Appendix B: OAS- Inter-American Convention On The Elimination Of All Forms Of Discrimination Against Persons With Disabilities
AG/RES. 1608 (XXIX-O/99)
INTER-AMERICAN CONVENTION ON THE ELIMINATION OF ALL FORMS OF
DISCRIMINATION AGAINST PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES
(Resolution adopted at the first plenary session, held on June 7, 1999)
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,
HAVING SEEN the report of the Permanent Council on the draft Inter-American
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Persons with
Disabilities (CP/CAJP-1532/99);
CONSIDERING that, during its twenty-sixth regular session, the General
Assembly, in resolution AG/RES. 1369 (XXVI-O/96), "Panama Commitment to
Persons with Disabilities in the American Hemisphere," instructed the Permanent
Council to prepare, through the appropriate working group, a "draft Inter-American
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination by Reason of
Disability";
BEARING IN MIND that disability can lead to situations of discrimination, and
that it is necessary therefore to encourage actions and measures to bring about
a substantial improvement in the situation of persons with disabilities in the
Hemisphere;
RECALLING that the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man
proclaims that all human beings are born free and equal, in dignity and in rights,
and that the rights and freedoms of every person must be respected without
distinction of any kind;
TAKING INTO CONSIDERATION that the Additional Protocol to the American
Convention on Human Rights in the area of Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights,
or "Protocol of San Salvador," recognizes that "everyone affected by a diminution
of his physical or mental capacities is entitled to receive special attention designed
to help him achieve the greatest possible development of his personality"; and
NOTING that resolution AG/RES. 1564 (XXVIII-O/98) reiterates "the importance of adopting an Inter-American Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities" and, in addition, requests that every necessary effort be made to ensure that this legal instrument is adopted and signed at the twenty-ninth regular session of the General Assembly,