Wash. Times fearmongers over UN Disabilities Treaty that is similar to U.S. law
The Washington Times yesterday published a misleading account of a United Nations treaty that seeks to promote equal rights for people with disabilities, arguing that it threatens U.S. sovereignty. In fact, this interpretation amounts to nothing more than fearmongering since what the treaty calls for, non-discriminatory treatment of people with disabilities, is already U.S. law.
In the piece titled “Does The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities void US sovereignty?”Washington Times Communities columnist Bryana Johnson claimed that the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities voids U.S. sovereignty because of a clause in the treaty that she claimed “demands that all American law on the subject be conformed to the standards of the UN.”
In fact, the treaty demands — to use Johnson’s word — that we meet our own basic human rights standards and not discriminate against the 56.7 million Americans currently living with a disability.
