The Senate rejected on Tuesday a treaty that protects the rights of disabled people after encountering strong Republican opposition.

The 61-38 vote failed to reach a two-thirds majority needed to ratify The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. All 38 votes rejecting the measure are from Republicans.

Agence France-Presse reports that the treaty merely "codifies in international law many of the rights already afforded under the Americans for Disabilities Act (ADA), a US law passed in 1990."

Deborah J. Vagins, senior legislative counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union, was disappointed in the vote, saying, "This treaty articulates principles and goals that no one should oppose – those of inclusion, recognition and respect for human dignity and individual autonomy, accessibility, and the equal enjoyment of rights and fundamental freedoms."

But watchdog group Media Matters for America reports that in the lead-up to the vote, "conservative media revived the debunked myth that the treaty threatens U.S. sovereignty."

Click here for a PDF of the UN publication, It’s About Ability - An explanation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The PDF booklet is also available in Spanish and French.