NAD and WFD Urge Support of UN Convention On Disability Rights

The World Federation of the Deaf, of which the National Association of the Deaf is a member, along with representatives of international disability organizations and United Nations delegations in January 2006 completed a new convention (universal agreement) on the rights of individuals with disabilities.

The proposed convention includes the recognition of both sign language and deaf culture, access to communication media, public announcements,etc., bilingual education and sign language interpreting. This is an improvement over the 1981 World Programme of Action Concerning Disabled Persons which offered only "communication aids for the deaf."

This very positive improvement is a result of the active involvement of representatives of national federations of the deaf and the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD), with the assistance of deaf members of four foreign delegations. A total of 17 deaf activists were involved in this process.

The proposed U.N. Convention will be considered in August 2006 for final approval. The International Disability Caucus, including the World Federation of the Deaf, urges all deaf and hard of hearing people to support the U.N. Convention by completing a form that can be found at:
http://www.conventionyes.org/content.cfm?ID=585C76&iu=5B5D777A544B [2]

Dr. Yerker J. Andersson, NAD Board member, chair of the NAD International Committee, and past president of the World Federation of the Deaf, remarked, "The U.S. delegation at the United Nations in January 2006 did not include any deaf people, or for that matter any individuals with disabilities." Representing the NAD, Andersson reminded the U.S. delegation about the lack of consultants with disabilities and representatives of U.S. disability organizations missing from the meeting. However, both U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and the U.S. delegation at the United Nations have since given their assurances that they would support the United Nations Convention in response to the appeal written by the NAD.

"The involvement of organizations representing deaf and foreign delegations at the U.N. level will certainly encourage the deaf and hard of hearing communities in every country to find new ways to improve the quality of life among deaf and hard of hearing people," said Andersson.