Preamble
The States Parties to the present Convention,
(a) Recalling the principles proclaimed in the Charter of the
United Nations which recognize the inherent dignity and
worth and the equal and inalienable rights of all members of
the human family as the foundation of freedom, justice and
peace in the world,
(b) Recognizing that the United Nations, in the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights and in the International
Covenants on Human Rights, has proclaimed and agreed that
everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set
forth therein, without distinction of any kind,
(c) Reaffirming the universality, indivisibility,
interdependence and interrelatedness of all human rights and
fundamental freedoms and the need for persons with
disabilities to be guaranteed their full enjoyment without
discrimination,
(d) Recalling the International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights, the International Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
against Women, the Convention against Torture and Other
Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the
Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the International
Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant
Workers and Members of Their Families,
(e) Recognizing that disability is an evolving concept and that
disability results from the interaction between persons with
impairments and attitudinal and environmental barriers that
hinders their full and effective participation in society on
an equal basis with others,
(f) Recognizing the importance of the principles and policy
guidelines contained in the World Programme of Action
concerning Disabled Persons and in the Standard Rules on the
Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities
in influencing the promotion, formulation and evaluation of
the policies, plans, programmes and actions at the national,
regional and international levels to further equalize
opportunities for persons with disabilities,
(g) Emphasizing the importance of mainstreaming disability
issues as an integral part of relevant strategies of
sustainable development,
(h) Recognizing also that discrimination against any person on
the basis of disability is a violation of the inherent
dignity and worth of the human person,
(i) Recognizing further the diversity of persons with
disabilities,
(j) Recognizing the need to promote and protect the human rights
of all persons with disabilities, including those who
require more intensive support,
(k) Concerned that, despite these various instruments and
undertakings, persons with disabilities continue to face
barriers in their participation as equal members of society
and violations of their human rights in all parts of the
world,
(l) Recognizing the importance of international cooperation for
improving the living conditions of persons with disabilities
in every country, particularly in developing countries,
(m) Recognizing the valued existing and potential contributions
made by persons with disabilities to the overall well-being
and diversity of their communities, and that the promotion
of the full enjoyment by persons with disabilities of their
human rights and fundamental freedoms and of full
participation by persons with disabilities will result in
their enhanced sense of belonging and in significant
advances in the human, social and economic development of
society and the eradication of poverty,
(n) Recognizing the importance for persons with disabilities of
their individual autonomy and independence, including the
freedom to make their own choices,
(o) Considering that persons with disabilities should have the
opportunity to be actively involved in decision-making
processes about policies and programmes, including those
directly concerning them,
(p) Concerned about the difficult conditions faced by persons
with disabilities who are subject to multiple or aggravated
forms of discrimination on the basis of race, colour, sex,
language, religion, political or other opinion, national,
ethnic, indigenous or social origin, property, birth, age or
other status,
(q) Recognizing that women and girls with disabilities are often
at greater risk, both within and outside the home, of
violence, injury or abuse, neglect or negligent treatment,
maltreatment or exploitation,
(r) Recognizing that children with disabilities should have full
enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms on an
equal basis with other children, and recalling obligations
to that end undertaken by States Parties to the Convention
on the Rights of the Child,
(s) Emphasizing the need to incorporate a gender perspective in
all efforts to promote the full enjoyment of human rights
and fundamental freedoms by persons with disabilities,
(t) Highlighting the fact that the majority of persons with
disabilities live in conditions of poverty, and in this
regard recognizing the critical need to address the negative
impact of poverty on persons with disabilities,
(u) Bearing in mind that conditions of peace and security based
on full respect for the purposes and principles contained in
the Charter of the United Nations and observance of
applicable human rights instruments are indispensable for
the full protection of persons with disabilities, in
particular during armed conflicts and foreign occupation,
(v) Recognizing the importance of accessibility to the physical,
social, economic and cultural environment, to health and
education and to information and communication, in enabling
persons with disabilities to fully enjoy all human rights
and fundamental freedoms,
(w) Realizing that the individual, having duties to other
individuals and to the community to which he or she belongs,
is under a responsibility to strive for the promotion and
observance of the rights recognized in the International
Bill of Human Rights,
(x) Convinced that the family is the natural and fundamental
group unit of society and is entitled to protection by
society and the State, and that persons with disabilities
and their family members should receive the necessary
protection and assistance to enable families to contribute
towards the full and equal enjoyment of the rights of
persons with disabilities,
(y) Convinced that a comprehensive and integral international
convention to promote and protect the rights and dignity of
persons with disabilities will make a significant
contribution to redressing the profound social disadvantage
of persons with disabilities and promote their participation
in the civil, political, economic, social and cultural
spheres with equal opportunities, in both developing and
developed countries,

Have agreed as follows:
Article 1
Purpose
The purpose of the present Convention is to promote, protect and
ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and
fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities, and to
promote respect for their inherent dignity. Persons with
disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental,
intellectual or sensory impairments which in interaction with
various barriers may hinder their full and effective
participation in society on an equal basis with others.

Article 2
Definitions
For the purposes of the present Convention:
“ Communication ” includes languages, display of text,
Braille, tactile communication, large print, accessible
multimedia as well as written, audio, plain-language,
human-reader and augmentative and alternative modes, means and
formats of communication, including accessible information and
communication technology;
“ Language ” includes spoken and signed languages and other
forms of non spoken languages;
“ Discrimination on the basis of disability ” means any
distinction, exclusion or restriction on the basis of disability
which has the purpose or effect of impairing or nullifying the
recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal basis with
others, of all human rights and fundamental freedoms in the
political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field.
It includes all forms of discrimination, including denial of
reasonable accommodation;
“ Reasonable accommodation ” means necessary and appropriate
modification and adjustments not imposing a disproportionate or
undue burden, where needed in a particular case, to ensure to
persons with disabilities the enjoyment or exercise on an equal
basis with others of all human rights and fundamental freedoms;
“ Universal design ” means the design of products,
environments, programmes and services to be usable by all
people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for
adaptation or specialized design.
“ Universal design ” shall not exclude assistive devices for
particular groups of persons with disabilities where this is
needed.

Article 3
General principles
The principles of the present Convention shall be:
(a) Respect for inherent dignity, individual autonomy including
the freedom to make one ’ s own choices, and independence
of persons;
(b) Non-discrimination;
(c) Full and effective participation and inclusion in society;
(d) Respect for difference and acceptance of persons with
disabilities as part of human diversity and humanity;
(e) Equality of opportunity;
(f) Accessibility;
(g) Equality between men and women;
(h) Respect for the evolving capacities of children with
disabilities and respect for the right of children with
disabilities to preserve their identities.

Article 4
General obligations
1. States Parties undertake to ensure and promote the full
realization of all human rights and fundamental freedoms for
all persons with disabilities without discrimination of any
kind on the basis of disability. To this end, States Parties
undertake:
(a) To adopt all appropriate legislative, administrative and
other measures for the implementation of the rights
recognized in the present Convention;
(b) To take all appropriate measures, including legislation, to
modify or abolish existing laws, regulations, customs and
practices that constitute discrimination against persons
with disabilities;
(c) To take into account the protection and promotion of the
human rights of persons with disabilities in all policies
and programmes;
(d) To refrain from engaging in any act or practice that is
inconsistent with the present Convention and to ensure that
public authorities and institutions act in conformity with
the present Convention;
(e) To take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination
on the basis of disability by any person, organization or
private enterprise;
(f) To undertake or promote research and development of
universally designed goods, services, equipment and
facilities, as defined in article 2 of the present
Convention, which should require the minimum possible
adaptation and the least cost to meet the specific needs of
a person with disabilities, to promote their availability
and use, and to promote universal design in the development
of standards and guidelines;
(g) To undertake or promote research and development of, and to
promote the availability and use of new technologies,
including information and communications technologies,
mobility aids, devices and assistive technologies, suitable
for persons with disabilities, giving priority to
technologies at an affordable cost;
(h) To provide accessible information to persons with
disabilities about mobility aids, devices and assistive
technologies, including new technologies, as well as other
forms of assistance, support services and facilities;
(i) To promote the training of professionals and staff working
with persons with disabilities in the rights recognized in
the present Convention so as to better provide the
assistance and services guaranteed by those rights.
2. With regard to economic, social and cultural rights, each
State Party undertakes to take measures to the maximum of its
available resources and, where needed, within the framework
of international cooperation, with a view to achieving
progressively the full realization of these rights, without
prejudice to those obligations contained in the present
Convention that are immediately applicable according to
international law.
3. In the development and implementation of legislation and
policies to implement the present Convention, and in other
decision-making processes concerning issues relating to
persons with disabilities, States Parties shall closely
consult with and actively involve persons with disabilities,
including children with disabilities, through their
representative organizations.
4. Nothing in the present Convention shall affect any provisions
which are more conducive to the realization of the rights of
persons with disabilities and which may be contained in the
law of a State Party or international law in force for that
State. There shall be no restriction upon or derogation from
any of the human rights and fundamental freedoms recognized
or existing in any State Party to the present Convention
pursuant to law, conventions, regulation or custom on the
pretext that the present Convention does not recognize such
rights or freedoms or that it recognizes them to a lesser
extent.
5. The provisions of the present Convention shall extend to all
parts of federal States without any limitations or
exceptions.

Article 5
Equality and non-discrimination
1. States Parties recognize that all persons are equal before
and under the law and are entitled without any discrimination
to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law.
2. States Parties shall prohibit all discrimination on the basis
of disability and guarantee to persons with disabilities
equal and effective legal protection against discrimination
on all grounds.
3. In order to promote equality and eliminate discrimination,
States Parties shall take all appropriate steps to ensure
that reasonable accommodation is provided.
4. Specific measures which are necessary to accelerate or
achieve de facto equality of persons with disabilities shall
not be considered discrimination under the terms of the
present Convention.

Article 6
Women with disabilities
1. States Parties recognize that women and girls with
disabilities are subject to multiple discrimination, and in
this regard shall take measures to ensure the full and equal
enjoyment by them of all human rights and fundamental
freedoms.
2. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to ensure
the full development, advancement and empowerment of women,
for the purpose of guaranteeing them the exercise and
enjoyment of the human rights and fundamental freedoms set
out in the present Convention.

Article 7
Children with disabilities
1. States Parties shall take all necessary measures to ensure
the full enjoyment by children with disabilities of all human
rights and fundamental freedoms on an equal basis with other
children.
2. In all actions concerning children with disabilities, the
best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration.
3. States Parties shall ensure that children with disabilities
have the right to express their views freely on all matters
affecting them, their views being given due weight in
accordance with their age and maturity, on an equal basis
with other children, and to be provided with disability and
age-appropriate assistance to realize that right.

Article 8
Awareness-raising
1. States Parties undertake to adopt immediate, effective and
appropriate measures:
(a) To raise awareness throughout society, including at the
family level, regarding persons with disabilities, and to
foster respect for the rights and dignity of persons with
disabilities;
(b) To combat stereotypes, prejudices and harmful practices
relating to persons with disabilities, including those based
on sex and age, in all areas of life;
(c) To promote awareness of the capabilities and contributions
of persons with disabilities.
2. Measures to this end include:
(a) Initiating and maintaining effective public awareness
campaigns designed:
(i) To nurture receptiveness to the rights of persons with
disabilities;
(ii) To promote positive perceptions and greater social
awareness towards persons with disabilities;
(iii) To promote recognition of the skills, merits and abilities
of persons with disabilities, and of their contributions
to the workplace and the labour market;
(b) Fostering at all levels of the education system, including
in all children from an early age, an attitude of respect
for the rights of persons with disabilities;
(c) Encouraging all organs of the media to portray persons with
disabilities in a manner consistent with the purpose of the
present Convention;
(d) Promoting awareness-training programmes regarding persons
with disabilities and the rights of persons with
disabilities.

Article 9
Accessibility
1. To enable persons with disabilities to live independently and
participate fully in all aspects of life, States Parties
shall take appropriate measures to ensure to persons with
disabilities access, on an equal basis with others, to the
physical environment, to transportation, to information and
communications, including information and communications
technologies and systems, and to other facilities and
services open or provided to the public, both in urban and in
rural areas. These measures, which shall include the
identification and elimination of obstacles and barriers to
accessibility, shall apply to, inter alia:
(a) Buildings, roads, transportation and other indoor and
outdoor facilities, including schools, housing, medical
facilities and workplaces;
(b) Information, communications and other services, including
electronic services and emergency services.
2. States Parties shall also take appropriate measures:
(a) To develop, promulgate and monitor the implementation of
minimum standards and guidelines for the accessibility of
facilities and services open or provided to the public;
(b) To ensure that private entities that offer facilities and
services which are open or provided to the public take into
account all aspects of accessibility for persons with
disabilities;
(c) To provide training for stakeholders on accessibility issues
facing persons with disabilities;
(d) To provide in buildings and other facilities open to the
public signage in Braille and in easy to read and understand
forms;
(e) To provide forms of live assistance and intermediaries,
including guides, readers and professional sign language
interpreters, to facilitate accessibility to buildings and
other facilities open to the public;
(f) To promote other appropriate forms of assistance and support
to persons with disabilities to ensure their access to
information;
(g) To promote access for persons with disabilities to new
information and communications technologies and systems,
including the Internet;
(h) To promote the design, development, production and
distribution of accessible information and communications
technologies and systems at an early stage, so that these
technologies and systems become accessible at minimum cost.

Article 10
Right to life
States Parties reaffirm that every human being has the inherent
right to life and shall take all necessary measures to ensure
its effective enjoyment by persons with disabilities on an equal
basis with others.

Article 11
Situations of risk and humanitarian emergencies
States Parties shall take, in accordance with their obligations
under international law, including international humanitarian
law and international human rights law, all necessary measures
to ensure the protection and safety of persons with disabilities
in situations of risk, including situations of armed conflict,
humanitarian emergencies and the occurrence of natural
disasters.

Article 12
Equal recognition before the law
1. States Parties reaffirm that persons with disabilities have
the right to recognition everywhere as persons before the
law.
2. States Parties shall recognize that persons with disabilities
enjoy legal capacity on an equal basis with others in all
aspects of life.
3. States Parties shall take appropriate measures to provide
access by persons with disabilities to the support they may
require in exercising their legal capacity.
4. States Parties shall ensure that all measures that relate to
the exercise of legal capacity provide for appropriate and
effective safeguards to prevent abuse in accordance with
international human rights law. Such safeguards shall ensure
that measures relating to the exercise of legal capacity
respect the rights, will and preferences of the person, are
free of conflict of interest and undue influence, are
proportional and tailored to the person ’ s circumstances,
apply for the shortest time possible and are subject to
regular review by a competent, independent and impartial
authority or judicial body. The safeguards shall be
proportional to the degree to which such measures affect the
person ’ s rights and interests.
5. Subject to the provisions of this article, States Parties
shall take all appropriate and effective measures to ensure
the equal right of persons with disabilities to own or
inherit property, to control their own financial affairs and
to have equal access to bank loans, mortgages and other forms
of financial credit, and shall ensure that persons with
disabilities are not arbitrarily deprived of their property.

Article 13
Access to justice
1. States Parties shall ensure effective access to justice for
persons with disabilities on an equal basis with others,
including through the provision of procedural and
age-appropriate accommodations, in order to facilitate their
effective role as direct and indirect participants, including
as witnesses, in all legal proceedings, including at
investigative and other preliminary stages.
2. In order to help to ensure effective access to justice for
persons with disabilities, States Parties shall promote
appropriate training for those working in the field of
administration of justice, including police and prison staff.

Article 14
Liberty and security of person
1. States Parties shall ensure that persons with disabilities,
on an equal basis with others:
(a) Enjoy the right to liberty and security of person;
(b) Are not deprived of their liberty unlawfully or arbitrarily,
and that any deprivation of liberty is in conformity with
the law, and that the existence of a disability shall in no
case justify a deprivation of liberty.
2. States Parties shall ensure that if persons with disabilities
are deprived of their liberty through any process, they are,
on an equal basis with others, entitled to guarantees in
accordance with international human rights law and shall be
treated in compliance with the objectives and principles of
the present Convention, including by provision of reasonable
accommodation.

Article 15
Freedom from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment
1. No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment or punishment. In particular, no one
shall be subjected without his or her free consent to medical
or scientific experimentation.
2. States Parties shall take all effective legislative,
administrative, judicial or other measures to prevent persons
with disabilities, on an equal basis with others, from being
subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment
or punishment.

Article 16
Freedom from exploitation, violence and abuse
1. States Parties shall take all appropriate legislative,
administrative, social, educational and other measures to
protect persons with disabilities, both within and outside
the home, from all forms of exploitation, violence and abuse,
including their gender-based aspects.
2. States Parties shall also take all appropriate measures to
prevent all forms of exploitation, violence and abuse by
ensuring, inter alia, appropriate forms of gender- and
age-sensitive assistance and support for persons with
disabilities and their families and caregivers, including
through the provision of information and education on how to
avoid, recognize and report instances of exploitation,
violence and abuse. States Parties shall ensure that
protection services are age-, gender- and
disability-sensitive.
3. In order to prevent the occurrence of all forms of
exploitation, violence and abuse, States Parties shall ensure
that all facilities and programmes designed to serve persons
with disabilities are effectively monitored by independent
authorities.
4. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to promote
the physical, cognitive and psychological recovery,
rehabilitation and social reintegration of persons with
disabilities who become victims of any form of exploitation,
violence or abuse, including through the provision of
protection services. Such recovery and reintegration shall
take place in an environment that fosters the health,
welfare, self-respect, dignity and autonomy of the person and
takes into account gender- and age-specific needs.
5. States Parties shall put in place effective legislation and
policies, including women- and child-focused legislation and
policies, to ensure that instances of exploitation, violence
and abuse against persons with disabilities are identified,
investigated and, where appropriate, prosecuted.

