According to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), after five years of discussions, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly has reached an agreement on the content of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

The draft convention will be adopted by the UN General Assembly at its September session and will then be open for countries to sign.

The convention asks countries to protect the rights of persons with disabilities such as the right to vote for the blind and the right to work and to provide wheelchairs for them to easily access high-rise buildings, transport and communication facilities. The convention also ensures that people with disabilities are not exploited.

Signing countries must build laws and policies to prevent discriminatory treatment against people with disabilities and pledge to fight stigmas and misconception.

There are now approximately 650 million disabled people in the world, accounting for 10 percent of the global population.