The coming into forces of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is officially marked on Monday, May 12. The Convention is the first international treaty by which the rights and freedoms of these people as equal citizens of the society are recognized. Moldova signed the Convention on March 30, 2007. If the Parliament ratifies it, 165,000 people from Moldova will enjoy the rights and freedoms guaranteed by this important document, said the Center of Legal Assistance for Persons with Disabilities, quoted by Info-Prim Neo. By its importance, this international document represents for the disabled the equivalent of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It establishes new standards on the access of the people with disabilities to information, education, public space, labor, etc. The Convention changes the status of the disabled from socially marginalized citizens that benefit only from permanent assistance from the community into active citizens that can contribute to the development of the society, the cited source said. The Ministry of Social Protection, Family and Child has drafted the strategy for reforming the system of social protection of the people with disabilities. The awareness-raising campaign “Rights without Barriers” is now being carried out in Moldova. Its aim is to inform and sensitize the public authorities and the whole society to the importance of respecting the rights and dignity of the disabled. The UN puts the number of people with disabilities in the world at more than 650 million. About 80% of these live in poorly developed countries.