Tuesday, November 27, 2012

U.N. to decide what's best for American children with disabilities if treaty is passed

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) treaty will be coming up for a vote this week, thanks to Senator Harry Reid, who promised to do so despite objections from many concerned parents. 

If ratified, CRPD threatens U.S. sovereignty and parental rights, and would effectively put the U.S. under international law when it comes to parenting special needs children. One provision in the treaty would give the government, acting under U.N. instructions, the ability to determine for all children with disabilities what is best for them. Basically it would give the U.N. discretion over decisions about how parents educate their special needs kids and could potentially eliminate parental rights for the education of children with disabilities. These are precisely the things that the parents should decide...not the United Nations or our own government.

What's more, the U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities does nothing to improve the rights of the disabled in this country. Our country already meets or exceeds the U.N. standards, and contrary to reports, passage of this treaty will do nothing to give disabled Americans or any disabled person traveling in a foreign country greater protections or rights. What this treaty does do is make American laws subservient to the United Nations. We should not see this in the United States of America.

For any parent of a special needs child, or any other citizen concerned with this intrusion by the U.N. and our own federal government, consider calling the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121, ask to be connected to your senators, and then ask them to vote "no" on this terrible overreach. 

Update: The Senate voted  this treaty down yesterday (Dec. 4). President Obama had signed the U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2009, and sent it to the Senate in May. The Senate voted 61-38 yesterday, falling short of the 66 votes needed for ratification.



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