Draft Article 18
PARTICIPATION IN POLITICAL AND PUBLIC LIFE

States Parties recognise the political rights of persons with disabilities, without discrimination, and undertake to:

• actively promote an environment in which persons with disabilities can effectively and fully participate in political and public life, directly or through freely chosen representatives, including the right and opportunity of citizens with disabilities to vote and be elected, and by ensuring that voting procedures and facilities:
  • are appropriate, accessible and easy to understand;
  • protect the right of citizens with disabilities to vote by secret ballot; and
  • allow, where necessary, the provision of assistance in voting to citizens with disabilities;
• actively promote an environment in which persons with disabilities can effectively and fully participate in the conduct of public administration, and shall encourage, as appropriate, their participation in public affairs, including to:⁶⁴
  • participate on a basis of equality in the activities and administration of political parties and civil society;
  • form and join organisations of persons with disabilities to represent persons with disabilities at national, regional and local levels;
• ensure that persons with disabilities and their organisations participate, on an equal basis to others, in all decision-making processes, in particular those concerning issues relating to persons with disabilities.⁶⁵

Footnotes:

64: The Ad Hoc Committee may wish to consider the differing levels of obligations that are appropriate for state and non-state organs in this paragraph.

65: The Ad Hoc Committee may wish to consider paragraph (c) alongside the similar provision in draft Article 4(2) of the present draft, and whether both provisions are necessary. The Ad Hoc Committee may also wish to compare both paragraphs to Article 6.1(b) of International Labour Organization Convention No. 169 and Rule 14 of the Standard Rules.

Relevant references:

International human rights conventions and legal instruments

Disability-specific instruments

Jurisprudence of human rights treaty bodies

Other documents

Summary of discussions at the Working Group

Comments on the draft text

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