A/HRC/10/48 page 3 Introduction 1. The present report is submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 7/9 entitled “Human rights of persons with disabilities”. In this resolution, the Human Rights Council decided to hold on an annual basis an interactive debate on the rights of persons with disabilities. The Council further decided to hold its first such debate in the course of its tenth session, focusing on “key legal measures for ratification and effective implementation of the Convention, including with regard to equality and non-discrimination”. 2. To support this debate, the Council requested the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) “… to prepare a thematic study to enhance awareness and understanding of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, focusing on legal measures key for the ratification and effective implementation of the Convention, such as those relating to equality and non-discrimination, in consultation with States, civil society organizations, including organizations of persons with disabilities, and national human rights institutions …”. 3. In conducting the thematic study, OHCHR has sought written submissions from various stakeholders, including States, intergovernmental organizations, national human rights institutions and non-governmental organizations, including organizations of persons with disabilities. OHCHR also organized a one-day open-ended consultation on the theme of the study on 24 October 2008 in Geneva and participated in relevant expert and other meetings. The findings and recommendations that emerged from the consultation process have informed the content of the study.1 I. LEGAL MEASURES FOR RATIFICATION 4. As of the date of the submission of this report, 46 States are parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and 27 are parties to its Optional Protocol, while 138 and 81 countries respectively are signatories to the two instruments.2 The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is the first human rights treaty that contemplates the possibility of regional integration organizations, in addition to States, becoming parties to the Convention, and article 44 regulates such attribution. The European Community is a signatory to the Convention. 1 Information and contributions submitted for the study are available on the website of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) at: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/disability/HRCResolution79.htm. 2 Information on the status of the Convention and its Optional Protocol is available at: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/ratification/15.htm.