Bipartisan Group Of Senators Say They’ll Ratify Disability Treaty
The senators are backing a U.N. treaty that they say would protect Americans with disabilities who work or travel abroad. The Obama administration has sent the treaty to the Senate for ratification.
The Hill: Senators Back UN Disability Rights Treaty
The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) prescribes actions for states that want to "ensure and promote the full realization of all human rights … for all persons with disabilities without discrimination." The U.S. government has signed but not ratified the treaty, which now requires Senate approval. It contains detailed policy objectives, though a release said that ratification would require "no changes to U.S. laws or new appropriations" (Viebeck, 5/28).
CQ HealthBeat: Disability Treaty Gets Bipartisan Support
A bipartisan group of senators Friday announced support for U.S. ratification of a treaty that, the senators say, would help protect Americans with disabilities who travel and work abroad. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) is in part patterned, advocates say, after the U.S. disability law and is the first treaty to address such rights globally. An American delegation under President George W. Bush negotiated and approved the convention in 2006. The U.S. signed the accord on July 30, 2009. So far, 153 countries have signed the treaty and 112 of those have ratified it. Last week, the Obama administration sent the treaty to the Senate for ratification (Bunis, 5/25).