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UN Convention
On 14th December 2006, the UN General Assembly passed the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. This completes the series of international human rights instruments, now covering all people, including those with disabilities. On 30th March 2007, the text was signed by Denmark and 83 other countries. This commits them to ratifying the convention, i.e. changing their legislation and enacting new laws to improve the rights of persons with disabilities and to stop discrimination. Denmark ratified the convention on 28th May 2009, but have not yet ratified the protocol.
The basic philosophy of the convention is that charity and good intentions must give way to rights. This cannot happen without confronting myths and prejudices about persons with disabilities, especially in the Third World. These concerns are addressed by the convention along with aspects such as the accessibility of public spaces and buildings, transportation, information and communications.
Read more about the convention (in Danish) at:
www.handicap.dk, following the link “rettigheder” (rights).
The full text in English is available at:
