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Promoting rights of persons with disabilities

Canada ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in 2010.

The CRPD is an international human rights treaty aimed at protecting the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities without discrimination and on an equal basis with others

Parties to the CPRD are required to promote and ensure the full enjoyment of human rights of persons with disabilities including full equality under the law.

Full and equal members of society

The CRPD has served as the major catalyst in the global movement towards viewing persons with disabilities as full and equal members of society. The human rights approach has moved away from viewing persons with disabilities as subjects of charity, medical treatment and social protection.

State parties to the Convention are expected to submit periodic reports to the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. This takes place every four years, with an initial report due two years following ratification.

Canada’s report due in 2017

Canada submitted its first report on the CRPD to the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in February 2014. The Committee is the body of independent experts which monitors implementation of the CRPD by the States Parties.

Canada’s appearance before the Committee in Geneva expected to occur in Spring 2017.

In addition to taking our reporting obligations seriously, Canada also engages on disability issues with international experts at the Conference of States Parties to the CRPD. States Parties meet regularly to consider any matter with regard to the implementation of the Convention, and share knowledge, expertise and best practices.

What Canada is doing internationally?

Canada is committed to supporting the rights of persons with disabilities through its interactions with other countries. We also work through advocacy in multilateral forums, and through international development assistance programming. 

In multilateral forums, Canada is an active supporter of resolutions relating to disability rights, including at the:

Canada also works to strengthen the ability of civil society organizations to advocate for the rights of the poorest and those most vulnerable, including persons with disabilities.

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