VetsFirst began the new year with a renewed push for ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD or Disabilities Treaty).
Negotiations on how to proceed with ratification efforts hit a roadblock when Senator Bob Corker, Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, announced before Christmas that he could not support the Disabilities Treaty. In response, VetsFirst sent a letter to Senator Corker calling on him to renew negotiations on this issue. Now, we are working within the veterans service organization (VSO) community to promote additional supportive actions from veterans in Washington, D.C. and in Corker’s home state of Tennessee.
In November 2013, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee held two hearings on the Disabilities Treaty. These hearings included testimony from legal experts who have made it clear that the treaty can be ratified with the protections necessary to ensure our sovereignty. To show veterans’ support for the treaty, VetsFirst assisted partner VSOs in mobilizing veterans in the Washington, D.C. area to attend the hearings. Additionally, we successfully encouraged other groups to write letters of support to Senate Foreign Relations Committee leadership. These activities have helped bolster a coalition that is more actively engaged on this issue than ever before.
The fact remains that veterans with disabilities require the same levels of access abroad as they do in the United States. VetsFirst will continue to lead initiatives in the VSO community to advocate for ratification of the Disabilities Treaty. We remain strongly committed to acquiring the necessary votes that will lead to ratification.