Disability Resource Digest
Volume 6 Issue 8 September 2006
Focussed Coverage
UN Disability Convention
Selected Topics
Accessibility
Advocacy
Aging
Education
Employment
Ethics
General Interest
Government
Health
Legal
Medical
Media
Policy/Research
Rehabilitation
Self Help
Technology
Wellness
Conferences
The Disability Resource Digest (DRD) is a special project of SMD Alliance. SMD Alliance is based in Manitoba, Canada and provides strategic vision and policy direction to four SMD corporations: SMD Clearinghouse; SMD Foundation; SMD Ventures; and SMD Services.
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Published monthly (with a single summer edition for July and August), the DRD presents summaries of, and URL addresses for, notable disability-related content on the world-wide web (WWW). The DRD focuses on recently posted content but also includes coverage of other web pages of interest. The URL addresses cited in the DRD are current at the time of publication. But as those posting content on the web often revise URL addresses, the addresses in the DRD may not remain current.
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Delegates meet to iron out differences on UN disability rights treaty - by Kate Heneroty (Jurist). "Delegates from around the world will meet Monday in New York in a bid to resolve differences left after a drafting session [JURIST report] earlier this year to frame a 33-article draft convention [text] designed to protect the rights of persons with disabilities. If negotiations are successful, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities will be sent to the General Assembly [official website] at its next session and then opened for signature and ratification. Currently, only 45 countries have laws that govern disability rights. The new convention would mandate gradual incorporation of disability-friendly features into the construction of new buildings, as well as eliminate disability discrimination and promote education and disability information. UN News Centre has more."
http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2006/08/delegates-meet-to-iron-out-differences.php
Disabled rights convention hits snag - by Paul Burkhardt (Associated Press). "A proposed U.N. convention that would protect the rights of the world's disabled has run into difficulties, including a lack of U.S. support, officials said Monday. The draft convention would require countries to guarantee freedom from exploitation and abuse for the disabled, while protecting rights they already have — such as ensuring voting rights for the blind and providing wheelchair-accessible buildings. But they fear that a lack of key support and a huge number of proposals from delegations as negotiations head into their final week 'could lead to an unraveling of the process,' said Thomas Schindlmayr, of the U.N. Secretariat helping with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities."
http://www.wtop.com/?nid=106&sid=888756