30 March

UK signs UN International Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities

The UK will be among 50 countries that will sign the UN International Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities at a ceremony in London today (30 March).

The convention will ensure that disabled people have the same standard of human rights across the world as non-disabled people.

Disability minister Anne McGuire has hailed the convention, which covers education, employment and participation in public life, including:

The UK's own disability legislation, the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA), will not be affected, and the government says that it will ensure the DDA does not contravene the convention.

The convention, which is the first human rights treaty of the 21st century, will be most significant in the developing countries, where around 80 per cent of the world's disabled population lives.

This is the first human rights treaty of the 21st century and took four years to negotiate.

We have provided a briefing on this international convention describing, among other things, what the impact this convention will have, and how it will affect our members. It is available as a Microsoft Word document and can be obtained using the link below.

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For further information on the Employers' Forum on Disability contact the Forum press office

Issy Rule
Employers' Forum on Disability press office
Telephone: 020 7403 3020
Mobile: 07754 522 521
Email: issy.rule@employers-forum.co.uk
Web: www.employers-forum.co.uk

The Employers' Forum on Disability

The Employers' Forum on Disability is the world's leading employers' organisation focused on disability as it affects business. Funded and managed by 400 members, we make it easier to recruit and retain disabled employees and to serve disabled customers.