The Executive Yuan today approved a proposal for Taiwan to enter the United Nations' (UN) Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and will send it to the Legislature for deliberation.
According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the 50 articles of this convention promote respect for persons with physical and mental disabilities and emphasize that these individuals should fully and equally enjoy all human rights and basic freedoms. The UN urges nations to implement the convention's provisions guaranteeing disabled persons' rights.
The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 13, 2006 and took effect May 3, 2008. The Enforcement Act of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was promulgated by President Ma Ying-jeou August 20, 2014 and will take effect next week, on December 3. To complete necessary legal procedures, the convention was sent to the Executive Yuan for approval and will be forwarded to the Legislature for deliberation.