URGENT: Support CRPD, Deaf-Friendly “Disability Treaty”
URGENT: Support CRPD, Deaf-Friendly “Disability Treaty”
WE NEED YOUR HELP!
The marathon battle for the U.S. ratification of the deaf-friendly “Disability Treaty” may soon have its end in sight. But only if thousands of supporters across the country take action now! That means YOU!
What can you do?
- MAKE CALLS!! We need everyone to call and email Senators as often as you can. Tell them over and over to ratify the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)! Don’t stop until they ratify!
The CRPD Action Center at http://disabilitytreaty.org offers tools that can help you communicate with Senators. This includes a template email and a script for phone calls. The same site has a FAQ on the CPRD.Every call really does matter. Set up phone banks for your dorms, organizations or classes. Hold events where everyone calls together!
In addition to your own Senators, you also can call Senator Menendez and Senator Corker. As Chair and Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, they represent all Americans.
- Sign and disseminate the petitions! Youth below age 30 can sign a petition for young people at http://bit.ly/Youth4CRPD. People of all ages can sign another petition at http://disabilitytreaty.org. Every signature really does matter!!
- The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee has scheduled two hearings on the CRPD for November 5 and 12, 2013. WE NEED YOU TO COME. Bring your friends, family, and classmates. Help us FILL THE ROOM. Show the Senators your support. Monitor http://www.foreign.senate.gov/hearings/ for forthcoming details on time and location.
Facts to Remember:
- The CRPD is the first international treaty to recognize the inclusion of sign language and deaf culture in society.
- More than 700 disability, veterans, faith, business, and humanitarian organizations support CRPD ratification. These include the National Association of the Deaf (NAD), Gallaudet University, and the U.S. International Council on Disabilities (USICD).
- More materials on the CRPD for the Deaf, deaf, and hard of hearing communities are available at http://bit.ly/DeafCRPD
Last year, we lost by only 5 votes. This may be our last chance for a long time. Please help us succeed this year!
Please let us know what you are doing! Any questions? Contact: Andrea Shettle at ashettle@usicd.org, video phone 202-540-8812. Other questions on the CRPD campaign can be directed to Eileen Magan at emagan@usicd.org.
Please circulate this text freely to all U.S. deaf and hard of hearing community members, their friends, loved ones, and allies. Reblog or copy/paste the text into email, Facebook, etc.
If you have a website, put the logo below on your website and link it to http://disabilitytreaty.org
Support US Ratification of #CRPD #Disability Treaty!
If you care about social justice, equality, and human rights for all people … if you are an American veteran or a person with disabilities or love someone who is … then please take action in the campaign for US ratification of the disability treaty. Ask your US senators to vote YES to ratify the CRPD Disability Treaty in 2013.
This may sound like something that shouldn’t need your help. Because, who would be against people with disabilities? But we lost our first attempt to get the CRPD ratified in the US in December 2012 due to a campaign of mis-information from opponents. And the opponents have not stopped. We cannot allow this defeat to happen again. The disability, veterans, faith, business, and social justice communities have come back in 2013. More than 500 organizations across the US are working hard on US ratification of the CRPD. But we need your help in talking with your senators to make it happen.
The slide show below gives a brief overview of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD, also known as the “disability treaty”). It covers:
- What the CRPD is,
- Why it matters to people with disabilities around the world,
- Why US ratification is important even though we already have the Americans with Disabilities Act, and
- Simple actions that people can take to help.
Also visit a great website that has more extensive materials on the CRPD disability treaty and the campaign for US ratification at http://www.disabilitytreaty.org. This includes materials and resources for advocates, such as fact sheets that expose some of the myths and mis-information being disseminated by treaty opponents.
If you have 48 minutes to spare to learn more about the CRPD and the history of the campaign for US ratification, watch this great new webinar video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4LHXZyHERU&feature=youtu.be. Yes, it has captions for deaf and hard of hearing people (and others who need them).
CRPD Final Vote in US Senate Tuesday. Take Action Early and OFTEN.
