(Corrects date of U.S. law in last paragraph quote to 1991 from 2001)

By Patrick Worsnip

UNITED NATIONS, April 3 (Reuters) - A U.N. convention aimed at ensuring equal rights for the world's 650 million disabled people in work, education and social life will go into force on May 3, the United Nations said on Thursday.

The pact, the first of its kind, takes effect 30 days after being ratified by 20 countries that have signed it. The world body received ratification documents on Thursday from the 20th country, Ecuador.

A statement issued on behalf of U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called the development -- 18 months after its adoption by the General Assembly, a short time by U.N. standards -- a "historic moment."

Ban said it showed the world was committed to combatting "the egregious neglect and dehumanizing practices that violate the human rights of persons with disabilities."

The pact would be "a powerful tool to eradicate the obstacles faced by persons with disabilities: discrimination, segregation from society, economic marginalization, and lack of opportunities for participation in social, political and economic decision-making processes."

The 32-page convention outlaws all forms of discrimination at work on the basis of disability, including in hiring, promotion and working conditions. It requires equal pay for work of equal value.

It also calls on signatory states to promote the employment of disabled people, including through "affirmative action" programs that favor them.

The pact stipulates that the disabled may not be excluded from mainstream education systems. It demands that states provide them with physical access to buildings, transportation, schools, housing, medical facilities and workplaces.

So far, 126 of the 192 U.N. member states have signed the convention. But only 71 have signed, and 13 have ratified, an annex allowing individuals and groups to complain to the U.N. that their governments are not implementing the convention.

In such cases, a U.N. committee would refer the complaint to the government concerned, which must provide a written explanation within six months.

Countries that have not signed the convention include the United States and Russia. U.S. officials said the document was weaker than U.S. domestic legislation.

"We recognize that many other states may consider the convention a useful tool as they develop their own national framework for persons with disabilities," said U.S. mission spokesman Richard Grenell.

"But for the U.S., the Americans with Disabilities Act, passed in 1991, was the most sweeping legislation to provide access for people with disabilities."

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