Malta’s ratification of the United Nations' Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has been welcomed by the Kummissjoni Nazzjonali Persuni b'Dizabilita'.

Malta deposited the ratification document at the UN general headquarters in New York on October 10 and the final step will be for the United Nations to decide the date when the ratification will come into effect.

The convention represents a breakthrough development in the UN’s approach to the situation of disability. It was drafted with the active involvement of disabled people, their organisations and other stakeholders in the disability field.

It represents a radical shift from the previous approach which tended to frame disabled people in terms of charity or individuals that primarily required medical treatment or intervention to improve on their life chances. The convention affirmed that disabled people were, first and foremost, human beings who were entitled to the equal rights as any other person.

The convention provided member states with practical principles that aimed to guarantee equal access to disabled people.