UPDATE January 15, 2013: Yes, we lost the vote in December. NO, the fight is NOT OVER. The senate WILL have another vote on the ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2013! Don’t allow the opposition to use their continuing lies to defeat us a second time–make sure your senators know you strongly support their “yes” vote on the CRPD.
Call, email, write, tweet to, or visit the offices of your senators early and OFTEN. (Senators have short attention spans 🙂 ) Find more info on the US CRPD ratification campaign and what to tell senators; find contact information for your senators at senate.gov.
Individuals can sign a petition in support of the CRPD here.
If you are authorized to sign on to a letter in behalf of your organization can sign on to a letter supporting the CRPD for your organization here.
——————-Original Post from December 1 follows below——————————–
CRPD FINAL VOTE U.S. Senate, TUESDAY at 12 o’clock EST
EMAIL, FAX, and DROP OFF the new CRPD handout in MASSES. Get it to the PRESS in your town and state.
Link to CRPD Handout:
http://usicd.org//doc/SupportheCRPD%20AD.pdf
Find your Senator’s contact here!
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
Senate switchboard at (202) 224-3121
Please act quickly and do your part to make this a WIN for the disability community around the world. Let’s not look back and think of what we should have done but what we DID do!
Time is running out. This Tuesday, December 4th at 12PM the CRPD with be voted on.
We have all worked years to come to this point. Over 300 disability and veterans organizations and thousands of disability advocates have weighed in and worked tirelessly to get a vote on the CRPD in the Senate. But a small and LOUD opposition led by Rick Santorum and the Tea Party is using their misinformation to take the votes that we have all worked so hard to secure. The Senators opposed to our treaty have agreed to a vote without amendments – because they think the disability community will NOT win.
We are DOWN the votes we need but the disability community SHOULD NOT AND DOES NOT GIVE UP!
Can we count on you? Will your Senators be a “YES” vote? We need 67 VOTES to win and this will be a VERY close vote. WE NEED YOUR STATE!
At this point only an ACTION by you in your STATE will get us a positive REACTION in the Senate. Make your support known in the press, in the media, in your Senator’s offices. Call, Tweet with #CRPD, sit in, whatever works for you BUT doing nothing will not get us anything.
We need action all weekend and on Monday, the International Day of People with Disabilities.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 1 so far )Five Ways to Support the CRPD Ratification Campaign!
UPDATE: Yes, the fight is still on to ratify the CRPD in 2013!
1. Educate yourself about the CRPD!
- The acronym CRPD stands for “Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities”. It is an international treaty defending the human rights of people with disabilities ratified by 127 countries—but not the US. We’re working to fix that!
- Learn the basics via a FAQ on the CRPD and this video (yes, with subtitles). For more intensive learning, find more CRPD resources
- Keep up with the news at USICD’s CRPD updates page Follow @USICD in Twitter and in Facebook
- If you are a college or university student, follow @AdvocatEquality in twitter and visit Students4CRPD.
2. Talk to Senators!
- Sign on to the open letter from individual citizens to US senators!
- Visit http://www.senate.gov to find the website for each of your two senators. The website will have their contact information. Email them, call them, tweet them, or leave messages at their Facebook page! In twitter, use the hashtag #CRPD
- Your message for senators: “I am a person with disabilities–please ratify the CRPD in 2012! This is an important issue for the disability community!” If desired, you can say what your disabilities are. Or say that you know someone with disabilities, or that you are a US veteran, etc. Visit USICD’s website for more sample CRPD messages for senators.
3. Lend your Face!
- Let senators see the many faces of people who support the CRPD! Take a picture of you holding your own homemade sign supporting the CRPD. Individuals, couples, or groups are all welcome! Look at more pictures for ideas.
- You can make your sign with poster board or a blank piece of paper. Use magic markers, or your printer.
- Send the picture to Susie Richard srichard@usicd.org at USICD for their growing collection! Ask your friends and relatives to contribute pictures also!
- If you have Twitter, you can tweet pictures to senators with the #CRPD hashtag.
