 |
 |
|
|
|
|
This document has been posted online by the United Nations Department of
Economic and Social Affairs (DESA). Reproduction and dissemination of the document - in
electronic and/or printed format - is encouraged, provided acknowledgement is made of the
role of the United Nations in making it available.United Nations
|
Contents
|
In recent years, legislation has been recognized as a tool of social change. Current legislation should be reviewed with a view to integrating the disability perspective into all spheres of legislative efforts and thereby improving the situation of persons with disabilities. There are also certain cultural social barriers that have served to deter the full participation of persons with disabilities. Discriminatory practices against persons with disabilities may thus be the result of social and cultural norms that have been institutionalized by law.
Despite some progress in terms of legislation over the past decade, both de jure and de facto discrimination still take various forms, ranging from the most subtle forms to invidious discrimination, such as denial of reasonable accommodation based on disability. This has the effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise of rights of persons with disabilities as full-fledged citizens.
Most disability legislation is based on the assumption that persons with disabilities are not able to exercise the same rights as persons without disabilities and are often reduced to the reality of rehabilitation. As the international community has recognized the importance of promoting the equalization of opportunities for persons with disabilities to participate on the basis of equality in social life and development, it has become evident that the rights of persons with disabilities require more comprehensive treatment than in the context of rehabilitation and social services and should include the full range of human rights: civil, political, economic and cultural rights. This approach must be translated into domestic legislation.
The absence of persons with disabilities in the decision-making process has impaired the tenets of democratic values and deprived many societies of talents that would have contributed to further economic and social development. Moreover, it causes higher social and economic costs, especially as a consequence of the segregation and exclusion of persons with disabilities.
To facilitate the adoption of effective measures to reverse the above-described adverse trends affecting social and economic development, the Consultative Expert Group Meeting on International Norms and Standards relating to Disability was convened by the United Nations, in cooperation with Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California at Berkeley, and the World Institute on Disability (Oakland, California) at Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California at Berkeley, from 8 to12 December 1998.
The Meeting provided technical tools to devise basic legal/policy frameworks, such as measures to:
This issue of the Bulletin contains the findings of the Meeting. In connection with the Meeting, a public forum was convened on 11 December 1998 at the University of California at Berkeley, which discussed the application of international norms and standards in country and project-specific situations, as well as broader issues of disability law and policy. The forum was attended by disability rights advocates from major non-governmental organizations based in the San Francisco Bay Area, legal practitioners, the academic community as well as members of United Nations Association of the United States.
Fifteen experts in international law and disability policy issues attended the Meeting, in their individual capacity. The United Nations Voluntary Fund on Disability co-financed the Meeting.
The Meeting discussed a wide range of substantive issues relating to law and policies concerning persons with disabilities. The discourse on the human rights of persons with disabilities was set within a broader framework of human rights in which economic, social and cultural rights and civil and political rights are complementary and such complementarity is a prerequisite for advancing the human rights of all members of society.
The findings of the Meeting were discussed in the public forum co-organized by the World Institute on Disability, a non-governmental organization of Oakland, California, and Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California at Berkeley. A number of issues were discussed during this public forum, and the recommendations that emerged in the course of those discussions have been incorporated into the recommendations adopted by the Meeting. The Meeting particularly welcomed the presence of representatives of disability groups during the course of the meeting as participants were concerned with the inadequate representation of persons with disabilities at the Meeting, and recommended that future meetings of this sort should have such representation.
The Meeting set out to review and discuss issues and trends relating to the practical application of international norms and standards to promote the human rights of persons with disabilities, and to offer findings and recommendations on the following:
