On 10th December 2008 four speakers presented a range of perspectives addressing ‘Human Rights & Disability: The missing 10% of the world’s population’. Professor Nora Groce, Director of the Leonard Cheshire Disability & Inclusive Development Centre, in UCL Epidemiology & Public Health, explored the pressing issue of disability and why we need to improve policy and practice to reach this large – and largely overlooked – population. Colm O’Cinneide (UCL Laws) examined disability from a human-rights perspective, highlighting the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which came into force in May 2008. Dr Raymond Lang, of the Leonard Cheshire Disability & Inclusive Development Centre at UCL, contributed a political-science perspective on the UN Convention’s potential paradigm shift. Professor Sheila Wirz (UCL Institute of Child Health) outlined disability from a research perspective.