How was the content of the Convention decided upon?
The negotiations of the Convention embodied the principle ‘nothing about us, without us’. The Convention was drafted by the Ad Hoc Committee on a Comprehensive and Integral International Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities (Ad Hoc Committee), which is a committee of the United Nations General Assembly. Its membership is open to all United Nations Member States and observers. During its first session, the Ad Hoc Committee decided that representatives from non-governmental organizations (NGOs) accredited to the Ad Hoc Committee could also participate in meetings and make statements in accordance with United Nations practice. Since then, the General Assembly has repeatedly urged that efforts be made to actively involve disability organizations in the work of the Ad Hoc Committee. Throughout the process organizations of persons with disabilities and other NGOs have been very active in providing comments and information from a di
