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Article 30 - Participation in cultural life, recreation, leisure and sport
Background Documents | Article 30 Background
Seventh Session | Sixth Session | Fourth Session | Third Session
Working Group | References
Fourth Session
Governments
Sudan
Non-governmental organizations
Children's Rights Alliance for England
Comments, proposals and amendments submitted electronically
Governments
PROPOSAL
ON DRAFT ARTICLE 23
SOCIAL SECURITY AND ADEQUATE STANDARD OF LIVING:
-Add to article 23 f the phrase in bold so it would read as follows:
Ensure that persons with disabilities are able to access life and health
insurance, where applicable, without discrimination on the basis of disability.
- Add to article 23-2 the phrase in bold so it would read as follows:
States parties recognize the right of all persons with disabilities to an
adequate standard of living for themselves and their families, including
and not confined to, adequate food, clothing, housing and access to clean
water, and to the cntinuous improvement of living conditions, and will undertake
appropriate steps to safeguard and promote the realization of this right.
Non-governmental organizations
CHILDREN's RIGHTS ALLIANCE FOR ENGLAND
Article 24
Participation in cultural life, recreation, leisure and sport
1. States Parties recognize the right of all persons with disabilities to
take part in cultural life, and shall take all appropriate measures to ensure
that persons with disabilities:
(a) Have the opportunity to develop and utilize their creative, artistic
and intellectual potential, not only for their own benefit, but also for
the enrichment of their community;
(b) Enjoy access to literature and other cultural materials in all accessible
formats, including in electronic text, sign language and Braille, and in
audio and multimedia formats;
(c) Enjoy access to television programmes, films, theatre and other cultural
activities, in all accessible formats, including captioning and sign language;
(d) Enjoy access to places for cultural performances or services, such as
theatres, museums, cinemas, play facilities, libraries and the hospitality
industry, and, as far as possible, enjoy access to monuments and sites of
national cultural importance.
2. States Parties shall take all appropriate steps to ensure that laws protecting
intellectual property rights do not constitute an unreasonable or discriminatory
barrier to access by persons with disabilities to cultural materials, while
respecting the provisions of international law.
3. Persons who are deaf shall be entitled, on an equal basis with others,
to recognition and support of their specific cultural and linguistic identity.
4. States Parties recognize the right of persons with disabilities, on an
equal basis with others, to participate in recreational, leisure and sporting
activities and shall take appropriate measures to:
(a) Encourage and promote the participation, to the fullest extent possible,
of persons with disabilities in mainstream sporting activities at regional,
national and international levels;
(b) Ensure that persons with disabilities have an opportunity to organize
and participate in sporting activities and to receive the same instruction,
training and resources in support that is available to other participants;
(c) Ensure that persons with disabilities have access to sporting and recreational
venues, and that children with disabilities have equal access to participating
in sporting activities with the education system;
(d) Ensure that persons with disabilities have access to services from those
involved in the organization of recreational, leisure and sporting activities.
INTERNATIONAL DISABILITY CAUCUS
Draft Article 24: Participation in Cultural Life, Recreation, Leisure and
Sport
1. States Parties recognise the right of all persons with disabilities to
take part in cultural life, and shall take all appropriate measures to ensure
that persons with disabilities:
(a) have the opportunity to develop, exercise and utilise their creative,
artistic and intellectual potential, not only for their own benefit, but
also for the enrichment of their community and society as a whole;
(b) enjoy access to literature and other cultural materials in all accessible
formats, including in electronic text, sign language and Braille, and in
audio and multi-media formats;
(c) enjoy access to television programmes, films, theatre, and other cultural
activities, in all accessible formats, including audio discription, captioning
and sign language;
(d) enjoy access to places for cultural performances or services, such as
theatres, museums, cinemas, (mobile)libraries and the hospitality industry,
and, as far as possible, enjoy access to monuments and sites of national
cultural importance;
2. States Parties shall take all appropriate steps to ensure that laws protecting
intellectual and artistic property rights do not constitute an unreasonable
or discriminatory barrier to access by persons with disabilities to cultural
materials.
3. Persons with disabilities, including Persons who are deaf and deafblind
shall be entitled, on an equal basis with others, to recognition and support
of their specific cultural and/or linguistic identity.
4. States Parties recognise the right of persons with disabilities, on an
equal basis with others to participate in recreational, leisure and sporting
activities and shall take appropriate measures to:
(a) encourage and promote the participation, to the fullest extent possible,
of persons with disabilities in all sporting activities at regional, national
and international levels on equal basis with others;
(b) ensure that persons with disabilities have an opportunity to organise
and participate in sporting activities, including disability specific sports,
and to receive the same instruction, training and resources in support that
is available to other participants;
(c) ensure that persons with disabilities have access to sporting and recreational
venues equal to others, and that children with disabilities have equal access
to participating in sporting activities with and as a part of the education
system;
(d) ensure that persons with disabilities have access to services from those
involved in the organisation of recreational, leisure and sporting activities
equal to others.
