[Nfbmo] John Kerry on CRPD treaty

DanFlasar at aol.com DanFlasar at aol.com
Mon Dec 3 17:57:58 UTC 2012


All,
   An article in today's Huffington Post on the CRPD by  Sen. John Kerry:
Dan
 
 
 
Watching cable television you might not know it, but the Senate is on the 
eve  of a major decision that -- regardless of outcome -- will ripple around 
the  globe. It's time for action in the Senate on the Disabilities Treaty, 
and it's  time for grassroots action to help push us across the finish line. 
Here in the Senate, with all the world's eyes watching, we can tomorrow  
approve the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and keep 
faith  with the best of America's tradition of leadership in the world when it 
comes to  empowering people living with disabilities, wherever they live.

You'd  think this issue can transcend politics. The Disabilities Convention 
is a  non-discrimination treaty that will extend essential protections for 
millions of  disabled Americans when they leave our shores.  
Twenty-two years ago, when we passed the Americans with Disabilities Act, 
the  United States set the standard at home to end discrimination against 
people with  disabilities. Approving the treaty now won't require any changes 
whatsoever to  American law -- none, zero, zip. It simply requires other 
countries to improve  their own record on disability rights -- in effect taking 
our gold standard here  at home and exporting it to countries that have 
never heard of disability rights  or have never changed their laws to 
accommodate people with  disabilities.

Fair treatment for persons with disabilities is a human  rights issue like 
any other. And no one understands that connection in a more  personal, 
searing way than Chen Guangcheng -- the self-taught lawyer and blind  Chinese 
activist who suffered mightily at the hands of local authorities, but  who 
refused to be silenced. 

Chen recently wrote a letter to the Senate  in support of this Convention, 
and we should all heed his words:  
My work on civil rights began with trying to ensure that people  with 
disabilities in my home country of China were afforded the same rights as  
everyone else. The [Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities] is  
making this idea real in significant ways around the world today... The U.S.  
-- which was instrumental in negotiating the CRPD -- can continue to advance  
both its principles and issues of practical accessibility for its citizens 
and  all people around the world, and by ratifying the treaty, so take its 
rightful  place of leadership in the arena of human rights.
Republicans and Democrats both have spoken about Chen Guangcheng's courage  
against overwhelming odds -- the question tomorrow is whether we'll listen 
to  him and act on a modest and common sense effort to honor his struggle 
with  actions, not words. 
The Senate floor has been the place where speeches are given about American 
 exceptionalism -- the question now is whether, even in an age of 
polarization  and gridlock, we can use the Senate floor to do something that makes 
the Senate  worthy of the word "exceptional." 

Across the developing world, persons  with disabilities face indignities 
and prejudice on a daily basis. They are  prevented from attending schools, 
subject to discriminatory hiring practices and  often are unable to enter 
public buildings, safely cross a street or even ride a  public bus.  
Those millions of people with disabilities around the globe may not be  
watching the Senate this week, but make no mistake that in the course of the  
coming years of their lives they will feel and know whether we found common  
ground this week to do what is right -- or whether we found excuses to delay 
and  defer and dither.  
As the Washington Post wrote in an _editorial urging approval_ 
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/a-yea-on-disabilities/2012/12/02/ce5c6e2c-3cb5-11
e2-ae43-cf491b837f7b_story.html)  of the Treaty,  
THE UNITED STATES has made great progress over the past two  decades in 
opening opportunities for people with disabilities. Many other  countries lag 
far behind. That's why the U.S. Senate ought to ratify a U.N.  treaty on 
rights for people with disabilities, a vote that's scheduled for  Tuesday. 
Anyone who has traveled the world knows that many people with  disabilities 
continue to face overwhelming barriers to participating in their  societies. The 
wheelchair ramps we've come to expect in this country are  nonexistent in 
many places. In developing countries, 90 percent of children  with 
disabilities do not attend school. Huge pools of talent go to waste as a  result, and 
millions of lives fail to reach their potential.
So what stands in the way? Mythology.  
Some still reflexively resist anything associated with the word "treaty" 
and  dismiss it as a Democratic effort. But there should be no controversy  
surrounding this treaty, because it's not controversial. Former Majority 
Leader  Bob Dole supports it. As he said in a letter to me today,  
Many know that I myself am a veteran with a service-connected  disability. 
>From my maiden speech in 1969 forward, I have worked tirelessly to  make 
sure that veterans are not denied the rights and opportunities of others  
because of a disability. The CRPD is yet another important step in the right  
direction. It is no coincidence that 21 major veterans organizations and over  
300 disability organizations support the treaty and have played a leading 
role  in bringing it to a vote in this Congress. Members should not be 
intimidated  by scare tactics. I encourage my colleagues to extend a helping hand 
to the  disabled around the world. We now have the opportunity to officially 
ratify  the CRPD and affirm our pledge to the rights of all people with 
disabilities  -- and we absolutely should.
Bob Dole is not alone -- President  George H.W. Bush and former Republican 
Governor, Senator and attorney General  Dick Thornburgh supports it. They 
join a bipartisan group of Senators who  believe we ought to move forward with 
this treaty, including Senators McCain  Barrasso, Lugar, Moran, Durbin, 
Harkin and Tom Udall, among many others. This  was, after all, a treaty we 
passed out of our committee on a bipartisan 13-6  vote appropriately on the 22nd 
anniversary of the signing of the Americans with  Disabilities Act. 

Others fear that the treaty would subject the United  States to the command 
and control of a U.N. body. Let's be very clear: Does this  treaty create a 
"Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities?" You bet  it does. 
Is that a reason to fear the treaty? Not for a second. What can this  
committee do? All it can do is review reports submitted by participants on the  
steps they have taken to implement the convention, and it can make non-binding  
recommendations. That's it. Nothing else. A committee that can give us 
advice  that we can choose to ignore. That's a threat to our sovereignty? That's 
a price  too high to pay to make sure that when American combat veterans 
who left their  legs on a battlefield travel overseas, there's a ramp in front 
of the building  so they can enter and exit or use a bathroom? You tell 
those veterans that a  committee's advice is sufficient reason to deny them 
dignity and respect when  they travel overseas.  
As the Washington Post editorial argued this morning,  
... opposition on the argument that the treaty would not help  Americans 
with disabilities at home but would establish an international  committee to 
review periodic reports from the United States and make "such  suggestions 
and general recommendations on the report as it may consider  appropriate." 
Suggestions from foreign experts! The horror!
What else have we heard? Well, we've heard that we can't do this during a  
lame duck session of the Senate. Never mind that we've been studying this 
treaty  for the last year. Never mind that in this session we will deal with 
major tax  and budget issues -- so obviously people accept that we can do 
important things  here in the months of November and December. Since the 1970s 
alone, the Senate  has approved treaties during lame-duck sessions a total 
of nineteen times! There  is nothing special or different about lame-duck 
sessions. And I think our  constituents expect us to do our jobs every day that 
were on the job on their  dime. 
So here we go, another debate, another decision -- and for all who count on 
 the United States to speak and stand for those around the globe who cannot 
speak  and stand for themselves, please use these next twenty-four hours to 
ensure that  the Senate concludes this debate with a decision to be the 
Senate and the  country we aspire to be.






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