Pakistan Ratifies UN Convention; UN Congrats:
Joins 100 Countries who Acknowledge Rights of Disabled Persons

UNICEF has congratulated Pakistan on its ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Pakistan joins 100 other countries in ratifying the first legally binding human rights treaty focusing exclusively on disability rights.

The Convention is truly a breakthrough in giving children with disabilities the protection to which they are entitled. It also has the potential to empower children with disabilities as rights-holders who act as ‘ambassadors of ability’ to their families, schools and communities, instead of being treated as objects of charity. The Convention is also of great importance to UNICEF’s work, as it gives visibility to the most excluded and stigmatized of all the world’s children – children with disabilities. 
“Together, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities represent powerful instruments for rights-based, inclusive development of all children in Pakistan,” said UNICEF Pakistan Representative, Mr. Dan Rohrmann.

“UNICEF calls on all partners in Pakistan to use the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to advance the spirit of the treaty to its fullest extent,” he said.
On 25 September 2008, Pakistan signed the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which was adopted in 2006.

According to the Pakistan Year Book 2010, almost 3.3 million people in Pakistan live with some form of disability, with more than half of those being children. Additional disaggregated data on children with disabilities, if available, would prove invaluable in inclusive development programming.

Implementation of the Disability Convention will be spearheaded by provincial authorities and the Capital Administration and Development Division together with a host of stakeholders and partners.

“UNICEF stands ready to support their efforts in order to accelerate achieving the rights of all children,” said Mr. Rohrmann.