AD HOC COMMITTEE ON
AN INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION

China:

Article 19

1. Any State Party to this Convention may propose an amendment and file it with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
2. The Secretary-General shall thereupon communicate the proposed amendment to States Parties, with a request that they indicate whether they favor a conference of States Parties for the purpose of considering and voting upon the proposals.
3. In the event that, within four months from the date of such communication, at least one third of the States Parties favor such a conference, the Secretary-General shall convene the conference under the auspices of the United Nations.
4. Any amendment adopted by a majority of the States Parties present and voting at the conference shall be submitted by the Secretary-General to the General Assembly of the United Nations for approval.
5. Any amendment adopted shall enter into force once it has been approved by the General Assembly of the United Nations and accepted by a two-thirds majority of the States Parties.
6. When amendment enters into force, it shall be binding on those States Parties which have accepted it, other States Parties shall remain bound by the provisions of the present Convention and earlier amendments which they have accepted.

Article 20

1. The Secretary General of the United Nations shall receive and circulate to all States the text of reservations made by States at the time of ratification or accession;
2. A reservation incompatible with the object and purpose of this Convention shall not be permitted;
3. Reservations may be withdrawn at any time by virtue of notification to the Secretary General of the United Nations who shall, in turn, notify all States to the same effect. The notification shall take effect as of the date of its reception.

Article 21

1. This Convention shall be open for signature by all United Nations Member States.
2. This Convention shall be open for ratification or accession by all United Nations Member States.
3. The General Secretary of the United Nations shall periodically deliver information on the number of signatures, ratifications and accession to this Convention, as well as on the efforts made and steps taken for its promotion and dissemination.

Article 22
This Convention shall enter into force on the thirtieth day after the date of the 2oth instruments of ratification or accession has been deposited with the Secretary General of the United Nations. For each State ratifying or acceding to this Convention after the 20th instruments of ratification or accession has been deposited, the Convention shall enter into force on the thirtieth day following the date on which the State in question has deposited its own instrument of ratification or accession.

Article 23
This Convention, whose texts in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish are equally authentic, shall be deposited in the archives of the Secretary General of the United Nations.

The Secretary General of the United Nations shall transmit certified copies of the Convention to all States Parties.

EU Proposal:

FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 9

States Parties undertake to make the principles and provisions of the present Convention widely known, by appropriate and active means.

Article 10

The present Convention shall be open for signature by all States. The Secretary-General of the United Nations is designated as the depository of the present Convention. The present Convention is subject to ratification. The instruments of ratification shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Article 11

The present Convention shall be open to accession by all States. Accession shall be effected by the deposit of an instrument of accession with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Article 12

The present Convention shall enter into force on the thirtieth day after the date of deposit with the Secretary General of the United Nations of the twentieth instrument of ratification or accession. For each State ratifying or acceding to the Convention after the deposit of the twentieth instrument of ratification or accession, the Convention shall enter into force on the thirtieth day after the date of the deposit by such State of its instrument of ratification or accession.

Article 13

A request for the revision of the present Convention may be made at any time by any State Party by means of a notification in writing addressed to the Secretary-General of the United Nations. The Secretary-General shall thereupon communicate the request to States Parties, with a request that they indicate whether they agree to a conference of States Parties for the purpose of considering and voting upon the requested revision. In the event that, within four months from the date of such communication, at least one third of the States Parties agree to such a conference, the Secretary-General shall convene the conference under the auspices of the United Nations. Any revision adopted by a majority of States Parties present and voting at the conference of States Parties shall be submitted to the General Assembly for Approval.

A revision adopted in accordance with article 12 shall enter into force when it has been approved by the General Assembly of the United Nations and accepted by a two-thirds majority of States Parties. When a revision enters into force, it shall be binding on those States Parties which have accepted it, other States Parties still being bound by the provisions of the present Convention and any earlier revisions which they have accepted.

Article 14

The present Convention, the Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish texts of which are equally authentic, shall be deposited with the Secretary General of the United Nations.

In witness thereof the undersigned, duly authorized, have signed the present Convention.

