A  United Nations  convention to protect the rights of the world’s 650
million people with disabilities will come into force next month, the U.N.
rights chief said Friday.
Ecuador’s approval on Thursday brings to 20 the number of countries that haveratified the charter, meaning it will come into force on May 3.
“I cannot stress enough the importance of this groundbreaking convention,
which fills an important gap in international human rights legislation affecting millions of people around the world,” said U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour.
A further 106 states have signed the convention, signaling their intention to
ratify it in future, according to Arbour’s office. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was approved by theU.N. General Assembly in December 2006 and opened for signatures three monthslater.

Jamaica became the first country to ratify the convention, which is seen as a
blueprint to end discrimination and exclusion of the physically and mentally
disabled in education, jobs, and everyday life. It requires countries to guarantee freedom from exploitation and abuse for the disabled, while protecting rights they already have such as voting rights
for the blind and wheelchair-accessible buildings.
It guarantees that the disabled have the same right to life as able-bodied
persons and requires countries to ensure they can own and inherit property,
control their financial affairs, and enjoy privacy in their personal lives.
Only four European countries Croatia, Hungary, San Marino and Spain have so far ratified the charter, while a further 28 have signed the document. The
United States has not signed the convention.