UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) is the first human rights treaty of the 21st century and the first one to specifically address the rights of persons with disabilities, the world’s largest minority, comprising some 15% of the world’s population (approximately 1 billion people). It is also the only international human rights instrument to explicitly mention sign language in its main text.

The UN General Assembly adopted the treaty on December 13, 2006; it opened for signature on March 30, 2007, and entered into force on May 3, 2008, after the 20th convention ratification and the 10th optional protocol ratification. It was the UN convention with the highest number of signatories on the opening day with 82 signatories to the ...