The head of a UN panel laying the groundwork for a treaty protecting the rightsof the world's 600 million disabled said today he hoped afirst draft of the pact would be completed early next year.
The committee, wrapping up a two-week meeting at UNheadquarters, planned to set up a special working group of 20to 25 nations to do the actual drafting, Ambassador Mr LuisGallegos of Ecuador said.
After that, all 191 UN member-nations would beginnegotiating a final text, he said. The panel's proposal issubject to the approval of the UN General Assembly.
"This is a social change of importance and relevancebecause it will guide the attitudes of societies and thenations who sign and ratify this convention for the nextgenerations and decades," Mr Gallegos told reporters.
"It's taken us 20 years to get to this point," he said. "Myvision is that we will have a first draft of a convention forearly next year."
About 50 Asian nations, 45 European states, 32 countriesfrom the Americas and 56 from Africa supported the plan tobegin the drafting process, Mr Gallegos said.
Among the handful of dissenters were the United States,which has ruled out signing but has pledged not to obstruct atreaty, and Australia, which said it saw no need for a newglobal pact to protect the rights of people with disabilities.
Mr Gallegos called a US offer to help with the draftingprocess "a major step forward."
Many attending the two-week conference feared the UnitedStates would work to water down the treaty during negotiations,only to end up renouncing it, as Washington did on recent pactsto combat global warming and to establish an internationalcriminal court.
Instead, Mr Ralph Boyd, US assistant attorney general forcivil rights, told the meeting last week that Washington wouldnot become a party to the treaty but hoped "to share ourexperiences and to offer technical assistance, if desired, onkey principles and elements."