NEWS: Jordan Ratifies CRPD
RatifyNow has now announced that Jordan ratified the international disabilities rights treaty, called the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) yesterday, March 31, 2008.
Regular We Can Do readers will know that the CRPD is the first international legally binding human rights instrument to protect people with disabilities. It protects the rights of people with disabilities to have access to education and health services; to be free from torture and other forms of abuse; to have the right to make their own choices about what medical treatment they will accept or refuse; the right to live in the community; and more.
As of this writing (April 1 … and, no, not April Fool’s), the United Nations Enable web site has not yet announced Jordan’s ratification. But contacts within the ratification movement were able to verify the news with the UN Secretariat.
The CRPD needs to be ratified by a total of 20 countries before it can become legally enforceable, then it will go into effect 30 days later. Jordan is the 18th country to ratify since the treaty was opened for countries to sign and ratify. The other 17 ratifying countries include Bangladesh, Croatia, Cuba, El Salvador, Gabon, Guinea, Hungary, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Namibia, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, San Marino, South Africa, and Spain.
In addition to 18 ratifications, 126 countries have signed the CRPD. Signing an international treaty does not oblige a country to obey it. In order to be legally bound by a treaty, a country must ratify it. However, signing a treaty does send a signal that the country is interested in ratifying the treaty in the future. It also commits the country to avoiding any action that would violate the spirit of the treaty.
Keep watching this space for the next two ratifications, possibly within a week. Also watch for upcoming announcements on how RatifyNow plans to celebrate and promote the CRPD when it goes into effect 30 days after the 20th ratification.
Consult the RatifyNow FAQ to learn more about the CRPD, how it is meant to help people with disabilities, and how the ratification process works.
This text is taken with slight modifications from the RatifyNow.org web site with permission of author.
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