4. Recruit your Friends and Family!
- Educate your friends and family about the CRPD. Ask them to call, email, or tweet their senators–and contribute pictures!
- Follow @USICD in Twitter and re-tweet them often. “Share” the USICD Facebook page with your friends. Link to this post from your blog or website.
- Are you a university student or faculty member? Consider creating a chapter of Students4CRPD on YOUR campus!
5. What Can YOUR Organization Do?
- Your organization can sign on to USICD’s letter of support from organizations for the CRPD. (Check the list to learn what other organizations have signed on.)
- Consider sending your own letter to senators explaining why your organization wants the US to ratify. (Read letters of support from other organizations). Send a PDF copy to Susie Richard so she can post it to USICD’s website.
- Encourage your organization’s constituents to contact senators supporting the CRPD.
- Consider making your own group picture of people who support the CRPD! See examples of pictures here. Send your group picture to srichard@usicd.org at USICD!
- Communicate with USICD about these and other ways to help the effort.
Lend YOUR Face to Support the US CRPD Ratification Effort!
What is the CRPD?
CRPD stands for Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the first international treaty to address the human rights needs of people with disabilities. We lost the first CRPD vote in 2012 because the opposition spread lies and misinformation. Don’t let us lose again in 2014. Senator Reid could schedule a new floor vote on the CRPD at any time that the Senate is in session.
First, Tell both of your senators that you want them to ratify the CRPD.
The second thing you can do is: Lend your face!
How Do I “Lend My Face”?
- Catch the attention of senators with a picture of YOU! Pose for the picture with your own homemade sign supporting the CRPD. Your sign can briefly explain why the CRPD matters to you.
- Email your picture to Andrea Shettle at USICD (ashettle@usicd.org) and she can Tweet it for you. Tell Andrea what state you are from so she knows which Senators to address for you!
- Or if you prefer to Tweet or Facebook the picture yourself:
- Use the hash tag #CRPD in your message
- Use the message to ask your followers to take action to support the “Disability Treaty” at http://disabilitytreaty.org!
- Address the message to your Senators! Find their Twitter handle and Facebook page at http://bit.ly/ReachSenators
- Need ideas for a message to accompany your picture? Click on some of the pictures below to see what message people tweeted with their picture! Always include the #CRPD hash tag AND the http://disabilitytreaty.org web link.
Find more ideas for how to help in the Disability Treaty Action Handout.
The Forgotten Victims of September 11: People with Disabilities
Today is the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks that killed about 3000 people at the World Trade Center in New York, at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and in a field in Pennsylvania, as well as the passengers on the four planes used as weapons of terror. But what most people don’t realize is that a very high portion of the people who died that day were people with disabilities. And this isn’t because they were targeted by terrorists, or because people didn’t bother trying to rescue them. This is because the most typical disaster preparedness plan put in place for people with disabilities usually involves some variant of: Come to location X near the stairs, then sit and wait for rescue. The only problem is, sometimes an emergency moves so fast that there is simply no time for rescue to arrive. And when that happens, people with disabilities are often the first to die because they are the last to be evacuated.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 6 so far )Deaf and Disabled Women Activists Change the World!
Let me share with you one of the most amazing music videos you’ll ever see! I have met the women in this video–both the Deaf women and the women with all different kinds of disabilities–and they are some of the most awesome, passionate, visionary, world changing women leaders I have had the honor to have met. These 54 women from 43 different countries are doing incredible things in their home countries, changing society one little corner at a time so that it is more inclusive of Deaf and disabled women everywhere. Please, PLEASE — go watch this video!! Then when you’re done–please get a YouTube account (if you don’t already have one) so you can leave a positive comment about it. And click on the “like” button (looks like a thumbs up sign). Then click on the “Share” button so that you can tweet it … and facebook it … and otherwise share it with every person you know. Then encourage them to do the same thing. I want for the WHOLE WORLD to watch this video!
Can you feel their love and passion and energy just pulsating off the screen at you? I came home with an AWFUL headache tonight and just wanted to go to sleep … but when I watched this video, it had me tapping my toes and signing and singing right along with them! You will do the same — PLEASE GO WATCH RIGHT NOW!
