May 12, 2008
Multimedia:   VIDEO  

On May 12, the United Nations celebrated the anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The Convention extends and guarantees already established human rights to some 650 million people with disabilities worldwide. In recognition of this victory, WITNESS screened the video Living Proof: The Right to Live in the Community at the UN General Assembly.

Living Proof was produced in partnership with the Croatian NGO, Association for Promoting Inclusion (API), a grantee of OSI's Mental Health Initiative. Croatia was one of the first five countries to ratify the Convention.

While disability rights advocates and their governments must still work toward implementation, today's UN screening recognizes the accomplishments of API and disability rights groups from all over the world.

More information about additional UN commemorative event for the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, see the UN site From Concept to Reality: Promoting Universal Human Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

The video, Living Proof: The Right to Live in the Community, is available on the WITNESS web site.