A word of introduction:

This month, we're giving the stage to RatifyNow, a new grassroots advocacy organization working to maximize the number of nations that ratify the United Nation's new disability rights treaty. The following was written by Michele Magar with Jeff Rosen. Magar and Rosen are disability rights lawyers and members of RatifyNow (as is AAPD). They participated in the treaty negotiations at the U.N. that produced the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

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RatifyNow, Not Later
By Michele Magar & Jeff Rosen


When people ask me why the new disability rights treaty matters, I cite statistics. I talk about the fact that 90 percent of kids with disabilities in developing nations don’t receive an education. And that in far too many nations, people with disabilities don’t have even fundamental rights, like the rights to marry, own property, sign contracts, vote, work, and retain custody of their children.

But what matters most about the treaty is its potential to spark grassroots disability rights movements throughout the world. Like any civil or human rights law, a human rights treaty is only a set of words on paper. But those words contain seeds that, when nurtured, birth passionate movements for equality. 

America ’s disability rights movement illustrates my point. When Congress enacted the Rehabilitation Act of 1973--which barred recipients of federal funds from discriminating on the basis of disability--it never imagined that people with disabilities were so eager for their rights, that they would occupy the federal building in San Francisco for 26 days to force the government to finally issue implementing regulations in 1977.

The movement picked up steam after Congress guaranteed children with disabilities the right to attend public school and receive the accommodations they needed to benefit from their education. Armed with an education and new advocacy skills, people with disabilities firmly gathered the reins of their movement, and “Nothing about us without us!” became their rallying cry.

Nearly thirty years after people with disabilities in the U.S. had successfully extracted Section 504 regulations from a reluctant government, their counterparts in other nations flew to New York to guide the text of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), which was adopted by the United Nations a year ago and opened for ratification on March 30, 2007. The CRPD is largely the work of a remarkable coalition of more than 70 disability rights organizations, which unified into the International Disability Caucus during the four-year treaty negotiations that resulted in the treaty. 

Bridging differences across disability, geography, language, culture, and religion, the International Disability Caucus maintained solidarity and spoke with one voice – a strategy that served to set it apart from other lobbyists.

In fact, the IDC went farther than any other non-governmental organization ever had at the United Nations, achieving near-delegate status and unprecedented influence during the official proceedings. The IDC was allowed to testify from the floor, at times daily, to provide guidance on what it wanted in the treaty. New Zealand Ambassador Don McKay, who led the treaty negotiations, urged delegates to adopt the IDC text repeatedly throughout the proceedings.

The result is a treaty that bans disability discrimination in every sphere of life. It ensures that people with disabilities will enjoy the same rights as their countrymen and countrywomen without disabilities. And it transforms the frame of reference that defines how most of the world thinks about disability by affording people with disabilities rights instead of charity. It enshrines the rights to self-determination and equality.

If broadly implemented, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities will improve the lives of a quarter of the world – the population comprised of people with disabilities and their families. It will empower the poorest of the poor, where disability is over-represented in every nation. Civil rights lays the infrastructure for economic development, so the treaty will also speed economic progress in nations that ratify it. If broadly implemented, the treaty’s guarantees will act as a global anti-poverty campaign.

But unless we act, Americans won’t benefit from the treaty, because President Bush has refused to sign it. We need to persuade the next president to sign the treaty in 2009, and the Senate to ratify it promptly afterwards. 

Why should Americans care about the treaty? There are many reasons. First, the Supreme Court has been steadily weakening the Americans with Disabilities Act. The treaty would strengthen anti-disability discrimination protection in the U.S.

Second, we have much to learn from other nations. The treaty creates a way for ratifying nations to share cutting edge policies and adapt best practices for local use. 

Third, our movement will grow stronger if we organize a U.S. ratification campaign. Done right, treaty advocacy provides the perfect organizing vehicle. Its appeal is universal and cuts across disability, population, geography, and other factors because its benefits cover every aspect of life. 

By pushing for the treaty, we will learn to work together and experience how pooling our strengths speeds and magnifies our success. Once the treaty is ratified, we can use our newfound solidarity to achieve other common goals as we continue to work together to advance the rights of people with disabilities.

So what can you do to support the treaty? First, educate yourself – there’s a wealth of information available at the United Nation’s website: www.un.org/disability. Second, spread the word: the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities remains virtually uncovered by the press.

In fact, the list of things you can do to support the treaty is far too long to include here, but you can find a range of tasks to accommodate however much time you can spare at www.RatifyNow.org. Click on “get involved” and you’ll see them grouped by genre. 

To stay up to date on treaty ratification campaigns in the U.S. and across the world, consider a free membership in RatifyNow, a unique blend of grassroots advocates and disability rights organizations dedicated to maximizing the number of nations that ratify the treaty. Based in the United States, RatifyNow uses its website to provide a clearinghouse of information to support the efforts of grassroots advocates to persuade their governments to ratify the treaty. 

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities will dramatically improve the lives of people with disabilities and their families worldwide – but only if its protections are broadly implemented. A concerted effort to maximize treaty ratification in the next few months will reap benefits for people with disabilities for decades to come. 

If you’re looking for a cause that has the potential to improve the lives of a quarter of the world’s population, and spur economic development among the world’s poorest people, visit RatifyNow.org and get involved. Together, we can nurture the seeds contained in the treaty’s text and achieve a world where people with disabilities control their lives and experience equality.