UN Convention

Co-ordinating the UK government’s work on the United Nations human rights convention

What is the Convention?

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (the Convention) is an international treaty. It explains that all disabled people around the world have, and should be able to enjoy, the same human rights as other people.

The Convention sets out international benchmarks for the human rights of disabled people,and places responsibilities on governments to ensure that disabled people have and can enjoy those rights.

Policymakers in the UK government should therefore be guided by the rights described in the Convention. This framework will be used by the UN – and others - to judge whether governments have ensured that disabled people have them.

Monitoring the Convention

The United Kingdom ratified the Convention on the 8 June 2009. When a country ratifies a convention it formally agrees to do what the convention requires.

All the countries that have ratified the Convention have to report to the United Nations (UN) on what they are doing to implement the Convention. The UK government has to submit its first report by July 2011.

ODI is responsible for co-ordinating the UK government’s work on the Convention, including the UK government report.

We need your views

Disabled people and their organisations were actively involved in campaigning for the Convention to exist. One of the Convention’s key principles is that disabled people should be involved in the implementation, monitoring and reporting processes.

Part of ODI’s work on the Convention involves taking views from disabled people on what the UK is doing well and what it is doing less well.

ODI is currently consulting a range of disability organisations for their views on these questions.

Why do you think that the Convention is important for disabled people?
What do you think disabled people and others need to know about the Convention?
How do you think information about the Convention should be provided?
What do you think are the three main areas in the Convention that the government should be focusing on in order to ensure that disabled people can enjoy the rights that the Convention sets out?

If you have views on these questions, or other Convention-related issues please email odi.international@dwp.gsi.gov.uk.

Further information

The Convention and its Optional Protocol (full text)

The full text of the Convention and the Optional Protocol can be found on the UN Enable website.

The Convention and its Optional Protocol (Easy Read)

International Agreement on the Rights of Disabled People (PDF, 58 pages, 1.85 MB)
Extra Agreement under the International Agreement on the Rights of Disabled People (PDF, 11 pages, 640 KB)

Find out more about the Convention

Find out more about the implementation and reporting of the convention

Download Documents

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