Senate Fails to Approve Rights of Persons with Disabilities

In early December, the U.S. Senate blocked the ratification of the United Nations Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). The measure needed 67 votes for ratification but only got 61.

Supporters of the measure argued that ratification wouldn’t impact rights within the U.S., but rather would help to promote the rights of the disabled overseas.

Below is a snippet quoted from a press release, released by The American Foundation for the Blind (AFB).

"On behalf of the one billion people living with disabilities around the globe, we are extremely disheartened by today’s Senate vote. In many nations, basic access and human rights are not available to people with disabilities. This was an opportunity for the U.S. to demonstrate true leadership and help a billion people around the globe achieve their full potential and enjoy life. Instead, partisan politics stood in the way. We hope the people who care about this issue will take to task the 38 senators who refused to ratify this life-changing treaty. This is a sad day for disability rights."

CRPD is a human rights treaty that is designed to protect the equality as well as the dignity of those people with disabilities worldwide. It has been ratified by 126 nations, so far, and is supported by every major disability organization. The treaty works to establish international standards for disability rights which, like that of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which was signed into law in 1990 in the U.S.

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