[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 56 (Wednesday, April 28, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E679-E680]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[[Page E679]]


 FORMER PENNSYLVANIA GOVERNOR DICK THORNBURG'S THOUGHTFUL STATEMENT ON 
    ``INTERNATIONAL DISABILITY RIGHTS: THE PROPOSED UN CONVENTION''

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. TOM LANTOS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 28, 2004

  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, on March 30th, the Congressional Human 
Rights Caucus held a groundbreaking Members' Briefing entitled, 
``International Disability Rights: The Proposed UN Convention.'' This 
discussion of the global situation of people with disabilities was 
intended to help establish disability rights issues as an integral part 
of the general human rights discourse. The briefing brought together 
the human rights community and the disability rights community, and it 
raised awareness in Congress of the need to protect disability rights 
under in international law to the same extent as other human rights 
through a binding UN convention on the rights of people with 
disabilities.
   Our expert witnesses included Deputy Assistant Secretary of State 
Mark P. Lagon; the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Ecuador 
to the United Nations, Ambassador Luis Gallegos; the United Nations 
Director of the Division for Social Policy and Development in the 
Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Johan Schovinck; the 
distinguished former Attorney General of the United States, former 
Under-Secretary General of the United Nations and former Governor of 
Pennsylvania, the Honorable Dick Thornburgh; the President of the 
National Organization on Disability (NOD), Alan A. Reich; Kathy 
Martinez, a member of the National Council on Disabilities (NCD); and a 
representative of the United States International Council on 
Disabilities (USCID) and Executive Director of Mental Disability Rights 
International, Eric Rosenthal.
   As I had announced earlier, I intend to place the important 
statements of our witnesses in the Congressional Record, so that all of 
my colleagues may profit from their expertise, and I ask that the 
statement of Governor Dick Thornburgh be placed at this point in the 
Congressional Record.

   Dick Thornburgh, Former Attorney General of the United States and 
Under-Secretary General of the United Nations before the Congressional 
Human Rights Caucus on 2203 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, 
                                  D.C.

