[JURIST] United Nations [official website] delegates working to draft the first-ever treaty to protect the rights of disabled individuals worldwide have nearly completed their task [UN press release] and resolved many issues of concern after a three-week drafting session [UN press release], according to drafting committee chairman Don MacKay [official profile] of New Zealand. McKay said the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities [chair's text] will most likely be finished by the time of the committee's next meeting in August, setting it up to take effect in 2008 or 2009. Work began on the document in 2001. The completed treaty will likely mandate that participating nations enact legislation prohibiting discrimination on the basis of disabilities. Reuters has more.