The Optional Protocol is a separate international legal instrument attached to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. It was adopted together with the Convention on 13 December 2006. The Optional Protocol is subject to separate ratification or accession. In order to become a party to the Optional Protocol, a State already needs to be a State party to the Convention. Reservations to the Optional Protocol are permitted so long as they are not incompatible with the object and purpose of the Convention and the Protocol.
The Protocol is optional in the sense that States are not obliged to ratify it when they ratify the Convention. However, the right to remedy or redress is fundamental for the full enjoyment of all rights, as recognized, for instance, in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. It applies to persons with disabilities as it does to anyone else. Treaty bodies always recommend the ratification of optional protocols to ensure the comprehensive protection of rights.
By becoming parties to the Optional Protocol, States recognize the competence of the Committee to receive complaints (known as communications) from individuals alleging violations of any of the provisions of the Convention. The Optional Protocol (art. 6) also provides the Committee with the opportunity to undertake inquiries if it receives reliable information indicating grave or systematic violations of the Convention in a particular State party. States can opt out of the inquiry procedure by making a declaration to this effect at the time of signing or ratifying the Optional Protocol (art. 8).