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Philippines Disability Organization Hails CRPD Entry into Force
By Andrea Shettle, MSW | May 14, 2008
The national federation of persons with disabilities in the Philippines, Katipunan ng Maykapansanan sa Pilipinas, Inc. (KAMPI), has hailed the UN disability rights treaty, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), the PIA Information Services has reported. (See their article entitled NGO hails global entry into froce of UN Disability Rights Convention.)
The CRPD, which became legally binding on May 3, 2008, is the first international human rights instrument to address the unique human rights needs of people with disabilities. The 25 countries that have ratified the CRPD are now obliged to ensure that people with disabilities within their borders are able to access education, health, public transportation, and a wide range of other public services. They also must protect the rights of people with disabilities to live with their own families in the community–not in institutions; to make their own decisions about how to lead their lives on the same basis as others in society; and to be free of abuse and torture.
Of the 25 nations ratifying the CRPD, 15 have also ratified the Optional Protocol. If the human rights of people with disabilities continue to be violated after the CRPD is implemented, and if all domestic avenues of pursuing redress fail, then people with disabilities in countries that have ratified the Optional Protocol will be able to bring their case to the international Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The Committee will also be able to investigate serious or systematic violations of the CRPD.
The Philippines has ratified the CRPD, but has neither signed nor ratified the Optional Protocol. A total of 129 countries have signed the CRPD, including 71 that have signed the Optional Protocol. Signing an international agreement shows interest in ratifying the treaty in the future. It also obliges the country to avoid any act that would directly violate the spirit and intent of the treaty. However, a country is only legally bound by a treaty after they ratify it.
Read more about KAMPI’s comments on the CRPD at http://www.pia.gov.ph/?m=12&fi=p080502.htm&no=30
Learn more about the CRPD and how it is meant to help people with disabilities around the world by reviewing the RatifyNow FAQ on the CRPD.
Learn more about the Optional Protocol.
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