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UNITED NATIONS TREATY ON DISABILITY RIGHTS NEEDS U.S. SUPPORT
January 2004
ACTION ALERT! U.N. Treaty on Disability Rights Needs Support
Pressure must be put on House Majority Leader Tom Delay (R- TX) throughout the month of January to schedule and support House Concurrent Resolution 169, calling for U.S. support of a United Nations human rights convention (legally binding international treaty) on the rights of people with disabilities. (See below for a summary of the legislation.)
For over two years, member nations of the U.N. have been working to draft a convention. The U.N. human rights system has traditionally not considered disability as within its scope, so this represents an important turning point for people with disabilities worldwide. The U.S. government has taken a backseat in this process, stating that it will not sign such a treaty because it has such a comprehensive domestic law. If we don't pressure Rep. Delay to schedule this bill, we have little chance that the U.S. will support this convention, which seeks to preserve and enforce disability rights around the world.
House Majority Leader Rep. Tom Delay (R-TX) is in charge of scheduling all bills. Please contact him in the month of January and ask him to immediately schedule House Concurrent Resolution 169 and to support it. Also, remind him that this bill has unanimous support from the House International Relations Committee. We are in particular need of people from Texas to contact Rep. Delay, but we need everyone to contact him. A sample letter to fax or mail is attached.
How to reach Rep. Delay and tell him to schedule and support House Concurrent Resolution 169:
1. Call his DC office 202-225-4000, or his Texas office 281-240-3700
2. Fax his DC office 202-2255117, or his Texas office 281- 240-2959
3. Write to him in DC at: Office of the House Majority Leader - H 107, The Capitol, Washington, DC 20515; at in Texas at: Office of Rep. Tom Delay, 10701 Corporate Drive, Suite 118, Stafford, TX 77477.
A Sample letter is provided below.
SUMMARY OF LEGISLATION:
House Concurrent Resolution 169, expressing the Sense of Congress that the US should support a UN convention on disability rights.
Urges: (1) the United States to play a leading role in the drafting of a United Nations convention and to work toward its adoption. The Convention should affirm the human rights and dignity of persons with disabilities, and should be, among other things, consistent with the spirit of the American with Disabilities Act of 1990, the United States Constitution, and other rights enjoyed by U.S. citizens with disabilities; and (2) urge the President to instruct the Secretary of State to send to the UN Ad Hoc Committee meetings a U.S. delegation that includes individuals with disabilities who are recognized leaders in the U.S. disability rights movement. This bill is co-sponsored by the Chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives International Relations Committee Rep. Henry Hyde (R-IL), and the ranking Democrat Rep. Tom Lantos (D-CA), and has the unanimous support of the House International Relations Committee.
For more information on the proposed convention visit: http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/enable/rights/
SAMPLE LETTER
Insert dateThe Honorable Tom Delay House Majority Leader
Dear Congressman Delay:
I write to ask you to schedule for a vote on the House floor as soon as possible House Concurrent Resolution 169 expressing the Sense of Congress that the U.S. should support a U.N. convention on disability rights. I also ask for your support of this bill, which has bipartisan support from the House International Relations Committee.
The United States is a leader on disability around the world. We must continue to show our leadership through U.S. support and involvement in the proposed U.N. Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities, so that the rights of people with disabilities throughout the world will be enforced and protected.
Sincerely,
Name Insert address
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