        Thank you, Congressman Lantos. I'm very happy to be 
     participating on this panel today. It gives me an opportunity 
     to discuss two topics about which I care deeply--disability 
     rights and international cooperation. The fact that the 
     United Nations has taken an important--and long overdue--step 
     toward bringing 600 million people with disabilities into the 
     mainstream of human rights concerns is a milestone for social 
     justice globally. I applaud the disability community for its 
     tireless efforts in what must have seemed an uphill battle 
     for international recognition of this important issue.
        About 15 years ago, I testified before House and Senate 
     Committees as the principal spokesperson for President George 
     Bush's administration on the development of the Americans 
     with Disabilities Act (ADA). I testified as Attorney General 
     of the United States and as a parent of an adult child with 
     mental retardation. During those hearings I recognized that 
     no piece of legislation could alone change the longstanding 
     misperceptions that many people have about disability--
     misperceptions based largely on stereotype, ignorance and 
     fear of what is different. Any reshaping of attitudes would 
     be the gradual result not of the words or ideas in the laws, 
     but of bringing people with disabilities from the margins of 
     society into the mainstream of American life--our schools, 
     workplaces, busses and trains, courthouses, restaurants and 
     theaters--where they not only have an absolute right to be 
     but where we have an obligation as fellow human beings to 
     welcome them on an equal basis as all others.
        The effort to secure passage of the Americans with 
     Disabilities Act was difficult. Those of us who wanted to see 
     it happen were given countless reasons that it couldn't be 
     done. We were told that the climate in Congress wasn't right, 
     it would be too expensive, too complicated, not effective, 
     impossible to enforce--even that the country in general just 
     wasn't ready for it. So we discussed, debated, argued, 
     researched, analyzed, negotiated, pleaded, convinced and, 
     ultimately, drafted and passed the most progressive 
     disability legislation the world had ever seen. This 
     legislation, with its innovative concepts such as 
     ``reasonable accommodation,'' has changed the way we do 
     business in this country. It has made us more representative, 
     more democratic and more free by ending the unchecked 
     exclusion of 54 million Americans from public life.
        Of course we still have a long way to go. The ADA isn't 
     perfect and people with disabilities in America continue to 
     face serious challenges. Still, we've made remarkable 
     progress that is not only celebrated here at home but also 
     recognized abroad. The United States is viewed 
     internationally as the pioneer for disability rights. 
     Disability activists from other countries have taken the ADA 
     to their governments and said ``Look. This is how it should 
     be done. We need to do this here in our country.'' And many 
     governments have responded. Our legislation has served as an 
     model for anti-discrimination protections for people with 
     disabilities all over the world.
        However, despite our progress at home--and the progress 
     that it has inspired in other countries--on the whole 
     disability as a global issue remains near the bottom of the 
     list of priorities for many governments and societies. People 
     with disabilities are among the poorest, least educated and 
     most abused and excluded people on earth. I said that the ADA 
     has served as a shining model for domestic legislation for 
     other countries. That is true, but, in actuality, fewer than 
     50 nations actually have anti-discrimination laws to protect 
     the rights of people with disabilities. The mainstream human 
     rights movement has traditionally considered disability as an 
     issue that falls outside its scope, viewing it as a social 
     problem or a medical issue instead of a subject of human 
     rights. While the rights of women, children, racial 
     minorities and migrant workers have found their place in the 
     international human rights and legal framework, disability 
     rights have languished on the sidelines. Fortunately, that 
     chapter in history is approaching its end with the UN effort 
     to draft an international convention on disability.
        I'd like to address briefly--and hopefully put to rest--
     some of the questions and concerns that have been raised 
     about this convention. To begin, it has been argued that 
     disability rights are more appropriately addressed as a 
     domestic concern, given the complexity of the issues 
     involved. In other words, this really isn't an appropriate 
     subject for international protection. Certainly, good 
     domestic legislation in every country would be the ideal 
     solution. But most countries don't have it and it does not 
     seem reasonable to expect that this will change dramatically 
     without international pressure. The fact is, for many 
     countries, international conventions have served as a 
     catalyst for the development of domestic protections. 
     Furthermore, the human rights situation of people with 
     disabilities is a legitimate matter of international concern. 
     Just last month, Amnesty International reported that 17 
     patients at a psychiatric hospital in southern Romania have 
     died so far this year, apparently from malnutrition and 
     hypothermia. The total number of deaths in 2003 at that 
     institution from similar causes was 84. In the absence of 
     effective domestic protections, these are the types of 
     persons who deserve and require the coverage of an 
     international convention.
        Another view put forth is that, because of America's 
     comprehensive domestic protections, a treaty on disability 
     would have no relevance in our own country. Therefore, in the 
     absence of any intention of becoming a party to the 
     convention, our participation in the process of its 
     development should be minimal.
        We are the most progressive country in the world when it 
     comes to disability rights domestically. The universality of 
     human rights and fundamental freedoms--as expressed in our 
     Declaration of Independence--is the foundation on which our 
     entire society is based. Respect for human rights is also a 
     stated core principle of our foreign policy--precisely 
     because we recognize that stability, security and economic 
     opportunity in any society presuppose a social order based on 
     respect for the rights of its citizens. Given this history 
     and these values, it would seem natural, in fact, for the 
     United States to assume a leading role--not a passive one--in 
     the UN effort to codify in an international treaty the 
     principles of equality, inclusion and respect for the human 
     rights of people with disabilities.
        It might sound familiar--even a cliche--to say we are the 
     world leaders on this subject. Let's be honest. There is 
     certainly no shortage of issues on which we claim to be the 
     world leaders. We are predisposed to take credit for most any 
     trend in the world that seems just, free and democratic. But 
     with respect to this issue, we really do have ``bragging 
     rights.'' We got disability rights right.
        This is our opportunity to export the very best the U.S. 
     has to offer. This is a chance to use our rich national 
     experience on disability rights--which has gained us the 
     respect of the world community--to extend the

[[Page E680]]

     principles embodied in the ADA to the hundreds of millions of 
     people with disabilities worldwide who have no domestic 
     protection. This is worthy of our leadership. We have 
     everything to gain and nothing to lose by playing the role 
     the world expects of us.
        It would be a shame to let the chance pass by to 
     demonstrate political and moral leadership in a process in 
     which the end result can only be the improvement of life for 
     countless millions of people. We can't afford to shortchange 
     this treaty by declaring at the outset our intention not to 
     be a party to it or to participate in a meaningful way in its 
     development.
        Just like the ADA, a convention will not be a magic legal 
     solution with the power to create immediate change in the 
     attitudes, cultural perceptions and ignorance that lead to 
     discrimination and human rights abuses of people with 
     disabilities. What it will do is create a place for 
     disability in the human rights framework. It will put 
     disability on the radar screen of governments and societies 
     as a legitimate human rights issue to which they must give 
     heed. It will provide guidance and standards and create a 
     legal obligation for States Parties to respect the rights of 
     this sizable population. It will serve as a powerful advocacy 
     tool for the global disability movement to promote inclusion 
     and equality of opportunity.
        Change will be gradual--probably painfully slow. But this 
     is the best first step we can take toward promoting change on 
     an global scale. Our commitment to leadership on disability 
     rights should not end at our shores. This is about 600 
     million people worldwide whose rights have been ignored for 
     too long.

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