Section Links
Support DA
You can help by your DirectoryFind out where to go for services, products, classes... |
Media ArticleDeaf Australia applauds historic UN ConventionMedia Release - 14 December 2006Deaf Australia is delighted with the announcement that the United Nations General Assembly has adopted the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. This is a landmark Convention and promises to lead to a better life for millions of Deaf people and other people with disabilities around the world. It has taken three years to develop this Convention, with a great deal of negotiation between governments and non-government organisations, including a lot of lobbying from people with disabilities themselves. Deaf Australia provided input and comment to the Australian delegations to the negotiations, and lobbied particularly hard on the article on education, and we are very pleased with the final version of the Convention. The World Federation of the Deaf, of which Deaf Australia is a member, also was involved in negotiations at the international level. The Convention has been described by the UN as a remarkable and forward-looking document that not only focuses on the rights and development of people with disabilities but also speaks about society as a whole and the need to enable all people to contribute to the best of their abilities and potential. The United Nations has also pointed out that this Convention is remarkable because it is the first human rights treaty to be adopted in the 21 st Century, it is the most rapidly negotiated human rights treaty in the history of international law, and it is the first human rights treaty to emerge from lobbying conducted extensively through the Internet. Deaf Australia congratulates the United Nations on this magnificent achievement. Deaf Australia also congratulates Australia’s delegates to the negotiation meetings, the Australian Government, the Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission, and the various other organisations that worked so hard to see this Convention become a reality. The next step for Australians is for the Australian Government to become a signatory to the Convention, and Deaf Australia hopes that the Australian Government will be an early signatory and thereby show leadership and commitment to achieving equality for all Australians with a disability.
|