PHA-Exchange> At-a-glance: UN disability treaty

[Claudio]

From: "Vern Weitzel" <vern at coombs.anu.edu.au>
>
> The UN page on the draft convention is located at:
> http://www.un.org/disabilities/convention/
> (a website that is accessibble to the visually impaired)
>
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/5276052.stm
>
> At-a-glance: UN disability treaty
>
> The UN is expected to agree a new treaty giving greater rights to disabled 
> people around the world.
>
> Here is an at-a-glance guide to the draft United Nations Convention on the 
> Rights of Persons with
> Disabilities:
>
>     * Participating countries to change laws and ban discriminatory 
> customs and practices
>
>     * Disabled people to have an equal right to life
>
>     * Equal rights for disabled women and girls
>
>     * Protection for children with disabilities
>
>     * A right to own and inherit property, to control financial affairs 
> and have equal access to
> financial services
>
>     * Disabled people not to be deprived of their liberty "unlawfully or 
> arbitrarily"
>
>     * Medical or scientific experiments without consent to be banned
>
>     * An end to enforced institutionalisation
>
>     * Freedom from exploitation, violence and abuse
>
>     * A right to privacy and access to medical records
>
>     * Countries to remove barriers to accessing the environment, 
> transport, public facilities and
> communication
>
>     * A right to independent living
>
>     * Essential equipment to be made affordable
>
>     * A right to an adequate standard of living and social protection
>
>     * An end to discrimination relating to marriage, family and personal 
> relationships
>
>     * Equal access to education
>
>     * An end to discrimination in the job market
>
>     * A right to equal participation in public life
>
>     * A right to participate in cultural life
>
>     * Developing countries to be assisted to put the convention into 
> practice
>