Iceland urged to ratify disability convention
Photo: Kristinn
Iceland is one of just four European countries to have not yet ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, adopted in December 2006.
The Organisation of Disabled People in Iceland (ÖBÍ) hopes to collect 30,000 signatures urging the Icelandic government to ratify the Convention by the autumn at the latest.
Iceland signed the Convention in 2007 but has not yet ratified it. France, Ireland and the Netherlands are the only other countries in Europe yet to ratify.
Among the rights enshrined in the Convention are the right to accessibility, to live independently and be included in the community, to personal mobility, to habilitation and rehabilitation, and to participation in political and public life, cultural life, recreation and sport.
The document also covers issues such as awareness-raising, reporting and monitoring.
The full text of the Convention can be found here and you can sign the ÖBÍ petition here (page in Icelandic).
