[vicsireland] Re: Fw: [Irl-dean] Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilitiesset to enter into force on 3 May 08 (FYI)

  • From: "Gerry Ellis" <gerry.ellis@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: <vicsireland@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Thu, 10 Apr 2008 08:03:30 +0100

Hi, Maureen,

You are totaly correct that the attitude of individuals in society will not be 
changed by any legislation or UN Convention.

However, organisations like the European Disability Forum and others use them 
to encourage and, in some cases, force legislative change. Once legislation is 
in place, companies, Governments and all strata of society must comply. It is 
through such institutional changes that we have gained many of the improvements 
that we have seen over the last couple of decades, and access to Information 
Technology has been an area of particular improvement.

Like with accesses to things like buses and buildings, it will take longer for 
people to see that acessible products and services are not dearer once designed 
from scratch, but that many people benefit who were never even thought of in 
the original design; consider, for instance parents with prams, older people 
and people carrying a lot of shopping using accessible buses as opposed to 
those with steps.

Yes, change might seem slow, but it is coming. Let's embrace each step as it 
comes along.



Take care,

Gerry Ellis
t/a Feel The BenefIT

Tel   +353-(0)1 282-7791
Mob   +353-(0)85 716-8665
Email gerry.ellis@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

If you don't know where you're going,
How will you know when you get there?

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Maureen Newelll 
  To: vicsireland@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
  Sent: Wednesday, April 09, 2008 9:17 AM
  Subject: [vicsireland] Re: Fw: [Irl-dean] Convention on the Rights of Persons 
with Disabilitiesset to enter into force on 3 May 08 (FYI)


  I wouldn't get overjoyed about this Gerry.  They can ratify all the 
Conventions they like but little will change at grassroots level.  The vast 
majority of the population lack empathy and you cannot instill this quality 
into an individual, they either have it or not.  On paper this all sounds 
wonderful but the vast majority will still have the usual prejudices meeted out 
to them.

  Maureen.  
    ----- Original Message ----- 
    From: Gerry Ellis 
    To: vicsireland@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
    Sent: Wednesday, April 09, 2008 8:03 AM
    Subject: [vicsireland] Fw: [Irl-dean] Convention on the Rights of Persons 
with Disabilitiesset to enter into force on 3 May 08 (FYI)


    Hi,

    I thoughyt this might be of interest to some here.

    Thanks to Mark Magennis.



    Take care,

    Gerry Ellis
    t/a Feel The BenefIT

    Tel   +353-(0)1 282-7791
    Mob   +353-(0)85 716-8665
    Email gerry.ellis@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

    If you don't know where you're going,
    How will you know when you get there?

    ----- Original Message ----- 
    From: Mark Magennis 
    To: Irl-DeAN 
    Sent: Tuesday, April 08, 2008 2:34 PM
    Subject: [Irl-dean] Convention on the Rights of Persons with 
Disabilitiesset to enter into force on 3 May 08 (FYI)


      WITH 20 RATIFICATIONS, LANDMARK DISABILITY TREATY SET TO ENTER INTO FORCE 
ON 3 MAY 
      Ecuador today became the twentieth country to ratify the landmark 
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which is now set to 
enter into force on 3 May. The Convention needed 20 ratifications to take 
effect.

      The Convention, the first new human rights treaty of the twenty-first 
century, is designed to protect the rights of the world’s estimated 650 million 
people with disabilities.

      With 126 countries having signed the Convention since 30 March 2007, and 
71 having signed its Optional Protocol, which will enter into force at the same 
time, the treaty will allow individuals and groups to petition for relief. The 
Convention takes effect 30 days after the twentieth ratification, and a 
Conference of the Parties must be convened within six months.

      Progress towards moving the Convention into force has been relatively 
quick and has been attributed to the strong commitment of United Nations Member 
States, as well as advocacy by the global disability movement, which was 
instrumental in drafting the pact. Jamaica was the first country to ratify the 
Convention, and this week, Jordan, Tunisia and Ecuador ratified it, providing a 
sufficient number of parties for the Convention to enter into force.

      United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon congratulated the States 
that have already ratified the Convention so far. = 3The Convention, together 
with its Optional Protocol, is deeply rooted in the firm commitment of the 
international community to rectifying the egregious neglect and dehumanizing 
practices that violate the human rights of persons with disabilities.” He 
added: “This is a historic moment in the history of our quest for realization 
of the universal human rights for all persons.”



      As many as two thirds of United Nations Member States have no legal 
protection for people with disabilities, according to the United Nations Focal 
Point on Disability, Akiko Ito, even though they comprise 1 in 10 of the global 
population.

      The Convention seeks to “ensure that people with disabilities enjoy the 
universal human rights that everyone else does in their respective societies”.

      Adopted by the General Assembly in December 2006, the Convention was one 
of the fastest treaties ever negotiated at the United Nations. The pact 
provides that States which ratify it must enact laws and other measures to 
improve disability rights and also abolish legislation, customs and practices 
that discriminate against persons with disabilities.

      The Convention does not see disability as an unchangeable medical 
condition, but as the result of interaction between people and removable 
hurdles. “Disability,” it says, “results from the interaction between persons 
with impairments and attitudinal and environmental barriers that hinders their 
full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others.”



      The Convention has prompted action even before entering into force. 
Jamaica has drafted a National Disability Act, while Panama and Trinidad and 
Tobago has incorporated the Convention into national legislation. Activists 
around the world have called on their Governments to ratify and implement the 
treaty.

      The United Nations will convene a special ceremony in the General 
Assembly Hall to mark the Convention’s entry into force, in New York on 12 May, 
with participants from Governments, United Nations agencies and civil society.

      For more information, please contact Franck Kuwonu, Department of Public 
Information, tel.: +1 212 963 8264, e-mail: Kuwonu@xxxxxx; or Sayre Nyce, 
Department of Economic and Social Affairs, tel.: +1 917 367 8090, e-m ail 
nyce@xxxxxxx





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