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    Disability Charity Calls on UK to Ratify Disability Rights Treaty

    By Andrea Shettle, MSW | April 28, 2008

    A major disability charity, Scope, has called on the government of the United Kingdom to ratify the international disability rights treaty, BBC News has reported.  Scope is an organization that works for equality for people with cerebral palsy in the United Kingdom.

    The international disability rights treaty, called the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), is the first international, legally binding human rights instrument to protect the rights of people with disabilities.  Among the wide range of rights that it protects include: the right to have access to an education and healthcare; the right to live in the community; and the right to receive information in accessible formats.  To date, 24 countries have ratified the CRPD.  Among these, 14 countries have also ratified the Optional Protocol, which gives people with disabilities in these countries the right to pursue redress at the international level if they are unable to obtain justice for human rights violations within their own countries.

    According to BBC News, the UK hopes to ratify the CRPD by the end of 2008.  But Scope worries that the government may try to avoid needing to obey certain sections of the treaty.

    Read more detail in the BBC story at

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7321140.stm

    Learn more about the CRPD in general by taking a few minutes to read the RatifyNow FAQ.

    Read about the upcoming May 12 celebration of the CRPD entry into force.

    The links to the BBC news article were still functioning at the time of this writing, April 28, 2008. However, RatifyNow.org readers should please note that news outlets vary widely in how long they allow their articles to be read by the public. We cannot guarantee that all links will continue to work in the long term.

    Topics: News |

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