American Disabilities Act Archives - Foreign Policy In Focus

American Disabilities Act

60-Second Expert: The U.S. and the UN Disability Treaty

by Michael Ashley Stein, Noor Iqbal, Janet E. Lord | Jul 14, 2009

In December 2006, 139 states signed the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). It was the first human rights treaty of the 21st century and also the first of its kind geared towards protecting the rights of people with disabilities. The United States was and remains conspicuously absent from among the signatories, despite being a leader in domestic disability law and policy.

Ratify the UN Disability Treaty

by Michael Ashley Stein, John Feffer, Janet E. Lord | Jul 9, 2009

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD, or the Convention) is the first human rights treaty of the 21st century. The CRPD is also the first legally binding international instrument with the power specifically to protect the rights of the world’s largest minority, some 650 million persons with disabilities.