Did you know…?
· A new international human rights treaty, called the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), recognizes the inclusion of sign language and deaf culture in society.
· 134 countries have ratified the CRPD since 2006— but NOT the U.S.! We are behind!
· More than 650 U.S. organizations want to change that; these include the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) and the U.S. International Council on Disabilities (USICD).
· Please join us during the International Week of the Deaf from September 23-27, 2013.
What’s the latest?
· We need a two-thirds “super majority” vote in the US Senate to ratify the CRPD (67 votes).
· The Senate held a vote on the treaty in December 2012. The vote lost by only five votes.
· Organizations opposed to international treaties fought against the CRPD with a campaign of misinformation. They helped defeat the treaty last December.
· The Senate has the power to schedule a new vote. Senators will change their vote with YOUR help!
· Opponents are still working against us. YOU can help us fight back!
So, what can I do?
· NAD, USICD, and other partners are using the International Week of the Deaf to unify deaf and hard of hearing people and hearing allies in support of the CRPD.
· Please call/email US Senators and ask them to ratify the CRPD using info from senate.gov)
· If you are in DC September 23-27, 2013, you can join groups to meet Senators and staff.
· Please contact Andrea Shettle at ashettle (at) usicd (dot) org to become involved in any of these activities.
· Also visit these websites for more information on the CRPD and for upcoming announcements: http://disabilitytreaty.org & http://usicd.org &
https://www.nad.org/news/2012/9/we-need-your-support-ratify-crpd.
