18 July 2008
A great day for Australians with disability, but there is still much to achieve
Human Rights Commissioner Graeme Innes has welcomed the announcement today of Australia becoming a party to the international Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and called for governments to act to make the rights in the Convention a reality.
“Sixty years ago this year, in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the world affirmed that human rights had to be universal,” said Commissioner Innes. “The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities gives long overdue recognition that, if rights and freedoms are to be truly universal, they have to include people with disability.”
The Commissioner noted that Australia is among the first nations to ratify the Convention.
“I commend the Government for moving swiftly to ratify the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability,” said Mr Innes. “I’d also like to recognise the previous Government for their strong support of the Convention, which included signing it on the first day it was open for signature, and playing an important and positive role during the drafting process in partnership with disability community organisations.”
More than one fifth of Australians are estimated to have some kind of disability and this is expected to increase with the ageing of the population.
“As we get older, more and more of us will have reason to hope that our society really does put universal access and inclusion for people with disability into practice - whether it is a matter of being able to fully use and access housing, public transport and buildings or just basic consumer appliances,” Mr Innes said.
The Commissioner emphasised that today’s announcement was not the conclusion of the process of recognising human rights for people with disability.
“In Australia, we have made some great advances in disability law and policy, but there is much more to do,” Commissioner Innes pointed out. “We must strive to remove barriers to physical and information access, ensure equal opportunity - not just in theory, but in practice - in employment and education, as well as address the severe inadequacies in supports and services for many people with disability and their families.
“Ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is a symbolic commitment to equal enjoyment of human rights for Australians with disability.”
Commissioner Innes urged all Australian Governments to work together and in partnership with the community to make that commitment a reality.
Media contact: Brinsley Marlay (02) 9284 9656 or 0430 366 529