(e) ensure that all recreational areas are equally accessible for persons
with disabilities.
LANDMINE SURVIVORS NETWORK
Draft Article 24
PARTICIPATION IN CULTURAL LIFE
SYNTHESIS OF PROPOSALS
States Parties recognize the right of all persons with disabilities to participate
in cultural life. In order to promote and protect the realization of this
right, States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to ensure that
persons with disabilities:
(a) have the opportunity to develop, utilise and express their creative,
artistic and intellectual potential for both their own benefit, the benefit
of their communities and society as a whole;
(b) enjoy access on an equal basis with others to all cultural materials
and activities;
(c) have the opportunity to assess and participate in all cultural and artistic
activities at local, national, regional and international levels; and
(d) enjoy access to cultural performances sites or services, such as theatres,
museums, cinemas, libraries, concerts and the hospitality industry, and,
to the maximum extent possible, enjoy access to monuments and sites of national
cultural heritage.
COMMENTS
Draft Article 24 provides coverage of the right to participate in cultural
life, drawn extensively from the UNSR, Rule 10. The right of people with
disabilities to participate in the cultural life of their community and
society is integrally connected to their full inclusion, and participation
in society more generally. Moreover, given their frequent exclusion from
such opportunities, a separate article on the subject is warranted and has
received wide support from delegations.
Draft Article 24(a) is based on Working Group Draft Text Article 24(a),
with two modifications. The term “utilise” is added (Mexico) to capture
more fully the role of cultural participation. In addition, as proposed
by Israel, cultural activities are not only for one’s own benefit and one’s
own community, but to one’s society.
Draft Article 24(b) as originally drafted in Working Group Draft Text Article
24(b), the provision related only to accessibility of cultural materials
via accessible formatting. It included rather specific examples of accessible
formatting that seemed inappropriate to meet the objectives of the provision
over time. The reformulated text is based on the proposal by New Zealand
and includes not only access to cultural material, but also cultural “activities.”
It is thus broader than the original text.
Draft Article 24(c) relates to access to, and participation in, cultural
and artistic media. The modifications reflect in large part New Zealand’s
proposal. Deleted from the Working Group Draft Text are specific references
to accessibility of cultural media as such issues are covered more comprehensively
in the draft article on accessibility.
Draft Article 24(d) provides coverage of accessibility to a wide array of
cultural performances and services. Delegations supported the inclusion
of this provision and in several instances made proposals for additions
to the Working Group’s examples (e.g. Israel – concerts). Given that the
categories of activity specified in the non-exhaustive list represent major
vehicles of cultural forms so often inaccessible to people with disabilities,
a specific listing seems necessary. This is also in keeping with the UNSR.
Draft Article 24bis
PARTICIPATION IN SPORT, RECREATION, AND LEISURE
SYNTHESIS OF PRPOSALS
States Parties recognize the right of persons with disabilities, on an equal
basis with others, to participate in sport, recreational, and leisure activities
and shall take all appropriate measures to:
(a) ensure respect for the participation of persons with disabilities in
integrated sporting and recreational activities at all levels, including
local, regional, national and international levels and, as appropriate,
offer disability specific programming;
(b) ensure that persons with disabilities have an opportunity to organise
and participate in sporting and recreational activities and to receive the
necessary instruction, training, resources and support;
(c) ensure that persons with disabilities have access to sporting, recreational
and leisure facilities;
(d) ensure that children with disabilities have equal access to participation
in sporting recreational and leisure activities, including within the education
setting, as well as other settings, and to engage in play;
(e) ensure that persons with disabilities subject to multiple forms of discrimination,
such as women and refugees, have access to opportunities for sport, recreation
and leisure activities; and
(f) ensure that persons with disabilities have access to services from those
involved in the organization of recreational, sporting and leisure activities.
COMMENTS
The draft language provided in Article 24bis has been inserted into a separate
provision, in keeping with proposals by several delegations (e.g., Yemen,
South Africa, NHRI). There is a sound basis for the inclusion of a separate
provision relating to sport and recreation, most notably in the UNSR where
two separate rules address recreation and sport (Rule 11) and culture (Rule
10). Inclusion of the right of people with disabilities to participate in
sport, recreational, and leisure activities underscores the separate and
distinct relevance of these categories of activity of well-being and integration
into society. Such rights should not be seen as an adjunct to cultural activities
and should be fully elaborated in a separate article and not tossed into
the outer reaches of an article on culture. It is well understood in human
rights practice that appropriate article placement facilitates implementation.