Mexico:
Article 25

All States Parties to this Convention may propose an amendment and deposit it with the Secretary General of the United Nations. In such case:

1. The Secretary General shall inform States Parties regarding the proposed amendment, asking them to notify him should they wish to convene a Conference of States Parties to examine the proposal and put it to a vote.
2. If within the four months following receipt of this notification at least one third of the Party States come out in favor of convening, then the Secretary General shall convene an amendment conference, under the auspices of the United Nations.
3. Any amendment adopted by a majority of the States Parties present and voting at the conference shall be submitted by the Secretary General to the United Nations General Assembly for its approval.
4. Any amendment adopted pursuant to paragraph 1 of this Article shall come into force once it has been approved by the United Nations General Assembly and accepted by a two-thirds majority of the States Parties.
5. When amendments come into force, they shall be obligatory for the States Parties that have accepted them, in as much as the other States Parties shall be bound by the dispositions of this Convention.
6. States not Party to this Convention, as well as specialized bodies, non-governmental organizations, and other competent agencies may be invited to attend the Amendment Conference as observers, in accordance with the agreed rules of procedure.

Article 26

1. The Secretary General of the United Nations shall receive and circulate to all States the text of reservations formulated by States at the time of ratification or accession.
2. A reservation incompatible with the object and purpose of this Convention shall not be permitted.
3. Reservations may be withdrawn at any time by virtue of notification to the Secretary General of the United Nations who shall, in turn, notify all States to the same effect. The notification shall take effect as of the date of its reception.

Article 27

Any dispute arising between two or more States Parties with respect to the interpretation or implementation of this Convention that is not settled by negotiation, shall, be referred to arbitration at the request of one of the parties to the dispute. If the parties fail to reach an agreement on the form of arbitration within a term of six months following the request, any of the parties may put the dispute before the International Court of Justice, in conformity with its statutes.

Article 28

Each State Party commits to widely disseminate this Convention and its periodic reports, and publicize them.

Article 29

1. The Secretary General of the United Nations is designated as the depository of this Convention.
2. This Convention shall be open for signature to all United Nations Member States.
3. This Convention shall be open for ratification or accession to all United Nations Member States.
4. The Secretary General shall periodically deliver information on the number of signatures, ratifications, and accessions to this Convention, as well as on the efforts made and steps taken for its promotion and dissemination.

Article 30

This Convention shall enter into force on the thirtieth day after the date the tenth instrument of ratification or accession has been deposited with the Secretary General of the United Nations.

For each State ratifying or acceding to this Convention after the tenth instrument of ratification or accession has been deposited, the Convention shall enter into force on the thirtieth day following the date on which the State in question has deposited its own instrument of ratification or accession.

Article 31

1. This convention, whose texts in Arabic, Chinese, Spanish, French, English, and Russian are equally authentic, shall be deposited in the archives of the United Nations.
2. The Secretary General of the United Nations shall send certified copies of this Convention to all States Parties.

Venezuela:
Article 27

Amendments

1. Any State party to this Convention may propose an amendment and deposit it with the Secretary-General of the United Nations. The procedure to be followed in such cases shall be the following:
   1. The Secretary-General shall inform States parties of the proposed amendment, asking them to notify him should they wish to convene a Conference of States parties to examine the proposal and put it to a vote.
   2. If within four months following the date of such notification, at least one third of the States parties declare themselves in favour of convening such a conference, the Secretary-General shall convene an amendment conference under the auspices of the United Nations.
   3. Any amendment adopted by a majority of the States parties present and voting at the conference shall be submitted by the Secretary-General to the General Assembly of the United Nations for approval.
   4. Any amendment adopted shall enter into force once it has been approved by the General Assembly of the United Nations and accepted by a two-thirds majority of the States parties.
   5. When amendments enter into force, they shall be binding on the States parties that accepted them, while the other States parties shall remain bound by the provisions of this Convention and any previous amendments they have accepted.
2. States not parties to this Convention, as well as the specialized agencies, non-governmental organizations and other competent organs, shall be entitled to be invited to attend the amendment conference as observers, in accordance with the agreed rules of procedure.

Article 28

Publicity
Each State party undertakes to disseminate this Convention widely and to publicize it.

