8th Session of the Ad Hoc Committee on the Rights and Dignity of Persons

Today, August 25, 2006, is a day to celebrate!  We have achieved something
that has been long been the dream of our membership: A UN Convention on  our human rights!

Twenty-five years ago at DPI's 1st World Congress, in Singapore, we
recognized the need to unite and to fight for our human rights as disabled
people.  Today, with this victory we are united as never before!  With the
adoption of the draft convention by the Ad Hoc Committee, we can celebrate
a major victory on the long road to equality and we should be very proud
of this achievement.
At the beginning of the current negotiations process DPI made clear our
view that there were no human rights to which disabled people do not lay
claim.  The draft instrument accepted here today recognizes and entrenches
our rights in the UN Human Rights framework, and in this way is a huge
victory for us all.

The new Treaty will be of immense value to us as we continue along the
path to the full realization of our rights!  In closing we wish to take a
moment and thank especially the Chair of the Ad Hoc Committee, Ambassador
Don MacKay from New Zealand, along with all the government delegations,
the Bureau, DESA and the Secretariat, and of course our NGO colleagues
from around the world, all of whom have worked so hard to bring us this
remarkable new instrument.  We look forward to the UN General Assembly
move to adopt this Convention at its upcoming session so that we can begin
the important processes of ratification and implementation of this
Convention!

Venus Ilagan, DPI Chairperson