The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities raises grave concerns, according to Allan Carlson, organizer of the World Congress of Families and president of The Howard Center for Family, Religion and Society.
“Ironically, what is being billed as a treaty to protect disability rights may actually be used to deny those rights, including the most fundamental human right — the right to life,” Carlson charged.
The Convention, which opened in New York last Monday (August 14) and runs until August 25, is drafting this human rights treaty, which could force governments to change their domestic laws. Formally representing The Howard Center at this UN Session is Lauren Vander Heyden.
Carlson observed: “The treaty’s danger lies in its ambiguous language. For instance, the International Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the U.N. in 1948, speaks of the ‘worth’ as well as the ‘dignity’ of the individual. By contrast, the Disability Treaty speaks only of their ‘dignity,’ but not their ‘worth.’ Since euthanasia advocates use the expression ‘death with dignity,’ there’s a reasonable fear that a convention intended to secure their rights actually could lead to the killing of the disabled.”
“With active euthanasia sanctioned in a number of countries, including the Netherlands, this concern is far from hypothetical,” Carlson cautioned.
Qatar introduced language that would protect the disabled from denial of life-sustaining food and water, as well as essential medical care. But that language has yet to be included in the draft document.
Posted by Walt as Freedom & Human Rights, Health at 7:30 PM EDT