Article 17
Protecting the integrity of the person
Every person with disabilities has a right to respect for his or
her physical and mental integrity on an equal basis with others.

Article 18
Liberty of movement and nationality
1. States Parties shall recognize the rights of persons with
disabilities to liberty of movement, to freedom to choose
their residence and to a nationality, on an equal basis with
others, including by ensuring that persons with disabilities:
(a) Have the right to acquire and change a nationality and are
not deprived of their nationality arbitrarily or on the
basis of disability;
(b) Are not deprived, on the basis of disability, of their
ability to obtain, possess and utilize documentation of
their nationality or other documentation of identification,
or to utilize relevant processes such as immigration
proceedings, that may be needed to facilitate exercise of
the right to liberty of movement;
(c) Are free to leave any country, including their own;
(d) Are not deprived, arbitrarily or on the basis of disability,
of the right to enter their own country.
2. Children with disabilities shall be registered immediately
after birth and shall have the right from birth to a name,
the right to acquire a nationality and, as far as possible,
the right to know and be cared for by their parents.

Article 19
Living independently and being included in the community
States Parties to the present Convention recognize the equal
right of all persons with disabilities to live in the community,
with choices equal to others, and shall take effective and
appropriate measures to facilitate full enjoyment by persons
with disabilities of this right and their full inclusion and
participation in the community, including by ensuring that:
(a) Persons with disabilities have the opportunity to choose
their place of residence and where and with whom they live
on an equal basis with others and are not obliged to live in
a particular living arrangement;
(b) Persons with disabilities have access to a range of in-home,
residential and other community support services, including
personal assistance necessary to support living and
inclusion in the community, and to prevent isolation or
segregation from the community;
(c) Community services and facilities for the general population
are available on an equal basis to persons with disabilities
and are responsive to their needs.

Article 20
Personal mobility
States Parties shall take effective measures to ensure personal
mobility with the greatest possible independence for persons
with disabilities, including by:
(a) Facilitating the personal mobility of persons with
disabilities in the manner and at the time of their choice,
and at affordable cost;
(b) Facilitating access by persons with disabilities to quality
mobility aids, devices, assistive technologies and forms of
live assistance and intermediaries, including by making them
available at affordable cost;
(c) Providing training in mobility skills to persons with
disabilities and to specialist staff working with persons
with disabilities;
(d) Encouraging entities that produce mobility aids, devices and
assistive technologies to take into account all aspects of
mobility for persons with disabilities.

Article 21
Freedom of expression and opinion, and access to information
States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to ensure
that persons with disabilities can exercise the right to freedom
of expression and opinion, including the freedom to seek,
receive and impart information and ideas on an equal basis with
others and through all forms of communication of their choice,
as defined in article 2 of the present Convention, including by:
(a) Providing information intended for the general public to
persons with disabilities in accessible formats and
technologies appropriate to different kinds of disabilities
in a timely manner and without additional cost;
(b) Accepting and facilitating the use of sign languages,
Braille, augmentative and alternative communication, and all
other accessible means, modes and formats of communication
of their choice by persons with disabilities in official
interactions;
(c) Urging private entities that provide services to the general
public, including through the Internet, to provide
information and services in accessible and usable formats
for persons with disabilities;
(d) Encouraging the mass media, including providers of
information through the Internet, to make their services
accessible to persons with disabilities;
(e) Recognizing and promoting the use of sign languages.

Article 22
Respect for privacy
1. No person with disabilities, regardless of place of residence
or living arrangements, shall be subjected to arbitrary or
unlawful interference with his or her privacy, family, home
or correspondence or other types of communication or to
unlawful attacks on his or her honour and reputation. Persons
with disabilities have the right to the protection of the law
against such interference or attacks.
2. States Parties shall protect the privacy of personal, health
and rehabilitation information of persons with disabilities
on an equal basis with others.

Article 23
Respect for home and the family
1. States Parties shall take effective and appropriate measures
to eliminate discrimination against persons with disabilities
in all matters relating to marriage, family, parenthood and
relationships, on an equal basis with others, so as to ensure
that:
(a) The right of all persons with disabilities who are of
marriageable age to marry and to found a family on the basis
of free and full consent of the intending spouses is
recognized;
(b) The rights of persons with disabilities to decide freely and
responsibly on the number and spacing of their children and
to have access to age-appropriate information, reproductive
and family planning education are recognized, and the means
necessary to enable them to exercise these rights are
provided;
(c) Persons with disabilities, including children, retain their
fertility on an equal basis with others.
2. States Parties shall ensure the rights and responsibilities
of persons with disabilities, with regard to guardianship,
wardship, trusteeship, adoption of children or similar
institutions, where these concepts exist in national
legislation; in all cases the best interests of the child
shall be paramount. States Parties shall render appropriate
assistance to persons with disabilities in the performance of
their child-rearing responsibilities.
3. States Parties shall ensure that children with disabilities
have equal rights with respect to family life. With a view to
realizing these rights, and to prevent concealment,
abandonment, neglect and segregation of children with
disabilities, States Parties shall undertake to provide early
and comprehensive information, services and support to
children with disabilities and their families.
4. States Parties shall ensure that a child shall not be
separated from his or her parents against their will, except
when competent authorities subject to judicial review
determine, in accordance with applicable law and procedures,
that such separation is necessary for the best interests of
the child. In no case shall a child be separated from parents
on the basis of a disability of either the child or one or
both of the parents.
5. States Parties shall, where the immediate family is unable to
care for a child with disabilities, undertake every effort to
provide alternative care within the wider family, and failing
that, within the community in a family setting.

