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The convention was adopted in 2006 and came into force in May 2008. It was signed by Pakistan less than four months later, in September 2008. Judging by Islamabad's record of tardiness in taking notice of international human rights instruments, except for the Convention on the Rights of the Child, it displayed unusual speed in signing the convention on the disabled.

But there is nothing unusual in the government's lack of interest in follow-up measures, and this attitude is the main factor in the denial of the benefits of the international human rights system to the people of Pakistan.

As a consequence of this attitude perhaps the government has not given due publicity to its good deed. The media, too, has ignored the matter. It seems that people with handicaps are neglected worldwide. At a recent meeting of a committee related to the CRPD a member complained that even many among those working at the UN were not aware of the convention.

However, at least one NGO in Lahore, the Pakistan Society for the Rehabilitation of the Disabled (PSRD), took the initiative to inform the public of the responsibilities the state had assumed by signing the CRPD. The society, one of the finest examples of civil society's endeavours for public good, deserves better recognition and support than it has so far received. Established on a modest scale in 1957, the society has greatly expanded its activities. Now it runs a modern (and clean) hospital and outpatient department, a physiotherapy centre (including occupational and speech therapy), a facility for the production of artificial limbs and a skill development centre.

It also advances credit to disabled persons to become economically independent. In the high school run by the society special children pursue studies along with children considered normal, a design worth emulation across the land. And it won the distinction of starting to sensitise the public about the CRPD.

The convention itself follows the pattern adopted for treaties drafted for selected groups (women, children, etc.) All states that adhere to the convention are required to address the following issues/rights awareness-raising; right to life, liberty and security of person; the disabled in situations of risk and humanitarian emergencies; equal protection of the law and access to justice; freedom from torture, exploitation, violence and abuse; liberty of movement and nationality; living independently and being included in the community; right to education, health, work, employment, habitation and rehabilitation; and participation in political and public life, culture, recreation and sport.

The purpose of the convention is “to promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities, and to promote respect for their inherent dignity”. Along with the convention, a protocol has been adopted which provides the disabled in a state party opportunities of seeking redress at the UN.

The definition of persons with disabilities needs to be noted in under-developed societies, such as Pakistan.

These persons include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others (emphasis added). The same idea is referred to in the preamble where it is said that disability is an evolving concept and disability results from the interaction between persons with impairments and attitudinal and environmental barriers that perpetuates or aggravates their disability.

The biggest problem that persons with disabilities face in Pakistan is that the social environment and the people's culture are mostly hostile to them. Many persons' disabilities are aggravated by society's attitude towards them. The lives of a large number of people are spoiled and their potential for coming good is lost because of people's habit of looking down on those with slight impairment and treating such impairment as the mark of their identification and the dominant feature of their personality.

If a person limps he must be called langra; if a person has lost an eye, he must be summoned as kana. Children suspected of autism suffer greatly at the hands of parents, siblings and teachers. The government and civil society will need to coordinate their efforts to cure the people of their unhealthy attitude towards the disabled. The likes of the brutes who expelled a child from a school because he had suffered a disability can be found all over Pakistan, in homes as well as in institutions.

Civil society's potential to help the government in this field cannot be denied. Apart from PSRD mentioned earlier quite a few other organisations are doing well in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad. The disabled are generally called 'special persons'. Pakistan has scored notable successes at the Special Olympics and the blind cricketers are quite popular.

One of the associations that have taken up the cause of the disabled recently claimed the disabled account for 10 per cent of the country's population and demanded a quota for them in parliament.

Off and on the formal sector, too, shows interest in the disabled people. The Punjab chief minister recently promised a modern rehabilitation centre. The Supreme Court took notice of a report that seats reserved for the disabled in 50 government departments were lying vacant, but one does not know what the outcome was. According to an announcement the disabled can import motor vehicles without paying custom duty. All this is, however, too little and too disorganised.

The advantage of signing the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is that it should enable the governments at all levels to work out a broad-based plan for guaranteeing special persons their due. The obvious priorities are

— Immediate ratification of the convention.

— Dissemination of the convention in the establishment and the public at large.

— An authentic census of special persons.

— Strict enforcement of the quota for special persons in government jobs under the Disabled Persons (Employment and Rehabilitation) Ordinance of 1981.

— Encouragement of schools where special children can study along with others.

— Enforcement of the quota for special persons at institutions of higher education, in addition to those who can claim seats on merit.

— Development of effective mechanisms to prevent exploitation of special persons in any form.

Above all the government must realise that the greater the attention it pays to the rights and needs of special persons, the healthier the nation will be.