Timeline 1981-present

1981: International Year of Disabled Persons. Disabled Peoples' International founded and granted Special Consultative Status by UN.

1983-1992: International Decade of Disabled Persons

1987: Global Meeting of Experts to review the Implementation of the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons recommends drafting of an international convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against persons with disabilities by conference of UN General Assembly. Draft agreements were prepared but rejected due to disinterest and treaty fatigue (White Paper, 68).

1990: United States passes Americans with Disabilities Act and President George H.W. Bush signs into law.
1993: Disabled persons part and parcel of modern HR int’l law (Vienna Declaration of the 1993 World Conference on Human Rights), stated in White Paper (p. 53).

1993: Mental Disability Rights International established. Since then, they have “advised US and international agencies, including the U.S. Department of State, UNICEF, the World Health Organization, the UN Special Rapporteur on Disability, and the U.S. National Council on Disability” and “advocated for the creation and resolution of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.” On current board of advisors is Reed Brody of Human Rights Watch (HRW).

1995: DPI Women’s Programme “initiated a campaign to voice their concerns regarding the increasing use of eugenic health policies and practices, such as forced abortion and sterilization, as a part of their participation in the Beijing process” (White Paper, p. 43)

1999: Hong Kong’s Interregional Seminar on International Standards on Disability doctrine “supports the use of a fully participatory approach to developing a comprehensive treaty on the human rights of people with disabilities 10.” (White Paper, p. 52) In other words, disability groups should be involved.

1999: ACLU position paper on Disability Rights.

2002: Disability rights advocacy community is inexperienced and is not applying appropriate pressure to keep issue on agenda. Fewer than five people staff UN Program on Disability office, which is less than half than at the height of the Int’l Decade of Disabled Persons. Also, office is in New York, thousands of miles from UN HR center in Geneva. Disability rights is relegated to social development sphere, as opposed to HR sphere. (White Paper, p. 54, 56)

2002: Disabled Peoples’ International Sapporo Declaration demands “a specific international human rights convention that is reflective of the full range of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights and that includes a strong convention-monitoring mechanism informed by the unique perspective of people with disabilities to ensure the credibility, legitimacy and efficacy of the convention; Disabled people demand a voice of our own in the development of this instrument. We must be consulted at all levels on all matters that concern us” (p. 7-8).

January 2004: Original draft convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities, proposed language for Articles 1-25.

May-June 2004: A series of suggestions from member states for convention, including proposed article 15bis on women.

August-September 2004: Summary of member states’ basic agreement on Convention Articles 4-7(4).

January-February 2005: Summary of member states’ basic agreement on Articles 7(5)-14(bis).

2005: World Institute on Disability (WID) publishes Change from Within: International Overview of the Impact of Disabled Politicians and Disability Policy Bodies on Governance as part of IDEAS for a New Millenium project. Although Board of Directors is populated with disabled persons, none are from “gatekeeper” organizations.

December 2006: UN General Assembly adopts Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol.

2007: In the United States, the New Freedom Initiative for “improving educational and employment opportunities, increasing access to assistive technologies, expanding transportation options, and promoting homeownership and integration into daily community life” is passed.

March 2007: Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol opened for signature.

May 12, 2008: Entry into force, 30 days after 20th ratification of Convention and its Optional Protocol.

September 25, 2008: President Bush signs S. 3406, the “ADA Amendments Act of 2008” into law. It “clarifies and broadens the definition of disability and expands the population eligible for protections under the Americans with Disabilities act of 1990.”

December 3, 2008: International Day of Persons with Disabilities. Theme is “Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: Dignity and justice for all of us.”