The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
(CRPD) was formally opened for signature and ratification in March
2007. On the day of its opening, over eighty UN member states signed
the CRPD, a record number for the first day of signature of any UN
Convention so far. Reflecting a paradigm shift that positions people with
disabilities as “subjects” of human rights rather than “objects” of pity
and charity, it was the culmination of a long and successful campaign by
the international disability movement and was celebrated as a catalyst for
change on human rights and disability throughout the world.