The U.N. International Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities opened for signing on Friday, with Algeria, Jordan, and Yemen among the first signatories. The convention became the first human-rights treaty of the 21st century, and the fastest negotiated international human-rights instrument in history, U.N. Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Nigiro told the U.N. General Assembly. The convention, finalized in only three years, prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in several areas of life, including employment, access to justice, the right to education, the right to health care, and access to transportation. Fifty-three nations on Friday signed the convention. Currently, less than 50 countries have specific laws to protect people with disabilities.
