DREDF -THE FIRST VOTE ON THE CRPD IS THURSDAY, JULY 26th Calls to All 50 States Needed!

This information is from DREDF:

Update! Markup  

of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and a vote in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is rescheduled for the ADA Anniversary: Thursday, July 26th at 9:30 am.

 

If you are outside of DC, you can watch here. If you are in DC be sure to attend in Senate Office Building Dirksen G-50.  

 

Unfortunately, the opposition has intensified their efforts to defeat the CRPD and Senators are hearing from them.

 

Don’t let the opposition drown the voices of the disability community.

 

Below are the responses to some of the myths that the opposition is using in its campaign to defeat the CRPD. For more information on the CRPD visit USICD's webpages.

ACTION: Please call and email your Senators and tell them to vote for the CRPD treaty. Call them as many times a day as you can until the treaty is passed. Recruit your friends and families to call. Please forward this email to your network of friends.

 

MESSAGE: The message is simple “I am a constituent of your state and I want the Senator to support the CRPD – this is important to the disability community!”

 

CONTACTS: The Capitol Switchboard number is (202) 224-3121.  Ask to be connected to your Senator’s office. Call both Senators!

Or, you can find Senator's contact information here.

MYTHS AND FACTS ABOUT THE CRPD

 

1. Myth: The CRPD will cost money and will require us to change laws in the US.

 

 Facts:

• The CRPD will require no changes to federal or state law, and it will have no impact on the federal budget. 
• Ratification of the CRPD will not require the US to allocate new funds towards the implementation of the Treaty by other countries.

 

2. Myth: Ratification of the CRPD will harm parental rights

 

   Facts:

• The CRPD recognizes and protects the important role of the family. 
• The CRPD specifically recognizes the role of parents in raising children with disabilities AND protects children from being separated from their parents on the basis of disability. This is made clear in Article 23 of the CRPD, entitled “Respect for Home and Family.”
• Nothing in this Treaty prevents parents from homeschooling or making decisions for their children. This Treaty embraces IDEA, the ADA, and all of the disability non-discrimination legislation that has made the United States the leader on disability rights.

 

3.  Myth: Ratification will overrule state law on disability issues

 

Facts:

• The treaty package includes a reservation on federalism so that ratification of the treaty will not impact areas that are dealt with under state and local government.  

 

 4. Myth: Ratification will require everything to be accessible, including every home and church in the US

 

Facts:

• The Treaty package has a reservation on private conduct. This makes sure that the U.S. does not accept any obligation to regulate private conduct except as mandated by the Constitution and the laws of the US like the ADA. This means churches, small businesses, and private homes are not subjected to the Treaty.
• The US Chamber of Commerce supports ratification of the CRPD.

 

5. Myth: Legal conditions added to the Treaty called Reservations, Understandings, and Declarations (RUDs) are not enough to protect the US from Treaty obligations

 

  Facts:

• The President cannot proceed to ratify a treaty without giving effect to the RUDs approved by the Senate. 
• The Senate has a long tradition of careful consideration and frequent adoption of limited RUDs, as is the case here.
• Any claims that RUDs do not have the force of the law are contrary to the long-held position articulated by the Senate regardless of which party is in control.

 

6. Myth: Ratifying the CRPD is simply a ploy to get other treaties like the Convention on the Rights of the Child or Law of the Sea Treaty ratified

 

Facts:

• The CRPD simply does not involve other treaties that the US has not ratified. 
• The CRPD adopts the nondiscrimination model for persons with disabilities already found in the ADA and other US disability laws.
• It is the American disability community, many who partook in the drafting of the Treaty, who have been leading the ratification effort in the United States.

 

7. Myth: Ratification of the CRPD will obligate the US to enact new economic, social, and cultural rights

 

Facts:

• The treaty package includes an understanding that the CRPD prevents discrimination on the basis of disability with respect to economic, social, and cultural (ESC) rights recognized and implemented under U.S. federal law. It will not create new rights.

 

8. Myth: Ratification of the Treaty will put a UN committee of experts in charge of US law

 

Facts:

• The committee created by the Treaty can only give advice and recommendations and the US is not required to follow them.