UK signs UN International Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities

29th March 2007

The UK will be among 50 countries that will sign the UN International Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities at a ceremony in London today (30 March).

The convention will ensure that disabled people have the same standard of human rights across the world as non-disabled people.

Disability minister Anne McGuire has hailed the convention, which covers education, employment and participation in public life, including:

• Independent living
• Equality and non-discrimination
• The position of disabled women and children
• Access to justice, education, health and employment
• Participation in political and public life
• Participation in culture, recreation, leisure and sport

The UK's own disability legislation, the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA), will not be affected, and the government says that it will ensure the DDA does not contravene the convention.

The convention, which is the first human rights treaty of the 21^st century, will be most significant in the developing countries, where around 80 per cent of the world's disabled population lives.

This is the first human rights treaty of the 21st century and took four years to negotiate.

Ends

Notes to editors

Media enquiries, please contact:

Brenda Otema, Communications & Marketing Officer
Employers' Forum on Disability
Email: brenda.otema@efd.org.uk
Telephone: 020 7403 3020

About Employers' Forum on Disability

Employers' Forum on Disability is the employers' organisation focused on disability as it affects employers and service providers. With over 300 members, EFD represents organisations that employ around 20 per cent of the UK workforce.Since its establishment in 1991, EFD has worked closely with government and other stakeholders, sharing best practice to make it easier to employ disabled people and serve disabled customers.

www.efd.org.uk