U.S. Senate

Posted by Nate
Monday, October 28, 2013

 

Over the course of the first two weeks of November, the Senate will have an important decision to make regarding an international treaty that could have ramifications for the community of people living with disabilities worldwide.
First, on November 5, the Disability Treaty, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) will go before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. A second round of hearings will occur later in November. Pending the committee’s review, it could go to the Senate for ratification the following month.

Spinal Cord Injury and Paralysis Community

Behinderte Arbeiter erhalten 240 Millionen Dollar - KURIER.at

Behinderte Arbeiter erhalten 240 Millionen Dollar 32 Menschen wurden jahrelang ausgebeutet.

Wegen jahrelanger Ausbeutung am Arbeitsplatz hat ein US-Gericht 32 geistig Behinderten je 7,5 Millionen Dollar (rund 5,7 Millionen Euro) zugesprochen.Behinderte Arbeiter erhalten 240 Millionen Dollar - KURIER.at

UN-Konvention abgelehnt: US-Senat gegen Behinderten-Rechte - taz.de

• 05.12.2012

UN-Konvention abgelehnt

US-Senat gegen Behinderten-Rechte

Der US-Senat hat am Dienstag gegen einen UN-Vertrag zur Gleichstellung Behinderter gestimmt. Vor allem die Republikaner stellten sich quer.

Die Republikaner haben im US-Senat einen UN-Vertrag zur Gleichstellung von Behinderten scheitern lassen.  Bild:  reuters

WASHINGTON dpa |Die Ratifizierung einer UN-Konvention gegen Diskriminierung von Behinderten ist am Dienstag im US-Senat gescheitert. Eine große Mehrheit der Republikaner stimmte gegen den internationalen Vertrag aus dem Jahr 2006, der darauf abzielt, dass Menschen mit körperlichen oder geistigen Behinderungen weltweit die gleichen Rechte genießen wie ihre Mitbürger.

Zur Ratifizierung der Konvention, die US-Präsident Barack Obama 2009 unterzeichnet hatte, war eine Zweidrittel-Mehrheit im 100-köpfigen Senat nötig. Sie wurde laut US-Medienberichten um fünf Stimmen verpasst.

UN-Konvention abgelehnt: US-Senat gegen Behinderten-Rechte - taz.de

Die Konvention über die Rechte von Menschen mit Behinderungen und die USA - BIZEPS-INFO

 U.N. treaty on disabilities falls short in Senate - CBS News

U.S. News - Proclamation marks International Day of Persons with Disabilities - UPI.com

 

U.S. News

Proclamation marks world disabilities day

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Published: Dec. 3, 2012 at 1:28 PM

WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- 

The fight for rights "extends to every country and every community," President Obama said Monday, the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.
Obama signed a proclamation that marked the 20th anniversary of the observance.
"We reaffirm that the struggle to ensure the rights of every person does not end at our borders but extends to every country and every community," the president said.


The United States is one of 154 countries that signed the Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Obama said in the proclamation, stating that injustices against people with disabilities "are an affront to our shared humanity."

Read more:

Proclamation marks International Day of Persons with Disabilities - UPI.com

 The Signing of the CRPD by America - A First Step

Monday, December 3, 1:11 AM

THE UNITED STATES has made great progress over the past two decades in opening opportunities for people with disabilities. Many other countries lag far behind. 
That’s why the U.S. Senate ought to ratify a U.N. treaty on rights for people with disabilities, a vote that’s scheduled for Tuesday.

A yea on disabilities - The Washington Post


The USA and the CRPD
The USA is one of the few countries that has not ratified the Convention nor signed the optional protocol.  Many disabled people's organizations around the world find it difficult to understand why the USA hasn't signed or rarified the CRPD, especially when our country is viewed as having the most advanced social and legal protection for people with disabilities.  Amazingly, the CRPD was partially inspired by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
On a positive note, before taking office in January 2009, President Barack Obama signed the Convention.  After that, a two-thirds vote of the Senate is needed to ratify the treaty – which we hope will be accomplished quickly.  Education and outreach to members of Congress is important, so that they can understand why this Convention is so signification to and is supported by the American deaf community.
The NAD is an organizational member of Ratify Now (www.ratifynow.org), a group that is comprised of individuals and organizations who are passionate about using the CRPD to protect and advance the rights of people with disabilities worldwide – their website has a wealth of ratification advocacy tools.  For additional information, see the United Nation’s Enable website (www.un.org/disabilities), which is focused on rights and dignity of person with disabilities.
In summary, not only will the Convention promote equality and human rights, it will also give deaf people the opportunity to work with other nations in promoting deaf rights and improving interconnectivity between deaf communities.  But for opportunities yet to come, the USA will need to first ratify the treaty, which is expected to happen in 2012.
This article was adapted from “Unlocking Disabled Peoples' Rights,” by Peggy Linn Prosser, which appeared in the NADmag, January/February, 2009, and again updated in October 2012.

UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities | National Association of the Deaf


 United States International Council on Disabilities - CRPD Ratification UPDATES!


 The Main Debate in USA About CRPD Needs to Be Addressed — MFIPortal