September 25, 2008
UN, September 25 - /Ksenia Kaminskaya, special correspondent, ITAR-TASS/. The day before, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on behalf of Russia signed the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. At the Organization’s Headquarters, he also gave for keeping the charter of Russia’s ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which has to do with involvement of children in armed conflicts.
‘The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is the first document in this century that is universally dedicated to the human rights, Lavrov said to reporters. People in Russia are increasingly keen to observe the rights of persons with disabilities, and there is much for us to do in this perspective. There is a Law passed in Russia in 1995 about the rights of people with disabilities, the Federal Programme about support for people with disabilities for 2006-2010.‘
At the same time, the minister remarked that ‘it is crucial now to transfer these tools onto practical level.’ ‘As we accede to the Convention, it will promote fulfillment of all our plans in good faith as well as international obligations added today,’ Lavrov confirmed. ‘The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2006; 36 states have ratified it.
‘Russian accession to the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child has a special significance in the stream of our politics with regards to defending the rights of children,’ went on Lavrov. This document “specifies the measures that are necessary for all nations to employ in order to avoid using children in armed conflicts,” the head of the Russian diplomatic office explained. ‘These actions stand for Russia’s support for the international cooperation in the area of human rights, and it concurrently means we incur additional obligations as to implementing the agreements,’ the minister added.
The main objective of the Protocol is to prevent involvement of children in armed conflicts. 122 nations have acceded to the document. In accordance with the order of the Russian President and on behalf of Russia, the Protocol was signed in 2001.
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