I would like to draw towards the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
ISLAMABAD: December 3 marked the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. I would like to draw the attention of your readers, as well as policy-makers, towards the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities that was adopted by the General Assembly on December 13, 2006 and that entered into force on May 3, 2008.
This Convention establishes international standards regarding the rights and freedoms of persons with disabilities; it clarifies human rights principles of inclusion, non-discrimination, accessibility, and participation in the context of persons with disabilities; it provides an authoritative model for governments to use in shaping national law and policies; it creates more effective mechanisms for monitoring the rights of persons with disabilities and it prescribes national implementation and monitoring mechanisms.
The Convention marks a paradigm shift in attitudes and approaches to persons with disabilities. It represents the movement from viewing persons with disabilities as "objects" of charity, medical treatment and social protection towards viewing persons with disabilities as "subjects" with rights, who are capable of making decisions and being active members of society.
The Convention has so far been signed by 147 countries and ratified by 96 countries. Pakistan signed it on September 25, 2008 but has so far failed to ratify it. I would like to urge the government to initiate the process of ratifying the Convention and its Optional Protocol on priority basis to show that it places priority on what clearly is an important issue for many Pakistanis.
Arshad Mahmood
Published in The Express Tribune, December 4th, 2010.