Article 29

Depositary

1. The Secretary-General of the United Nations is hereby designated depositary of this Convention.
2. This Convention shall be open for signature by all United Nations Member States.
3. This Convention shall be open for ratification or accession by all United Nations Member States.
4. Instruments of signature, accession or ratification shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Article 30

Entry into force
This Convention shall enter into force on the thirtieth day after the date on which the tenth instrument of ratification or accession has been deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Article 31

Distribution

1. This Convention, whose tests in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish are equally authentic, shall be deposited in the archives of the United Nations.
2. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall send certified copies of this Convention to all States parties.

Bangkok Draft:
Article 35 Publicity for the Convention and work of the Committee

Each State Party undertakes to make widely known and to give publicity to the Convention and to the views and recommendations of the Committee established under Part V of this Convention, in particular on matters involving that State Party.

Article 36 Relationship between Convention and other conventions and national laws

1. Nothing in the present Convention shall affect more favourable rights or freedoms granted to persons with disabilities by virtue of:
   1. the law or practice of a State Party; or
   2. international law in force for that State.
2. Nothing in the present Convention may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or perform any act that would impair any of the rights and freedoms as set forth in the present Convention.

Article 51 Depositary

The Secretary-General of the United Nations is designated as the depositary of This Convention.

Article 52 Signature, ratification and accession

1. This Convention shall be open for signature by all States. It is subject to ratification.
2. This Convention shall be open to accession by any State.
3. Instruments of ratification or accession shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Article 53 Entry into force of the Convention

1. This Convention shall enter into force on the first day of the month following a period of three months after the date of the deposit of the twentieth instrument of ratification or accession.
2. For each State ratifying or acceding to the Convention after its entry into force, the Convention shall enter into force on the first day of the month following a period of three months after the date of the deposit of its own instrument of ratification or accession.

Article 54 Amendment or revision of the Convention

1. After five years from the entry into force of the Convention a request for the revision of the Convention may be made at any time by any State Party by means of a notification in writing addressed to the Secretary-General of the United Nations. The Secretary-General shall thereupon communicate any proposed amendments to the States Parties with a request that they notify him whether they favour a conference of States Parties for the purpose of considering and voting upon the proposals. In the event that within four months from the date of such communication at least one third of the States Parties favours such a conference, the Secretary-General shall convene the conference under the auspices of the United Nations. Any amendment adopted by a majority of the States Parties present and voting shall be submitted to the General Assembly for approval.
2. Amendments shall come into force when they have been approved by the General Assembly of the United Nations and accepted by a two-thirds majority of the States Parties in accordance with their respective constitutional processes.
3. When amendments come into force, they shall be binding on those States Parties that have accepted them, other States Parties still being bound by the provisions of This Convention and any earlier amendment that they have accepted.

Article 55 Reservations

1. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall receive and circulate to all States the text of reservations made by States at the time of signature, ratification or accession.
2. A reservation incompatible with the object and purpose of the Convention shall not be permitted.
3. Reservations may be withdrawn at any time by notification to this effect addressed to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, who shall then inform all States thereof. Such notification shall take effect on the date on which it is received.

Article 56 Disputes between States Parties

1. Any dispute between two or more States Parties concerning the interpretation or application of the Convention that is not settled by negotiation shall, at the request of one of them, be submitted to arbitration. If within six months from the date of the request for arbitration the Parties are unable to agree on the organization of the arbitration, any one of those Parties may refer the dispute to the International Court of Justice by request in conformity with the Statute of the Court.
2. Each State Party may at the time of signature or ratification of the Convention or accession thereto declare that it does not consider itself bound by paragraph 1 of the present article. The other States Parties shall not be bound by that paragraph with respect to any State Party that has made such a declaration.
3. Any State Party that has made a declaration in accordance with paragraph 2 of the present article may at any time withdraw that declaration by notification to the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Article 57 Authentic texts

1. This Convention, of which the Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish texts are equally authentic, shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
2. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall transmit certified copies of this Convention to all States.
3. The United Nations shall publish the text of the Convention in the official languages of the United Nations in formats which are accessible for persons with disabilities, including Braille, large print, audio, multimedia, easy to understand versions for persons with cognitive disabilities, and other alternative formats, as well as on an accessible website.

Return to top

Home | Sitemap | About us | News | FAQs | Contact us

© United Nations, 2003-04
Department of Economic and Social Affairs
Division for Social Policy and Development