The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: Issues in the U.S. Ratification Debate

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LuisaBlanchfield, Coordinator
Specialist in International Relations

Cynthia Brougher
Legislative Attorney

James V. DeBergh
Legislative Attorney

Duringthe 112th Congress, the Senate may consider providing its advice and consent to ratificationof the U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability (CRPD, or the Convention).CRPD, which has been ratified or acceded to by 119 countries, is a multilateral agreementthat addresses the rights of disabled persons. Its purpose is to promote,protect, and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights andfundamental freedoms by persons with disabilities. The United States hassigned, but not ratified, the Convention.

Generally, many U.S. policymakers, including President Obama and some Membersof the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations (SFRC), agree that existingU.S. laws and policies are compatible with CRPD. In fact, some CRPDprovisions appear to be modeled after U.S. disability laws. The UnitedStates has historically recognized the rights of individuals with disabilities throughvarious laws and policies, including the Americans with Disabilities Act, asamended.

In July 2012, SFRC reported CPRD favorably to the full Senate, subject tocertain conditions. If the Senate considers providing its advice andconsent to ratification, CRPD’s impact on U.S. sovereignty may be a keyissue of concern. For example, critics of the Convention maintain that treatiesare the “supreme Law of the Land” under the Constitution, and that U.S.ratification of CRPD could supersede federal, state, and local laws.Supporters assert that CRPD is a nondiscrimination treaty that does notcreate new obligations. They contend that U.S. laws meet, and in somecases exceed, CRPD requirements. Debate may also center on the followingissues:

• Role of the CPRD committee. Critics are concerned that decisions ofthe Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Convention’s monitoringbody, could deem U.S. laws to be in violation of CRPD and presume authorityover the private lives of U.S. citizens. Supporters, including the Obama Administration,emphasize that committee decisions are non-binding under international anddomestic law.
  
• Possible impact on U.S. citizens and businesses abroad. Some CRPD proponentscontend that U.S. ratification may (1) improve the lives of U.S. citizenswith disabilities living, working, or traveling abroad, and (2) “level the playingfield” for U.S. companies that, unlike many of their foreign counterparts, alreadycomply with higher disability standards. The extent to which U.S. ratificationof CRPD may positively affect U.S. businesses or disabled U.S. citizensliving or traveling abroad remains unclear.
  
• Role in U.S. foreign policy. Supporters contend that U.S. ratificationmay enhance U.S. credibility as it advocates the rights of persons withdisabilities globally. Opponents argue that existing U.S. laws andpolicies are robust enough examples of U.S. commitment to the issue.
  
• Abortion. Some critics worry that the term “sexual and reproductivehealth” in CRPD could be a euphemism for abortion. Supporters note thatthe word “abortion” is never mentioned in CRPD and contend that no U.Slaws related to abortion would be created as a result of U.S.ratification.
  
• Parental rights. Some are concerned that the U.S. ratification maygive governments, and not U.S. parents, the right to make educational andtreatmentrelated decisions for th Administration, hold that existingfederal, state, and local laws protect parental rights. 

Other issues that Senators may wish to consider include challenges toevaluating CRPD’s effectiveness, obstacles to CRPD implementation, and therole and participation of civil society in CRPD mechanisms.

For information on U.S. efforts to address the rights of persons withdisabilities domestically, see CRS Report 98-921, The Americans withDisabilities Act (ADA): Statutory Language and Recent Issues, byCynthia Brougher and James V. DeBergh.eir disabled children. Others, includingthe Obama 


Date of Report: September 20, 2012
Number of Pages: 26
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