Tomorrow,
the U.S. Senate will vote on the ratification of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)
at 12 noon (EST)/8:00am (PST).
Some Republicans oppose the convention because of specious
arguments concerning how affirming the U.N. agreement would override the
sovereignty of U.S. law. These are the same folks who believe that the United
Nations is home to those who seek a “New World Order” that will destroy private
property rights and force upon us all a one-world government of
"elites" through radical environmentalism, public transportation, Mexican
immigration, and who knows what else. In short, these Republican conspiracy
theorists believe that although communism is a failed form of government, it
hasn't really disappeared. These one-world order folks have simply
reconstituted themselves as the environmental movement and they are pursuing
the goals of a communist state. Having established the U.N. as the center of
this new movement to confiscate all the private land in the world, our local
governments have now bought into the secret plans (which take the form of non-binding
resolutions) and are working with “them” against “us.” The evidence is
everywhere, they claim. They see it in everything from concerns about
overpopulation, to town water regulations, to zoning-board decisions, to
"Green Teams" formed in local high schools, to the smart meters on
home appliances, which they believe are really monitors that transmit data to a
kind of central command that, one day, will punish people who use too much power.
In recent years, these
theories have grown, with, in addition property, the U.N. trying to take away
Americans’ rights — including the rights to bear arms and raise kids the way
parents see fit.
These Senators want to
block the adoption of a document that ensures the basic human rights of persons
with disabilities out of fear that it would give away U.S. sovereignty.
In
the last few hours before tomorrow’s vote, please help in this significant
fight for lasting change and equality.
The Convention on the
Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol was adopted on December
13, 2006. There were 82 signatories to the Convention, 44 signatories to the
Optional Protocol, and 1 ratification of the Convention. This is the highest number of signatories in history to a UN Convention
on its opening day. It is the first comprehensive human rights treaty of
the 21st century.
It follows decades of
work by the United Nations to change attitudes and approaches to persons
with disabilities. It takes to a new height the movement from viewing persons
with disabilities as "objects" of charity, medical treatment,
and social protection towards viewing persons with disabilities as
"subjects" with rights, who are capable of claiming those rights, and
making decisions for their lives based on their free and informed consent, as
well as being active members of society.
The Convention adopts
a broad categorization of persons with disabilities and reaffirms that all
persons with all types of disabilities must enjoy all human rights and
fundamental freedoms. It clarifies and qualifies how all categories of rights
apply to persons with disabilities and identifies areas where adaptations have
to be made for persons with disabilities to effectively exercise their rights
and areas where their rights have been violated, and where protection of rights
must be reinforced.
The Convention was
negotiated during eight sessions of an Ad Hoc Committee of the General Assembly
from 2002 to 2006, making it the fastest negotiated human rights treaty in
the U.N.’s history.
Here’s how you can help!
Thank you for your assistance.
