A/HRC/4/75 page 11 nevertheless imposes clear obligations on States parties to undertake deliberate, concrete and targeted steps towards achieving these rights within a reasonably short time of the treaty’s entry into force for the State concerned.5 Rights contained in the Convention 33. The Convention sets out the obligations on States parties to the Convention in relation to civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights. While the Convention does not recognize any new rights, the Convention does define with greater clarity the application of existing rights to the specific situation of persons with disabilities. It is not possible to cover all of the articles comprehensively. The following examples illustrate how a limited selection of the rights recognized in the Convention has practical application to the lives of persons with disabilities. 34. Equal recognition before the law: The Convention reaffirms that persons with disabilities have the right to recognition everywhere as persons before the law and that they enjoy legal capacity on an equal basis with others. At its most basic level, the Convention ensures that the practice of not registering children with disabilities at birth is clearly a human rights violation. Further, the recognition of the legal capacity of persons with disabilities acknowledges that persons with disabilities can make decisions affecting their lives. Where necessary, States parties have to take appropriate measures to provide access to support for persons with disabilities so that they are able to take decisions on their own behalf. States must ensure that all measures that relate to the exercise of legal capacity provide for appropriate and effective safeguards to prevent abuse, in accordance with international human rights law. 35. The right to vote: The Convention guarantees political rights of persons with disabilities and States parties must ensure the right and opportunity for persons with disabilities to vote and be elected, including by ensuring voting procedures, facilities and materials are appropriate, accessible and easy to understand and use. To give an example, for a blind person to enjoy the right to vote on an equal basis with others, that person might require voting material in Braille and might require a trusted assistant in the voting booth to help fill out the voting form. The Convention therefore guarantees these or similar additional accommodations so that persons with disabilities can enjoy the right to vote on an equal basis with others. 36. The right to education: The Convention recognizes the right of persons with disabilities to education. To this end, States parties must ensure an inclusive education system at all levels and life-long learning. Learners with disabilities therefore have a right not to be excluded from the general education system on the basis of disability and to reasonable accommodation for the individual learner’s needs. This not only means that learners have a right to attend mainstream schools and not be relegated to segregated schools, it also means that the special education needs of persons with disabilities must be taken into account in the general education system. This goes beyond grouping all learners together in one classroom to ensuring the provision of effective individualized support that maximizes academic and social development. 5 Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, general comment No. 3 (1990) on “The nature of States party’s obligations”, paras. 3 and 9.