Article 24
Education
1. States Parties recognize the right of persons with
disabilities to education. With a view to realizing this
right without discrimination and on the basis of equal
opportunity, States Parties shall ensure an inclusive
education system at all levels and lifelong learning directed
to:
(a) The full development of human potential and sense of dignity
and self-worth, and the strengthening of respect for human
rights, fundamental freedoms and human diversity;
(b) The development by persons with disabilities of their
personality, talents and creativity, as well as their mental
and physical abilities, to their fullest potential;
(c) Enabling persons with disabilities to participate
effectively in a free society.
2. In realizing this right, States Parties shall ensure that:
(a) Persons with disabilities are not excluded from the general
education system on the basis of disability, and that
children with disabilities are not excluded from free and
compulsory primary education, or from secondary education,
on the basis of disability;
(b) Persons with disabilities can access an inclusive, quality
and free primary education and secondary education on an
equal basis with others in the communities in which they
live;
(c) Reasonable accommodation of the individual ’ s requirements
is provided;
(d) Persons with disabilities receive the support required,
within the general education system, to facilitate their
effective education;
(e) Effective individualized support measures are provided in
environments that maximize academic and social development,
consistent with the goal of full inclusion.
3. States Parties shall enable persons with disabilities to
learn life and social development skills to facilitate their
full and equal participation in education and as members of
the community. To this end, States Parties shall take
appropriate measures, including:
(a) Facilitating the learning of Braille, alternative script,
augmentative and alternative modes, means and formats of
communication and orientation and mobility skills, and
facilitating peer support and mentoring;
(b) Facilitating the learning of sign language and the promotion
of the linguistic identity of the deaf community;
(c) Ensuring that the education of persons, and in particular
children, who are blind, deaf or deafblind, is delivered in
the most appropriate languages and modes and means of
communication for the individual, and in environments which
maximize academic and social development.
4. In order to help ensure the realization of this right, States
Parties shall take appropriate measures to employ teachers,
including teachers with disabilities, who are qualified in
sign language and/or Braille, and to train professionals and
staff who work at all levels of education. Such training
shall incorporate disability awareness and the use of
appropriate augmentative and alternative modes, means and
formats of communication, educational techniques and
materials to support persons with disabilities.
5. States Parties shall ensure that persons with disabilities
are able to access general tertiary education, vocational
training, adult education and lifelong learning without
discrimination and on an equal basis with others. To this
end, States Parties shall ensure that reasonable
accommodation is provided to persons with disabilities.

Article 25
Health
States Parties recognize that persons with disabilities have the
right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of
health without discrimination on the basis of disability. States
Parties shall take all appropriate measures to ensure access for
persons with disabilities to health services that are
gender-sensitive, including health-related rehabilitation. In
particular, States Parties shall:
(a) Provide persons with disabilities with the same range,
quality and standard of free or affordable health care and
programmes as provided to other persons, including in the
area of sexual and reproductive health and population-based
public health programmes;
(b) Provide those health services needed by persons with
disabilities specifically because of their disabilities,
including early identification and intervention as
appropriate, and services designed to minimize and prevent
further disabilities, including among children and older
persons;
(c) Provide these health services as close as possible to people
’ s own communities, including in rural areas;
(d) Require health professionals to provide care of the same
quality to persons with disabilities as to others, including
on the basis of free and informed consent by, inter alia,
raising awareness of the human rights, dignity, autonomy and
needs of persons with disabilities through training and the
promulgation of ethical standards for public and private
health care;
(e) Prohibit discrimination against persons with disabilities in
the provision of health insurance, and life insurance where
such insurance is permitted by national law, which shall be
provided in a fair and reasonable manner;
(f) Prevent discriminatory denial of health care or health
services or food and fluids on the basis of disability.

Article 26
Habilitation and rehabilitation
1. States Parties shall take effective and appropriate measures,
including through peer support, to enable persons with
disabilities to attain and maintain maximum independence,
full physical, mental, social and vocational ability, and
full inclusion and participation in all aspects of life. To
that end, States Parties shall organize, strengthen and
extend comprehensive habilitation and rehabilitation services
and programmes, particularly in the areas of health,
employment, education and social services, in such a way that
these services and programmes:
(a) Begin at the earliest possible stage, and are based on the
multidisciplinary assessment of individual needs and
strengths;
(b) Support participation and inclusion in the community and all
aspects of society, are voluntary, and are available to
persons with disabilities as close as possible to their own
communities, including in rural areas.
2. States Parties shall promote the development of initial and
continuing training for professionals and staff working in
habilitation and rehabilitation services.
3. States Parties shall promote the availability, knowledge and
use of assistive devices and technologies, designed for
persons with disabilities, as they relate to habilitation and
rehabilitation.

Article 27
Work and employment
1. States Parties recognize the right of persons with
disabilities to work, on an equal basis with others; this
includes the right to the opportunity to gain a living by
work freely chosen or accepted in a labour market and work
environment that is open, inclusive and accessible to persons
with disabilities. States Parties shall safeguard and promote
the realization of the right to work, including for those who
acquire a disability during the course of employment, by
taking appropriate steps, including through legislation, to,
inter alia:
(a) Prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability with
regard to all matters concerning all forms of employment,
including conditions of recruitment, hiring and employment,
continuance of employment, career advancement and safe and
healthy working conditions;
(b) Protect the rights of persons with disabilities, on an equal
basis with others, to just and favourable conditions of
work, including equal opportunities and equal remuneration
for work of equal value, safe and healthy working
conditions, including protection from harassment, and the
redress of grievances;
(c) Ensure that persons with disabilities are able to exercise
their labour and trade union rights on an equal basis with
others;
(d) Enable persons with disabilities to have effective access to
general technical and vocational guidance programmes,
placement services and vocational and continuing training;
(e) Promote employment opportunities and career advancement for
persons with disabilities in the labour market, as well as
assistance in finding, obtaining, maintaining and returning
to employment;
(f) Promote opportunities for self-employment, entrepreneurship,
the development of cooperatives and starting one ’ s own
business;
(g) Employ persons with disabilities in the public sector;
(h) Promote the employment of persons with disabilities in the
private sector through appropriate policies and measures,
which may include affirmative action programmes, incentives
and other measures;
(i) Ensure that reasonable accommodation is provided to persons
with disabilities in the workplace;
(j) Promote the acquisition by persons with disabilities of work
experience in the open labour market;
(k) Promote vocational and professional rehabilitation, job
retention and return-to-work programmes for persons with
disabilities.
2. States Parties shall ensure that persons with disabilities
are not held in slavery or in servitude, and are protected,
on an equal basis with others, from forced or compulsory
labour.