Draft Article 24bis is a modification of the Working Group Draft Article
24(4). It incorporates many of the elements set forth in the UNSR, Rule
11, concerning the equalization of opportunities for people with disabilities
to participate in sport, recreation and leisure activities. Other specialized
Conventions have similarly recognized such rights. (Cf. CRC, Article 31)
The draft language provided improves upon the Working Group Draft Text by
making uniform the usage of “sport, recreation and leisure,” as these are
three distinct categories of activity, according to the UN Inter-Agency
Task Force on Sport for Development and Peace. Draft Article 24 usefully
covers three separate activities that contribute to physical fitness, mental
well-being, and social interaction of people with disabilities. (Cf. UN
Inter-Agency Task Force on Sport for Development and Peace)
Draft Article 24bis (a) retains the approach of the Working Group Draft
Text, but the text is amended to ensure that activities at all levels are
referenced and, in particular, the local context, where most sport and recreational
activities take place. In addition, the original reference to participation
in “mainstream” activities is amended, using the term “integrated” on the
basis that “mainstream sporting activities” may be interpreted as excluding
non-mainstream activities, or activities only for and by people with disabilities.
As delegations have emphasized, the language should include integrative,
as well as disability-specific programming (Kenya).
Draft Article 24bis (b) addresses access to “instruction, training, and
resources” needed for meaningful participation in sport, recreation and
leisure activities and is based on the original Working Group Draft Text.
In keeping with proposals made by some delegations (South Africa, Uganda),
the term “same” is replaced by the term “necessary” as this formulation
better reflects the varied context within which people with disabilities
participate in sport (again, recognizing disability-specific programming).
(Cf. UNSR, Rule 11, para. 4)
Working Group Draft Text Article 24(c) merged two issues, namely accessibility
and children with disabilities in sporting activities, conflating and therefore
confusing two important, but distinct issues. These concepts are separated
into two sub-paragraphs Article 24bis(c) and (d), in an attempt to respond
to concerns noted by several delegations. (Canada, New Zealand)
Draft Article 24bis(c) addresses issues covered in UNSR, Rule 11 (1) and
(3) regarding access. The term sporting and recreational “venues” is amended
to read “facilities” (South Africa) which is a more comprehensive term.
While the Convention draft contains an article on accessibility, its specific
application to sporting and related contexts is important, and in keeping
with the approach taken in the UNSR (providing a general rule on accessibility
(Rule 5)), while at the same time integrating the principle of accessibility
to particular contexts. This approach is in line with the main purposes
of a specialized Convention, which is not to create new rights, but to ensure
the specific application of rights in specific contexts and in relation
to specific groups.
Draft Article 24bis(d) extends the concept of equal access for children
with disabilities to three activity realms (sport, recreation, leisure)
and adds a fourth: play. Play is a separate right under international law
and appropriate to include here given the well-documented accounts of isolation
and exclusion of children with disabilities from play, sport, recreation
and leisure. The original Working Group Draft Text language included a reference
to access to sporting activities in the education system. This concept is
retained, but extended to cover “educational settings” as well as other
contexts.
Draft Article 24bis(e) introduces new language referencing women and refugees
on account of their dual minority status, as proposed by Namibia. The importance
of extending sport and recreational opportunities to particularly marginalized
sectors of the disability community is reflected by the reference to children
with disabilities in Draft Article 24(c), but may usefully be extended to
two other groups that are at a comparative disadvantage because of their
dual minority status, namely, women and refugees. The importance of extending
sporting activities to these two disadvantaged groups has been recognized
by the UN. (Cf. UN Inter-Agency Task Force on Sport for Development and
Peace, p. 8, 9; Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
Against Women, Article 10(g); UNHCR REFUGEE PROTECTION: A Guide to International
Refugee Law, http://www.unhcr.ch/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/home/opendoc.pdf?tbl=MEDIA&id=3d4aba564&page=publ,
UNHCR Agenda for Protection, p. 37)
Draft Article 24bis(f) addresses the barriers that people with disabilities
often face in accessing services in sporting, recreational and leisure realms.
Access to services provided by organizers of sporting, recreational and
leisure activities is a separate and distinct concept that should be included.
The language provided is a revision of Working Group Draft Article 24(4)(d).
It reflects concepts covered in the UNSR, Rule 11(2) and attempts to respond
to concerns raised by some delegations that the original language was unclear
and should be amended or deleted.
Draft Article 24ter
CULTURE AND LINGUISTIC IDENTITY
SYNTHESIS OF PROPOSALS
States Parties recognize the right of persons with disabilities, including
persons who are deaf and deaf-blind, to their own cultural and linguistic
identity and the right to use their own language, and shall take all appropriate
measures to support these rights.
