Action alert: Oppose senate ratification of CRPD treaty

Many organizations recently sent the letter below to implore the U.S. Senate to oppose ratification of a treaty that would undermine parental rights and U.S. sovereignty. A vote in expected Tuesday, Dec. 4. Treaty ratification requires a yes vote from two-thirds of the senators present. Urge your senators to vote NO.

Contact your senators with this simple message: "I urge you to oppose ratification of the CRPD treaty, which would undermine parental rights and U.S. sovereignty."

RE: Please Oppose the UN CRPD

Honorable Senator,
We the below-signed leaders from forty national organizations represent millions of Americans. We respectfully urge the United States Senate to reject ratification of the United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).
We are troubled that article 7 of this treaty, in establishing the “best interests of the child” legal standard, would override the traditional fundamental right of parents to direct the education and upbringing of their child with special needs.
We are troubled that such a reduction in legal protection in cases of children with disabilities will create an atmosphere discriminatory against those children and their families.
We are troubled that New Zealand’s Education Act of 1989, which has been held to conform to the CRPD, allows the Secretary of Education to force any child with special needs into government-run schools “if the Secretary thinks [the student] would be better off.” This transfers the right to direct a child’s education from fit and loving parents to an officer of the State, in contravention of American tradition and the International Declaration of Human Rights. Yet it accords with this treaty.
We are troubled that accession to this treaty, despite assurances to the contrary, will lead to legal action against private individuals, as seen in the 2011 case of Bond v. United States. In this case, a woman was found guilty of violating the Chemical Weapons Convention Implementation Act, a federal law over a matter formerly of state jurisdiction, which was adopted as a direct result of the eponymous treaty.
We are troubled that accession to this treaty would place our nation under the scrutiny and review of an international committee unelected by the American people, thus violating the vital principle of American self-government.
For these and other reasons, we urge you: please vote against any effort to ratify the CRPD.

Sincerely,
Michael P. Farris
President
ParentalRights.org

Phyllis Schlafly
Founder and President
Eagle Forum

Dr. Richard Land
President
Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission Southern Baptist Convention

Morton Blackwell
Chairman
The Weyrich Lunch

Tom McClusky
Senior Vice President
Family Research Council Action

Tom Minnery
Executive Director
CitizenLink

Penny Young Nance
President and Chief Executive Officer
Concerned Women for America

Matt Staver
Founder and Chairman
Liberty Counsel

Erick Erickson
Editor
RedState.com

Mike Needham
Chief Executive Officer
Heritage Action for America

Austin Ruse
President
Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute (C-FAM)

William J. Murray
Chairman
Religious Freedom Coalition

Jim Backlin
Vice President for Legislative Affairs
Christian Coalition of America

Gary A. Marx
Executive Director
Faith and Freedom Coalition

Al Cardenas
Chairman
American Conservative Union

J. Michael Smith
President
Home School Legal Defense Association

Janice Shaw Crouse, Ph.D.
Senior Fellow
Beverly LaHaye Institute

Deryl Edwards
President
Liberty Counsel Action

Dr. Jim Garlow
Chairman
Renewing American Leadership Action

Jeff Gayner
Chairman
Americans for Sovereignty

Mandi Campbell
Legal Director
Liberty Center for Law and Policy

Matt Smith
President
Catholic Advocate

Donna Rice Hughes
President
Enough Is Enough

Barbara Samuells
Co-Founder
912 Super Seniors

C. Preston Noell, III
President
Tradition, Family, Property, Inc.

Richard and Susan Falknor
Publishers
Blue Ridge Forum

Lisa Miller
Founder
Tea Party WDC

Seton Motley
President
Less Government

Colin A. Hanna
President
Let Freedom Ring

David Stevens, MD, MA (Ethics)
Chief Executive Officer
Christian Medical Association

Ron Pearson
President
Council for America

Dr. William Greene
Founder and President
RightMarch.com

Maureen Van Den Berg
Legislative Director
American Association of Christian Schools

Emmett McGroarty
Director
Preserve Innocence Initiative

Andy Blom
Executive Director
American Principles in Actions

Mark Williamson
Founder and President
Federal Intercessors

Peter J. Thomas
Chairman
The Conservative Caucus

Teresa A. Citro
Chief Executive Officer
Learning Disabilities Worldwide, Inc.

Curt Levey
President
The Committee for Justice

William A. Estrada
Director
Generation Joshua