The Convention

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol was adopted on December 13, 2006 at the United Nations headquarters in New York, and was opened for signature on March 30, 2007. There were 82 signatories to the Convention, 44 signatories to the Optional Protocol, and 1 ratification of the Convention, making this the highest number of signatories in history to a Convention on its opening day. It is the first comprehensive human rights treaty of the 21st century and is the first human rights Convention to be open for signature by regional integration organizations.

There are currently 155 signatory States (as of April 2013); the European Union has also signed.

This information and more, including the full text of the Convention can be found on the UN Enable website.

In brief

• Adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 13, 2006
• 8th Universal Convention on Human Rights and 1st of this millennium
• 155 countries have signed it as of April 2013
• 130 countries have ratified it as of April 2013
• The Convention entered into force on May 3, 2008 

 Accessibility to ICT 

• Accessibility to ICT is defined as a fundamental right equivalent to accessibility to buildings and transportation
• 14 out of the 32 non-procedural articles of the Convention define accessibility mandates and have implications for ICT, some specific, some implied:
• Generally defined in relation to a desired outcome, rather than in specific technical terms
• Cover both public and private sectors