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The UK has finally ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). On Monday 8 June Jonathan Shaw, Minister for Disabled People, revealed the convention had been ratified and the government was committed to its full implementation.

Empowering individuals

The core of the UNCRPD focuses on ensuring disabled individuals are empowered to make their own decisions, are free to enjoy all fundamental freedoms and human rights, and can participate actively in society. A Parliamentary Seminar, hosted by Andrew Dismore MP, Chair of the Joint Committee on Human Rights and Baroness Jane Campbell of the Equality and Human Rights Commmission, was held to mark the occasion. 

Diane Mulligan, Disability and Social Inclusion Advisor at Sightsavers, spoke at the seminar and says: “I am delighted that the UK government has finally ratified the Convention. The exciting work of implementation now lies ahead. This challenging new process needs to include and involve disabled people from the outset. Sightsavers works to ensure disabled peoples genuine participation in its programmes overseas, and we would welcome this in the UK”.

A milestone agreement

The Convention is the first human rights treaty of the 21st century and marks a milestone in securing full equality for the 650 million disabled people across the world. It was adopted by the UN in December of 2006 and opened for signature in March 2007, receiving the highest ever number of signatories on its first day.

The UK has been heavily criticised for taking too long to ratify the Convention, despite being one of the first countries to sign the original treaty. The Convention came into force over a year ago in May 2008, when Ecuador became the 20th country to ratify it.

The UK government was also criticised for recently seeking a number of opt-outs to certain parts of the Convention regarding immigration, education and the armed forces. But now the Convention has been ratified the government has effectively accepted their legal obligation to ensure any necessary laws are passed.

Caroline Harper, Chief Executive of Sightsavers International, is pleased the wait is finally over: "At last the UK has ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities. This took place on 8 June 2009, making the UK the 58th country in the world to do so. The UNCRPD represents a major step in helping to ensure that the rights of disabled people are protected".

However, there is still a lot of work to be done: "In many of the countries where we work, many of the rights in the Convention covering health, education, housing and participation are still not fully protected. In Sightsavers we continue to work with our partners across the world to advocate for the UNCRPD to be ratified where this has not taken place, and to be fully implemented in countries where ratification has happened."

Thirteen countries in which we work have ratified the Convention: Bangladesh, Guinea, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. A further 11 Sightsavers countries have signed, but not ratified, it: Antigua, Benin, Cameroon, Ghana, Guyana, Mozambique, Nigeria, Pakistan, Senegal, Sri Lanka, and Togo.