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SFRC Hearing 11/21/13, 9:30am; ACTION ALERT: Contact your Senator on US ratification of CRPD

The UN Convention (treaty) on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) was promulgated and put into force in 2007 with more nations signing the first human rights treaty of the 21st century than any other human rights treaty. Since then, 158 nations have signed the treaty and 138 have ratified--with ratification ensuring commitment on the nation's behalf to support and implement the tenets of the treaty through a national disability plan. President Obama asked Ambassador Rice on 2009 to sign the treaty at the UN for the United States. However, ratification has been making slow progress. This past year, a bipartisan coalition of over 700 agencies and organizations including most veterans' organizations have advocated collaboratively and independently to gain US ratification. Today Judy Woodruff, PBS journalist, interviewed State Department Special International Advisor on Disability on Disability, Judith Heumann, and former Rep. Honorable Patrick Murphy as to the scope of the treaty and the challenges raised by the far right to 'threats to home schooling or promotion of abortion'. Both Heumann and Murphy explained that neither interpretations of the treaty are correct and that the tenets ensure non-discrimination and no threats to US law in access to healthcare for women with disabilities--often denied or inadequate globally-- and no effects on homeschooling choices. Our US ratification provides collaborative opportunities for the US to play a leadership role and share technical assistance from our 23 years of learnings with implementation of the Americans with Disabilities Act,Sec. 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, telecommunications access, universal design, assistive technology, and other civil rights legislation supporting quality of life for persons with disabilities.

To contact your Senator and support US CRPD ratification, see the US International Council on Disability's (USICD) citizen web portal at disabilitytreaty.org or http://www.usicd.org/template/index.cfm

A burgundy circle with the words Inclusin, Dignity, Equality and the accessibility symbols for ASL, wheelchair access, assistive listening and blind access around the edges, and the words Ratify CRPD yes! in the center