UNITED NATIONS - A treaty to protect the rights of the world's 650 million disabled people cleared a key hurdle on Friday as a U.N. General Assembly panel approved a draft text of the convention.
The text now goes to the full 192-nation General Assembly, which is expected to approve it during its 61st annual session to open next month. It would then be opened for signature and finally for ratification.
"You are sending an absolutely wonderful message to the world. You are sending the message that we want to have a life with dignity for all and that all human beings are equal," Assembly President Jan Eliasson told cheering delegates after its adoption by consensus, without a recorded vote.
The convention, which likely will take effect in 2008 or 2009, would require nations ratifying it to adopt laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of any form of disability, from blindness to mental illness. Nations would also have to eliminate any discriminatory laws.
It would oblige governments to fight stereotypes and prejudices and promote awareness of the capabilities of people with disabilities and their contributions to society,
It would protect disabled newborns' right to life, and ensure children with disabilities are not separated from their parents against their will.
A General Assembly drafting committee that includes all 192 U.N. member-nations has been working since 2001 on the treaty.
The final two-week drafting session, which ended on Friday, went right down to the wire, with a vote actually taking place two hours after the usual 6 p.m. EDT (2200 GMT) U.N. deadline for shutting down meetings.
BROAD RANGE OF CONTROVERSIES
The negotiations were noteworthy for the large number of disabled who participated, whether as delegates or observers for various interest groups.
Disputes touched on a broad range of controversies ranging from abortion to the conflict in the Middle East to parents' powers over their children.
The final sticking point centered on a proposal by Sudan to ensure protection of the rights of the disabled living under foreign occupation -- a reference to Palestinians living under Israeli occupation. Israel branded the provision an attempt to politicize the treaty and the United States demanded a recorded vote on the provision.
Delegates voted 102-5, with eight abstentions, to keep the provision in the draft. Voting to delete it were Australia, Canada, Israel, Japan and the United States.
Another rough spot centered on language requiring governments to provide the same sexual and reproductive health services to the disabled as to other population groups.
That provision was dropped without a vote in the face of strong opposition from anti-abortion delegates.
Another controversy dealt with the right of the state to commit disabled individuals to institutional care without their consent. A compromise approved by the panel stated: "Every person with a disability has a right to respect for his or her physical and mental integrity on an equal basis with others."
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