The song is sung in English, Arabic, Spanish, and American Sign Language with English captions.
Disabled women activists change the world through YouTube music video: Loud, Proud and Passionate!(SM)
January 6, 2011 – Signing and singing with passion in Arabic, Spanish and English, 54 disabled women activists from 43 countries celebrate the achievements, pride and solidarity of women with disabilities around the world. These leaders are revolutionizing the status of women and girls worldwide. Filmed during MIUSA’s 5th International Women’s Institute on Leadership and Disability (WILD), the Loud, Proud and Passionate!(SM) music video release marks the beginning of MIUSA’s 30thAnniversary year-long celebration.
Watch and share the YouTube link:
Music Video: Loud, Proud and Passionate!(SM)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxxomUVsSik
Our goal is to reach 2,500 views and to raise funds through donations for the next WILD program empowering women and girls with disabilities. Every donation large or small brings us closer to that goal! To donate, visit http://www.miusa.org/donate/wild.
WILD delegates in the video come from Albania, Algeria, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Bangladesh, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Chile, China, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Lesotho, Macedonia, Malaysia, Mexico, Nepal, Nigeria, Palestinian Territories, Peru, Philippines, South Africa, Sri Lanka, St. Lucia, Syria, Turkey, Uganda, United States of America, Vietnam, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The video is captioned. For the text video description in English click here.
Mobility International USA (MIUSA) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to empower people with disabilities around the world to achieve their human rights through international exchange and international development. For more information visit www.miusa.org.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 1 so far )On-going Human Rights Violation: Woman Being Denied Basic Care
We in the disability human rights community have an opportunity to save a life. A quick summary: a woman with disabilities in Sudsbury, Ontario, Canada (Minna Mettinen- Kekalainen) is SUPPOSED to be receiving home care services. The North East Community Care Access Center has been denying her these services. Minna says this is because she had complained about their nurses because they had failed to follow her doctor’s orders. Minna was on a prolonged hunger strike, starving herself to death in an attempt to pressure the CCAC to provide her the services she needs. She has started eating again, at least for now. But she is still being profoundly neglected. Please take a few minutes to support efforts among disability rights activists to save her life.
1. First, read more about the situation at the following two links. You will also want to read the comments that people have left, because people are using the comments area at this blog page to exchange more information and ideas on how people can help: http://ballastexistenz.autistics.org/?p=572 and http://ballastexistenz.autistics.org/?p=573
2. Send an email to the following people to urge them to intervene on Minna’s behalf so she can receive the home care services that she is asking for: Sudbury MPP Rick Bartolucci Constituency Office email: rbartolucci.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org
Ministry of Community Safety & Correctional Services email: rick.bartolucci@ontario.ca
Minister of Health & Long-Term Care David Caplan: ccu.moh@ontario.ca
Non-Canadians can use these email addresses, too. If enough individual people write to them, they may take notice.
3. Consider also communicating with the North East Community Care Access Center on Minna’s behalf. This is the center that is refusing care to Minna (unfortunately there seems to be no email contact for them):
North East Community Care Access Centre (the centre that is refusing care to Minna)
Head Office/Sudbury Branch
1760 Regent Street
Sudbury ON P3E 3Z8
(705) 522-3461 or 1 (800) 461-2919 (Sudbury
To access the Long-Term Care ACTION Line call: 1-866-876-7658 or TTY: 1-800-387-5559.
(More detail on their Complaints and Appeals Process at http://tinyurl.com/aeu6vt)
4. Also consider communicating with the Maison Vale Inco Hospice–this is a different place (NOT related to the North East Community Care Access Center), and Minna would like to be admitted there.
