The Con­ven­tion on the Rights of Per­sons with Dis­abil­i­ties (adopt­ed in 2006 by the Unit­ed Nations), defines the legal oblig­a­tions of sig­na­to­ry states to pro­mote and pro­tect the rights of per­sons with dis­abil­i­ties. For the Con­ven­tion to make a dif­fer­ence in the lives of peo­ple with dis­abil­i­ties and their fam­i­lies, car­ers and com­mu­ni­ties, sig­na­to­ry states must imple­ment it. The main require­ment in this regard, as defined in Arti­cle 4, (Gen­er­al Oblig­a­tions), is that the sig­na­to­ry states har­mo­nize their domes­tic leg­is­la­tion with the Convention.