Madam Speaker, the international community recently converged at the United Nations headquarters in New York at the launch of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, thereby giving effect to the recognition of disabled people as first-class citizens.
The convention could only come into effect after 20 countries had signed and ratified it. It is with enormous pride that this happened with South Africa being one of the member states that have signed and ratified this convention.
As the ANC, we would like to express our sincere gratitude to this House for the speedy manner in which it processed our participation in the convention. Thanks go to the ANC-led government for, firstly, not waiting for the international community to prescribe what needs to be done for disable people, but actually putting disabled people first as one of the vulnerable groups that require being included through the many pieces of legislation, including our Constitution, which went through this House. We, as the ANC, hope that the convention will award the country an opportunity to excel in services meant for disabled people. We note that a lot has been done, albeit that there are challenges. This ratification is a step that needs to be celebrated. Disability rights are human rights. Thank you. [Applause.]