Maison Vale Inco Hospice (the place Minna hopes to gain admittance to)
(705) 674-9252
1028 South Bay Rd. Sudbury, ON P3E 6J7
Website: http://www.maisonsudburyhospice.org/
Resident Care Coordinator Elaine Klym: elaine@maisonsudburyhospice.org
Executive Director is Léo Therrie
5. If you will be in Ontario on January 23, consider joining a protest and march on Minna’s behalf.
6. Join the Facebook group, “Minna’s Hunger Strike–Call to Action for an ALS Patient Denied Care” to learn the latest news on what is happening with Minna’s case and what people are doing to help. If you are not already a member of Facebook, it only takes a few minutes to sign up for a free account.
7. Please circulate this text further via your network of contacts in the disability and human rights communities, Facebook page, blog site, etc.
Thank you for taking action.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 8 so far )Jerry Lewis, Hersholt Award, and Gay Slurs
People with disabilities are not the only people who are offended at Jerry Lewis receiving a humanitarian award. GLBT people object to the idea because Jerry has made homophobic slurs. Read more at http://www.altfg.com/blog/actors/jerry-lewis-gay-slur-controversy/
Bev at Asperger Square 8 has once again lent her visual talents by combining pictures of Jerry with some of his more insidious quotes about people with disabilities. At http://aspergersquare8.blogspot.com/2009/01/protest-pity.html
Learn more about Jerry Lewis’ humanitarian award and the petition campaign protesting against it at https://reunifygally.wordpress.com/2009/01/10/protest-pity-sign-the-petition/ or by following the links at https://reunifygally.wordpress.com/bloggers-protesting-pity/
Consider signing the petition protesting the award at
http://www.petitiononline.com/jlno2009/petition.html You can significantly strengthen the impact of your petition signature by using the comments line to explain IN YOUR OWN WORDS why you object to the award. (Don’t let the tiny comments space in the petition fool you. You can actually fit in several full sentences, if you wish.)
And consider joining the Facebook group so you can learn about other ways to get involved: http://www.facebook.com/groups.php#/group.php?gid=40538392681
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Obama for People with Disabilities, Deaf People
[People who wish to communicate with the Obama administration should PLEASE CONTACT THEM DIRECTLY. I am NOT able to pass along your emails to the Obama administration. You can contact the White House at http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/. Or you may prefer to contact the White House Office of Public Liaison, which in their own words is “the front door to the White House through which everyone can participate and inform the work of the President,” at http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/opl/]
US President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden say the United States “should lead the world” in helping Deaf people and people with disabilities to “take full advantage of their talents and become independent, integrated members of society.” Obama has promised to make the United States a signatory to the UN
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and will urge U.S. Senate to ratify the Convention as soon as possible.
Obama offers a four-part plan for improving opportunities for Deaf people and people with disabilities in the United States:
(1) Providing Americans with disabilities the educational opportunities they need to succeed.
(2) Ending discrimination and promoting equal opportunity.
(3) Increasing the employment rate of workers with disabilities.
(4) Supporting independent, community-based living for Americans with disabilities.
Obama says he and his administration will “work closely with individuals with disabilities and disability rights advocates to achieve this vision…”
Read more about Obama’s plan at http://origin.barackobama.com/issues/disabilities/
What can YOU do to help make this plan come true? Politicians are usually more quick to follow through on their promises when they know that people across their country–and throughout other countries of the world–are watching them. Please send emails to Obama’s team: ask Obama to move quickly to meet all of his promises to people with disabilities. Which promise do you care about the most? Jobs for people with disabilities? Signing the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities? Better-quality education? Independent living in the community? Tell Obama why it matters so much to you.
Send emails on Deaf- or disability-related issues to Kareem Dale, Obama’s National Disability Vote Director (at kdale@barackobama.com), WITH COPIES TO Anne Hayes, a volunteer on the Obama Disability Policy Committee (at ahayesku@hotmail.com).
If you wish, you may learn more detail about the national and global email-writing campaign by viewing the short slide show below (click on the right arrow to advance to the next screen). You also may download the slide show for yourself (106 Kb), or read most of the same text on-line at http://wecando.wordpress.com/2008/11/07/disabilities-email-obama/
After you send your own email to Obama, please also encourage your friends and colleagues to do the same.
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