COMMENTS
Draft Article 24ter provides language for a new article on cultural and
linguistics identity, in keeping with proposal by delegations for a separate
article on this subject. The language is largely based on Working Group
Draft Article 24(3), but is re-drafted to be made consistent with existing
international human rights law.
The article addresses a distinctly separate set of rights under international
law (different from, in particular, the right to participate in cultural
activities) associated with minority populations). This article has very
important and specific application to deaf and deaf-blind persons, but should
be made equally applicable to all people with disabilities. (During the
third Ad Hoc Committee meeting WFD noted that if the cultural and linguistic
rights of the deaf community are not recognized, deaf people will be unable
to develop their full creative, artistic and intellectual potential.) It
specifies the rights of people with disabilities, in particular deaf and
deaf-blind persons, to enjoy their own cultural and linguistic identity,
and the right to use their own language. The right to use one’s own language
without interference is a right that has been frequently violated in respect
of the deaf community in many countries. It is therefore essential for the
Convention to provide coverage of this right. (Cf. CRC, Article 30; ICCPR,
Article 27; Human Rights Committee, General Comment 23, 1994, HRI/GEN/1
Rev., pp. 147-150)
Draft Article 24quart
RIGHT TO PARTICIPATION IN RELIGIOUS LIFE
SYNTHESIS OF PROPOSALS
States Parties recognize the right of persons with disabilities to participate
in the religious life of their community, and shall take all necessary measures
to enable them to enjoy their right to hold, express and practice their
religious beliefs through worship, observance and teaching of their religious
beliefs. In particular, States Parties shall:
(a) ensure that persons with disabilities have access to religious places
of worship and sites of religious importance;
(b) ensure that persons with disabilities have access to appropriate religious
education and receive instruction in the format that best suits their needs;
(c) ensure that persons with disabilities are protected from religious abuse,
exploitation and coercion; and
(d) encourage partnership with organizations of disabled persons in developing
measures for equal participation in religious activities.
COMMENTS
Many countries supported inclusion of religious rights in the Convention
during the third session of the Ad Hoc Committee. Kenya proposed inclusion
of a separate article dealing with these rights. Draft Article 24ter reflects
the notion that all people have the right to hold, express and practice
their religious beliefs without facing harassment or coercion to change
them. (Cf. UDHR, Article 18; ICCPR, Article 18) The practice and teaching
of religion encompasses activities such as choosing the religious leaders,
priests and teachers, and the freedom to establish seminaries, religious
schools or to prepare and distribute religious texts and distributions.
(Cf. Human Rights Committee, General Comment 22, para. 4)
People with disabilities are often prevented from exercising these rights
on the basis of their disability. Thus, it is necessary to include provisions
that would ensure that people with disabilities are not restricted from
the practice of their religious beliefs. The articulation of this right
in the context of the present Convention does not abrogate or restrict the
religious rights expressed elsewhere in other international documents.
The language of the chapeau of the Draft Article 24quart includes wording
proposed by Kenya during the third session of the Ad Hoc Committee, as well
as language that is in line with previous international documents regarding
freedom of religion. (Cf. UDHR, Article 18; ICCPR, Article 18; Declaration
on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and Discrimination Based
on Religion or Belief, Article 1; UNSR, Rule 12)
Draft Article 24quart(a) is the language proposed by Kenya and it reflects
one of the fundamental principles for achievement of full enjoyment of human
rights by people with disabilities, namely, accessibility of physical environment.
(Cf. UNSR, Rule 12 (1); CRC, Article 23 (3))
Draft Article 24quart(b) addresses issues of accessibility, but in the education
and in the sphere of receiving information and religious instructions. (Cf.
UNSR, Rule 12(3); CRC, Article 23 (3))
Draft Article 24quart(c) reflects language proposed by Kenya. The protection
against religious coercion has been further elaborated in other international
documents. (Cf. Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance
and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief, Article 1(2); Human Rights
Committee General Comment 22, para. 5)
Draft Article 24quart(d) contains language borrowed from the UNSR, Rule
12, and is in line with the fundamental principles of inclusion and participation
of people with disabilities in all matters that relate to their life and
enjoyment of their rights. (Cf. UNSR, Rule 12)
WORLD FEDERATION OF THE DEAF
Draft Article 24: Participation in Cultural Life, Recreation, Leisure and Sport
1. (b) enjoy access to literature and other cultural materials in all accessible
formats, including in electronic text, sign language and Braille, and in
audio and multi-media formats;
(c) enjoy access to television programmes, films, theatre, and other cultural
activities, in all accessible formats, including audio discription, captioning
and sign language;
3. Persons with disabilities, including Persons who are deaf and deafblind
shall be entitled, on an equal basis with others, to recognition and support
of their specific cultural and/or linguistic identity.