Article 28
Adequate standard of living and social protection
1. States Parties recognize the right of persons with
disabilities to an adequate standard of living for themselves
and their families, including adequate food, clothing and
housing, and to the continuous improvement of living
conditions, and shall take appropriate steps to safeguard and
promote the realization of this right without discrimination
on the basis of disability.
2. States Parties recognize the right of persons with
disabilities to social protection and to the enjoyment of
that right without discrimination on the basis of disability,
and shall take appropriate steps to safeguard and promote the
realization of this right, including measures:
(a) To ensure equal access by persons with disabilities to clean
water services, and to ensure access to appropriate and
affordable services, devices and other assistance for
disability-related needs;
(b) To ensure access by persons with disabilities, in particular
women and girls with disabilities and older persons with
disabilities, to social protection programmes and poverty
reduction programmes;
(c) To ensure access by persons with disabilities and their
families living in situations of poverty to assistance from
the State with disabilityrelated expenses, including
adequate training, counselling, financial assistance and
respite care;
(d) To ensure access by persons with disabilities to public
housing programmes;
(e) To ensure equal access by persons with disabilities to
retirement benefits and programmes.

Article 29
Participation in political and public life
States Parties shall guarantee to persons with disabilities
political rights and the opportunity to enjoy them on an equal
basis with others, and shall undertake:
(a) To ensure that persons with disabilities can effectively and
fully participate in political and public life on an equal
basis with others, directly or through freely chosen
representatives, including the right and opportunity for
persons with disabilities to vote and be elected, inter
alia, by:
(i) Ensuring that voting procedures, facilities and materials
are appropriate, accessible and easy to understand and use;
(ii) Protecting the right of persons with disabilities to vote
by secret ballot in elections and public referendums
without intimidation, and to stand for elections, to
effectively hold office and perform all public functions at
all levels of government, facilitating the use of assistive
and new technologies where appropriate;
(iii) Guaranteeing the free expression of the will of persons
with disabilities as electors and to this end, where
necessary, at their request, allowing assistance in voting
by a person of their own choice;
(b) To promote actively an environment in which persons with
disabilities can effectively and fully participate in the
conduct of public affairs, without discrimination and on an
equal basis with others, and encourage their participation
in public affairs, including:
(i) Participation in non-governmental organizations and
associations concerned with the public and political life of
the country, and in the activities and administration of
political parties;
(ii) Forming and joining organizations of persons with
disabilities to represent persons with disabilities at
international, national, regional and local levels.

Article 30
Participation in cultural life, recreation, leisure and sport
1. States Parties recognize the right of persons with
disabilities to take part on an equal basis with others in
cultural life, and shall take all appropriate measures to
ensure that persons with disabilities:
(a) Enjoy access to cultural materials in accessible formats;
(b) Enjoy access to television programmes, films, theatre and
other cultural activities, in accessible formats;
(c) Enjoy access to places for cultural performances or
services, such as theatres, museums, cinemas, libraries and
tourism services, and, as far as possible, enjoy access to
monuments and sites of national cultural importance.
2. States Parties shall take appropriate measures to enable
persons with disabilities to have the opportunity to develop
and utilize their creative, artistic and intellectual
potential, not only for their own benefit, but also for the
enrichment of society.
3. States Parties shall take all appropriate steps, in
accordance with international law, to ensure that laws
protecting intellectual property rights do not constitute an
unreasonable or discriminatory barrier to access by persons
with disabilities to cultural materials.
4. Persons with disabilities shall be entitled, on an equal
basis with others, to recognition and support of their
specific cultural and linguistic identity, including sign
languages and deaf culture.
5. With a view to enabling persons with disabilities to
participate on an equal basis with others in recreational,
leisure and sporting activities, States Parties shall take
appropriate measures:
(a) To encourage and promote the participation, to the fullest
extent possible, of persons with disabilities in mainstream
sporting activities at all levels;
(b) To ensure that persons with disabilities have an opportunity
to organize, develop and participate in disability-specific
sporting and recreational activities and, to this end,
encourage the provision, on an equal basis with others, of
appropriate instruction, training and resources;
(c) To ensure that persons with disabilities have access to
sporting, recreational and tourism venues;
(d) To ensure that children with disabilities have equal access
with other children to participation in play, recreation and
leisure and sporting activities, including those activities
in the school system;
(e) To ensure that persons with disabilities have access to
services from those involved in the organization of
recreational, tourism, leisure and sporting activities.

Article 31
Statistics and data collection
1. States Parties undertake to collect appropriate information,
including statistical and research data, to enable them to
formulate and implement policies to give effect to the
present Convention. The process of collecting and maintaining
this information shall:
(a) Comply with legally established safeguards, including
legislation on data protection, to ensure confidentiality
and respect for the privacy of persons with disabilities;
(b) Comply with internationally accepted norms to protect human
rights and fundamental freedoms and ethical principles in
the collection and use of statistics.
2. The information collected in accordance with this article
shall be disaggregated, as appropriate, and used to help
assess the implementation of States Parties ’ obligations
under the present Convention and to identify and address the
barriers faced by persons with disabilities in exercising
their rights.
3. States Parties shall assume responsibility for the
dissemination of these statistics and ensure their
accessibility to persons with disabilities and others.

