UN treaty on rights of persons with disabilities tipped to transform public opinion

A treaty protecting and promoting the rights of the estimated global population of 600 million people with disabilities has the potential to transform public understanding about the issue, the Chairman of a United Nations committee drafting the convention said today.

Briefing reporters in New York following a two-week negotiating session involving more than 100 countries, Ambassador Luis Gallegos of Ecuador said the proposed pact - which could be ready for countries to sign as early as September 2005 - will highlight the daily obstacles that disabled people must face and their ability to overcome them.

"I think it is time that we seize the opportunity of having a revolutionary change in society's view on how people have disabilities," he said.

Mr. Gallegos said negotiations over the last fortnight focused on several fronts, including the right to life, the promotion of positive attitudes and the need for equality and non-discrimination.

Voicing optimism about the progress of the negotiations, he said he was particularly pleased that recent talks have been able to integrate the concerns of disabled rights' advocates as well as the concerns of governments.

Two or three more negotiating sessions are planned for next year to try to iron out remaining differences so that a text can be prepared ready for signature by next September.

It is estimated that one in 10 of the world's population, or about 600 million people, have some form of mental or physical disability. Up to three quarters live in the developing world.

In a response to a journalist's question, Mr. Gallegos said the United States had already made clear that it would not ratify or sign the convention, but that it would also help with the current process of drafting and negotiations.

The treaty protecting persons with disabilities was one of the "Ten Stories the World Should Know More About" compiled by the UN Department of Public Information (DPI).