UN Celebrates the 150th Ratification of the Disabilities Treaty

The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights issued a press release yesterday annoucing that Guyana had become the 150th state to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.  The Convention took effect in 2008 and has experienced one of the fastest rates of ratification of any human rights treaty.  It has served to raise awareness about disabilities and helps to promote fair treatment of persons with disabilities.

Unfortunately, the United States is not a member of the treaty.  The United States signed the treaty in 2009, but has not yet ratified it.  The first time the Senate voted on the treaty in 2012, it fell 5 votes short of the number needed for ratification. The US Sentate Foreign Relations Committee recommended ratification to the full Senate again on July 22, 2014, but the Senate has not yet taken another vote.

(cgb)