Article 32
International cooperation
1. States Parties recognize the importance of international
cooperation and its promotion, in support of national efforts
for the realization of the purpose and objectives of the
present Convention, and will undertake appropriate and
effective measures in this regard, between and among States
and, as appropriate, in partnership with relevant
international and regional organizations and civil society,
in particular organizations of persons with disabilities.
Such measures could include, inter alia:
(a) Ensuring that international cooperation, including
international development programmes, is inclusive of and
accessible to persons with disabilities;
(b) Facilitating and supporting capacity-building, including
through the exchange and sharing of information,
experiences, training programmes and best practices;
(c) Facilitating cooperation in research and access to
scientific and technical knowledge;
(d) Providing, as appropriate, technical and economic
assistance, including by facilitating access to and sharing
of accessible and assistive technologies, and through the
transfer of technologies.
2. The provisions of this article are without prejudice to the
obligations of each State Party to fulfil its obligations
under the present Convention.

Article 33
National implementation and monitoring
1. States Parties, in accordance with their system of
organization, shall designate one or more focal points within
government for matters relating to the implementation of the
present Convention, and shall give due consideration to the
establishment or designation of a coordination mechanism
within government to facilitate related action in different
sectors and at different levels.
2. States Parties shall, in accordance with their legal and
administrative systems, maintain, strengthen, designate or
establish within the State Party, a framework, including one
or more independent mechanisms, as appropriate, to promote,
protect and monitor implementation of the present Convention.
When designating or establishing such a mechanism, States
Parties shall take into account the principles relating to
the status and functioning of national institutions for
protection and promotion of human rights.
3. Civil society, in particular persons with disabilities and
their representative organizations, shall be involved and
participate fully in the monitoring process.

Article 34
Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
1. There shall be established a Committee on the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities (hereafter referred to as “ the
Committee ” ), which shall carry out the functions
hereinafter provided.
2. The Committee shall consist, at the time of entry into force
of the present Convention, of twelve experts. After an
additional sixty ratifications or accessions to the
Convention, the membership of the Committee shall increase by
six members, attaining a maximum number of eighteen members.
3. The members of the Committee shall serve in their personal
capacity and shall be of high moral standing and recognized
competence and experience in the field covered by the present
Convention. When nominating their candidates, States Parties
are invited to give due consideration to the provision set
out in article 4, paragraph 3, of the present Convention.
4. The members of the Committee shall be elected by States
Parties, consideration being given to equitable geographical
distribution, representation of the different forms of
civilization and of the principal legal systems, balanced
gender representation and participation of experts with
disabilities.
5. The members of the Committee shall be elected by secret
ballot from a list of persons nominated by the States Parties
from among their nationals at meetings of the Conference of
States Parties. At those meetings, for which two thirds of
States Parties shall constitute a quorum, the persons elected
to the Committee shall be those who obtain the largest number
of votes and an absolute majority of the votes of the
representatives of States Parties present and voting.
6. The initial election shall be held no later than six months
after the date of entry into force of the present Convention.
At least four months before the date of each election, the
Secretary-General of the United Nations shall address a
letter to the States Parties inviting them to submit the
nominations within two months. The Secretary-General shall
subsequently prepare a list in alphabetical order of all
persons thus nominated, indicating the State Parties which
have nominated them, and shall submit it to the States
Parties to the present Convention.
7. The members of the Committee shall be elected for a term of
four years. They shall be eligible for re-election once.
However, the term of six of the members elected at the first
election shall expire at the end of two years; immediately
after the first election, the names of these six members
shall be chosen by lot by the chairperson of the meeting
referred to in paragraph 5 of this article.
8. The election of the six additional members of the Committee
shall be held on the occasion of regular elections, in
accordance with the relevant provisions of this article.
9. If a member of the Committee dies or resigns or declares that
for any other cause she or he can no longer perform her or
his duties, the State Party which nominated the member shall
appoint another expert possessing the qualifications and
meeting the requirements set out in the relevant provisions
of this article, to serve for the remainder of the term.
10. The Committee shall establish its own rules of procedure.
11. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall provide
the necessary staff and facilities for the effective
performance of the functions of the Committee under the
present Convention, and shall convene its initial meeting.
12. With the approval of the General Assembly of the United
Nations, the members of the Committee established under the
present Convention shall receive emoluments from United
Nations resources on such terms and conditions as the
Assembly may decide, having regard to the importance of the
Committee ’ s responsibilities.
13. The members of the Committee shall be entitled to the
facilities, privileges and immunities of experts on mission
for the United Nations as laid down in the relevant sections
of the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the
United Nations.

Article 35
Reports by States Parties
1. Each State Party shall submit to the Committee, through the
Secretary- General of the United Nations, a comprehensive
report on measures taken to give effect to its obligations
under the present Convention and on the progress made in that
regard, within two years after the entry into force of the
present Convention for the State Party concerned.
2. Thereafter, States Parties shall submit subsequent reports at
least every four years and further whenever the Committee so
requests.
3. The Committee shall decide any guidelines applicable to the
content of the reports.
4. A State Party which has submitted a comprehensive initial
report to the Committee need not, in its subsequent reports,
repeat information previously provided. When preparing
reports to the Committee, States Parties are invited to
consider doing so in an open and transparent process and to
give due consideration to the provision set out in article 4,
paragraph 3, of the present Convention.
5. Reports may indicate factors and difficulties affecting the
degree of fulfilment of obligations under the present
Convention.

Article 36
Consideration of reports
1. Each report shall be considered by the Committee, which shall
make such suggestions and general recommendations on the
report as it may consider appropriate and shall forward these
to the State Party concerned. The State Party may respond
with any information it chooses to the Committee. The
Committee may request further information from States Parties
relevant to the implementation of the present Convention.
2. If a State Party is significantly overdue in the submission
of a report, the Committee may notify the State Party
concerned of the need to examine the implementation of the
present Convention in that State Party, on the basis of
reliable information available to the Committee, if the
relevant report is not submitted within three months
following the notification. The Committee shall invite the
State Party concerned to participate in such examination.
Should the State Party respond by submitting the relevant
report, the provisions of paragraph 1 of this article will
apply.
3. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall make
available the reports to all States Parties.
4. States Parties shall make their reports widely available to
the public in their own countries and facilitate access to
the suggestions and general recommendations relating to these
reports.
5. The Committee shall transmit, as it may consider appropriate,
to the specialized agencies, funds and programmes of the
United Nations, and other competent bodies, reports from
States Parties in order to address a request or indication of
a need for technical advice or assistance contained therein,
along with the Committee ’ s observations and
recommendations, if any, on these requests or indications.

