A/67/227 Commission for Social Development and has mainstreamed the issue of women and disabilities in his reports (see E/CN.5/2011/9). 2. Regional conventions and mechanisms 87. The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Banjul Charter) has broad provisions that provide for equality of all, including women. Article 18 of the Banjul Charter addresses States obligations to eliminate discrimination and to ensure the protection of rights of women and girls. Article 28 places a duty on individuals to respect others without discrimination. The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa was adopted in 2003 and entered into force in 2005. Article 23 specifically protects women with disabilities, provides them the right to freedom from violence and discrimination and imposes a duty on the State, inter alia, to treat women with disabilities with dignity. 88. With respect to Europe, both the Council of Europe and the European Union, have their own scheme of human rights instruments. The European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, which entered into force in 1953, is the main European human rights convention. Several additional Protocols have been added to its substantive and procedural provisions. 89. In 2007, the European Parliament adopted resolution 2006/2277(INI), on the human rights of disabled people. The Council of Europe has not adopted any specific human rights instruments on disabled persons, but the European Social Charter explicitly mentions disabled persons as bearers of human rights. The concept of human rights and disability as contained has been revised. Article 15, as revised, was adopted in 1996 and ensures the right of persons with disabilities to independence, social integration and participation in the life of the community. 90. The recent Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence provides measures to protect the rights of victims, without discrimination on any ground, including disability. The Convention prohibits performing an abortion on a woman without her prior and informed consent or performing surgery that has the purpose or effect of terminating a woman’s capacity to naturally reproduce, without her prior and informed consent or understanding of the procedure. 91. In Asia, the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific proclaimed the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons (1993-2002) in 1992. The goal of the initiative was to promote the human rights of disabled persons in the region. In 2002, the Decade was extended for an additional 10 years (2003-2012) in order to further and consolidate the gains achieved thus far. 92. The 1948 American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man and the 1969 American Convention on Human Rights are the relevant instruments for the Americas. The Additional Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights in the Area of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of 1988 focuses on the obligation of States to promote social, economic, and cultural human rights. It includes the right to social security, as a protection from the consequences of old age and of disability, which prevents a person from securing the means for a dignified and decent existence. 12-45120 21