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AG/RES. 1487 (XXVII-O/97)

DRAFT INTER-AMERICAN CONVENTION ON THE ELIMINATION OF ALL FORMS OF DISCRIMINATION BY REASON OF DISABILITY

(Resolution adopted at the seventh plenary session, held on June 5, 1997)

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 by Reason of Disability (AG/doc.3480/97);

CONSIDERING:

That the Charter of the Organization of American States declares, in Article 3.i and 3.k, respectively, that "social justice and social security are bases of lasting peace," and that "the American States proclaim the fundamental rights of the individual without distinction as to race, nationality, creed or sex"; and

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;

RECALLING that the Additional Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights in the Area of Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, "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

BEARING IN MIND:

That the General Assembly, in its resolution AG/RES. 1369 (XXVI-O/96), 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; and

That, in accordance with the aforementioned resolution, it also instructed the Inter-American Juridical Committee to prepare and submit its observations to the Permanent Council at the earliest possible date, once it had received the draft Convention referred to in the preceding paragraph,

RESOLVES:

1. To reiterate the firm and decisive commitment of the Organization of American States to persons with disabilities in the Hemisphere.

2. To recognize the importance of the progress achieved to date in preparing the draft Inter-American Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination by Reason of Disability.

3. To instruct the Inter-American Juridical Committee to formulate its observations on the draft Inter-American Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination by Reason of Disability at its regular session to be held in August 1997, and to transmit these observations to the Permanent Council, pursuant to resolution AG/RES. 1369 (XXVI-O/96).

4. To request the Inter-American Juridical Committee, in preparing the observations requested in the preceding paragraph, to take into account the comments submitted by the governments of member states, as well as those presented by the Pan American Health Organization and by the Secretariat of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

5. To reiterate the mandate to the Permanent Council, according to which, once the observations have been received from the Inter-American Juridical Committee, it should convene, within allocated resources approved in the program-budget and other resources, a special meeting of the Working Group, with the participation of legal or other experts designated by the member states, pursuant to resolution AG/RES. 1369 (XXVI-O/96), to prepare a new draft Inter-American Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination by Reason of Disability, which would be submitted to the General Assembly for consideration at its twenty-eighth regular session.

6. To urge member states that have not yet done so to consider signing, ratifying, or acceding to the Protocol of San Salvador, as appropriate, so that it may enter into force as soon as possible.

7. To reiterate the importance of adopting an Inter-American Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination by Reason of Disability and of making every possible effort so that this legal instrument may be signed by the General Assembly at its twenty-eighth regular session.

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