Article 37
Cooperation between States Parties and the Committee
1. Each State Party shall cooperate with the Committee and
assist its members in the fulfilment of their mandate.
2. In its relationship with States Parties, the Committee shall
give due consideration to ways and means of enhancing
national capacities for the implementation of the present
Convention, including through international cooperation.

Article 38
Relationship of the Committee with other bodies
In order to foster the effective implementation of the present
Convention and to encourage international cooperation in the
field covered by the present Convention:
(a) The specialized agencies and other United Nations organs
shall be entitled to be represented at the consideration of
the implementation of such provisions of the present
Convention as fall within the scope of their mandate. The
Committee may invite the specialized agencies and other
competent bodies as it may consider appropriate to provide
expert advice on the implementation of the Convention in
areas falling within the scope of their respective mandates.
The Committee may invite specialized agencies and other
United Nations organs to submit reports on the
implementation of the Convention in areas falling within the
scope of their activities;
(b) The Committee, as it discharges its mandate, shall consult,
as appropriate, other relevant bodies instituted by
international human rights treaties, with a view to ensuring
the consistency of their respective reporting guidelines,
suggestions and general recommendations, and avoiding
duplication and overlap in the performance of their
functions.

Article 39
Report of the Committee
The Committee shall report every two years to the General
Assembly and to the Economic and Social Council on its
activities, and may make suggestions and general recommendations
based on the examination of reports and information received
from the States Parties. Such suggestions and general
recommendations shall be included in the report of the Committee
together with comments, if any, from States Parties.

Article 40
Conference of States Parties
1. The States Parties shall meet regularly in a Conference of
States Parties in order to consider any matter with regard to
the implementation of the present Convention.
2. No later than six months after the entry into force of the
present Convention, the Conference of States Parties shall be
convened by the Secretary-General of the United Nations. The
subsequent meetings shall be convened by the
Secretary-General biennially or upon the decision of the
Conference of States Parties.

Article 41
Depositary
The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall be the
depositary of the present Convention.

Article 42
Signature
The present Convention shall be open for signature by all States
and by regional integration organizations at United Nations
Headquarters in New York as of 30 March 2007.

Article 43
Consent to be bound
The present Convention shall be subject to ratification by
signatory States and to formal confirmation by signatory
regional integration organizations. It shall be open for
accession by any State or regional integration organization
which has not signed the Convention.

Article 44
Regional integration organizations
1. “ Regional integration organization ” shall mean an
organization constituted by sovereign States of a given
region, to which its member States have transferred
competence in respect of matters governed by the present
Convention. Such organizations shall declare, in their
instruments of formal confirmation or accession, the extent
of their competence with respect to matters governed by the
present Convention. Subsequently, they shall inform the
depositary of any substantial modification in the extent of
their competence.
2. References to “ States Parties ” in the present Convention
shall apply to such organizations within the limits of their
competence.
3. For the purposes of article 45, paragraph 1, and article 47,
paragraphs 2 and 3, of the present Convention, any instrument
deposited by a regional integration organization shall not be
counted.
4. Regional integration organizations, in matters within their
competence, may exercise their right to vote in the
Conference of States Parties, with a number of votes equal to
the number of their member States that are Parties to the
present Convention. Such an organization shall not exercise
its right to vote if any of its member States exercises its
right, and vice versa.

Article 45
Entry into force
1. The present Convention shall enter into force on the
thirtieth day after the deposit of the twentieth instrument
of ratification or accession.
2. For each State or regional integration organization
ratifying, formally confirming or acceding to the present
Convention after the deposit of the twentieth such
instrument, the Convention shall enter into force on the
thirtieth day after the deposit of its own such instrument.

Article 46
Reservations
1. Reservations incompatible with the object and purpose of the
present Convention shall not be permitted.
2. Reservations may be withdrawn at any time.

Article 47
Amendments
1. Any State Party may propose an amendment to the present
Convention and submit it to the Secretary-General of the
United Nations. The Secretary- General shall communicate any
proposed amendments to States Parties, with a request to be
notified whether they favour a conference of States Parties
for the purpose of considering and deciding upon the
proposals. In the event that, within four months from the
date of such communication, at least one third of the States
Parties favour such a conference, the Secretary-General shall
convene the conference under the auspices of the United
Nations. Any amendment adopted by a majority of two thirds of
the States Parties present and voting shall be submitted by
the Secretary-General to the General Assembly of the United
Nations for approval and thereafter to all States Parties for
acceptance.
2. An amendment adopted and approved in accordance with
paragraph 1 of this article shall enter into force on the
thirtieth day after the number of instruments of acceptance
deposited reaches two thirds of the number of States Parties
at the date of adoption of the amendment. Thereafter, the
amendment shall enter into force for any State Party on the
thirtieth day following the deposit of its own instrument of
acceptance. An amendment shall be binding only on those
States Parties which have accepted it.
3. If so decided by the Conference of States Parties by
consensus, an amendment adopted and approved in accordance
with paragraph 1 of this article which relates exclusively to
articles 34, 38, 39 and 40 shall enter into force for all
States Parties on the thirtieth day after the number of
instruments of acceptance deposited reaches two thirds of the
number of States Parties at the date of adoption of the
amendment.

Article 48
Denunciation
A State Party may denounce the present Convention by written
notification to the Secretary-General of the United Nations. The
denunciation shall become effective one year after the date of
receipt of the notification by the Secretary-General.

Article 49
Accessible format
The text of the present Convention shall be made available in
accessible formats.

Article 50
Authentic texts
The Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish texts
of the present Convention shall be equally authentic.

IN WITNESS THEREOF the undersigned plenipotentiaries, being duly
authorized thereto by their respective Governments, have signed
the present Convention.