Promoting the Rights of Children with Disabilities, UNICEF

Article 71. The Committee may invite the State partyconcerned to include in its report under article 35of the Convention details of any measures taken inresponse to an inquiry conducted under article 6 ofthe present Protocol.2. The Committee may, if necessary, after the endof the period of six months referred to in article 6.4,invite the State party concerned to inform it of themeasures taken in response to such an inquiry.Article 8Each State party may, at the time of signature orratification of the present Protocol or accessionthereto, declare that it does not recognize thecompetence of the Committee provided for in articles6 and 7.Article 9The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall bethe depositary of the present Protocol.Article 10The present Protocol shall be open for signatureby signatory States and regional integrationorganizations of the Convention at United NationsHeadquarters in New York as of 30 March 2007.Article 11The present Protocol shall be subject to ratificationby signatory States of this Protocol which haveratified or acceded to the Convention. It shall besubject to formal confirmation by signatory regionalintegration organizations of this Protocol which haveformally confirmed or acceded to the Convention. Itshall be open for accession by any State or regionalintegration organization which has ratified, formallyconfirmed or acceded to the Convention and whichhas not signed the Protocol.Article 121. ’Regional integration organization’ shall meanan organization constituted by sovereign States ofa given region, to which its member States havetransferred competence in respect of mattersgoverned by the Convention and this Protocol. Suchorganizations shall declare, in their instruments offormal confirmation or accession, the extent of theircompetence with respect to matters governed bythe Convention and this Protocol. Subsequently,they shall inform the depositary of any substantialmodification in the extent of their competence.2. References to ’States parties’ in the presentProtocol shall apply to such organizations within thelimits of their competence.3. For the purposes of article 13, paragraph 1, andarticle 15, paragraph 2, any instrument deposited by aregional integration organization shall not be counted.4. Regional integration organizations, in matterswithin their competence, may exercise their right tovote in the meeting of States parties, with a numberof votes equal to the number of their member Statesthat are parties to this Protocol. Such an organizationshall not exercise its right to vote if any of itsmember States exercises its right, and vice versa.Article 131. Subject to the entry into force of the Convention,the present Protocol shall enter into force on thethirtieth day after the deposit of the tenth instrumentof ratification or accession.2. For each State or regional integration organizationratifying, formally confirming or acceding tothe Protocol after the deposit of the tenth suchinstrument, the Protocol shall enter into force onthe thirtieth day after the deposit of its own suchinstrument.Article 141. Reservations incompatible with the objectand purpose of the present Protocol shall not bepermitted.2. Reservations may be withdrawn at any time.Article 151. Any State party may propose an amendment tothe present Protocol and submit it to the Secretary-General of the United Nations. The Secretary-Generalshall communicate any proposed amendmentsto States parties, with a request to be notifiedwhether they favour a meeting of States parties forthe purpose of considering and deciding upon theproposals. In the event that, within four monthsfrom the date of such communication, at least onethird of the States parties favour such a meeting, theSecretary-General shall convene the meeting underthe auspices of the United Nations. Any amendmentadopted by a majority of two thirds of the Statesparties present and voting shall be submitted bythe Secretary-General to the General Assemblyfor approval and thereafter to all States parties foracceptance.67 Promoting the Rights of Children with Disabilities Innocenti Digest No. 13