South Africa Urged to Employ People with Disabilities; Implement Disability Rights Treaty

A minister in the South African president’s office, Dr. Essop Pahad, has urged government agencies to accelerate progress toward employing a higher number of workers with disabilities, allAfrica.com has reported (" Govt Depts Encouraged to Employ People with Disability ").  Dr. Pahad also urged that government agencies meet various other goals in respecting the rights of people with disabilities.  He pointed out that South Africa has ratified the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)–which now legally obligates them to protect a wide range of human rights for people with disabilities. The CRPD is the first legally-binding, international treaty to protect the human rights of people with disabilities.  A few examples of the rights that it covers include access to justice; freedom from exploitation and violence; personal mobility; right to privacy; and many more.  Article 27 of the CRPD covers the right to...