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erieangel -> 38 senators shame themselves, the senate and our nation (12/6/2012 2:11:21 PM)
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Tuesday, the Senate had the chance to be world leaders when they were asked to ratify the UN Convention of Civil Rights for Persons with disabilities. Sadly, this treaty failed in a 61-38 vote, 5 votes short of the required 2/3 majority to pass a treaty.
The treaty was negotiated by G.H.W. Bush, endorsed by John McCain and Bob Dole (father of the American with Disabilities Act). It was signed by the UN General Assembly in 2006 and has since been ratified by 126 countries. The Convention aims to “promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities, and to promote respect for their inherent dignity.” In addition to outlining basic principles for fair and equitable treatment of the disabled, it established a committee of human rights experts tasked with monitoring progress and issuing non-binding recommendations pursuant to those goals.
But there were some right wing conspiracy theories surrounding this convention. Rick Santorum wrote in The Blaze that the Convention could “potentially eradicate parental rights for the education of children with disabilities” and “allow our beliefs and values to be outsourced to outside entities that may not always have our best interests in mind.”
If I'm reading that right, Santorum is claiming that the treaty would allow the UN to dictate law, even though our ADA is stronger than the UN treaty. And that the US should be telling the UN how to protect the rights of the poor, not the other way around. Somewhere, Rick forgot just who is responsible for negotiating this treaty in the first place. Basically, he's against it because Obama signed it.
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