Human rights in the 21st century
A groundbreaking treaty affirms the rights of persons with disabilities
More than two decades ago, under the auspices of the United Nations, disabled people set out to clear obstructions which have throughout history prevented them from enjoying the full benefit of economic and social development. This decades’ long effort culminated on 13 December 2006 in the adoption by the General Assembly of the Convention of on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The Convention is being hailed as the first human rights instrument of the twenty-first century. Once ratified by individual countries, the treaty will enable the world’s 650 million disabled people to claim internationally-recognized rights as full and equal members of society.
The Convention is a far-reaching instrument in that it requires States to adopt laws prohibiting discrimination based on any form of disability, from blindness to mental illness. It is intended as a human rights instrument with an explicit social development dimension. It demands real change through effective legislation and a shift in attitude, calling for a change of perceptions to combat stereotypes and prejudices, and promote awareness of the contribution that persons with disabilities make to society. It also sets forth the principles on which to base actions in order to create the material conditions necessary for persons with disabilities to enjoy their rights.
The treaty urges a series of development interventions intended to put an end to the situation of economic and social exclusion in which persons with disabilities remain mired. A recent study commissioned by DESA found that of 100 leading websites around the world, 97 failed to meet minimum accessibility standards for people who are blind, have low-vision disabilities, or cannot use a computer mouse. Exclusion of the half billion disabled poor living in the developing world is even more pervasive. Up to 98 per cent of children with disabilities in developing countries do not attend school.
With few exceptions, existing development programmes that address disability are limited in focus and endowed with scarce human and financial resources. Moreover, projects that benefit persons with disabilities are frequently viewed as a discrete area of activity. Yet the economic and social exclusion that features in the daily lives of persons with disabilities is a major cross-cutting development issue for all development partners. The Convention clearly recognizes this point. Article 32 stresses that cooperation should aim to ensure that every development programme is inclusive of, and accessible to, persons with disabilities. And it calls not for new areas of intervention, but for the integration of disability issues into national development strategies.
The treaty’s entry into force will obligate countries to gradually include disability-friendly features in the construction of new facilities; promote and improve access to inclusive health, education and employment; and, introduce measures that eliminate discriminatory practices against persons with disabilities. Effective legislation, along with a shift in attitude, is vital for bringing about change. Change indeed takes place far more rapidly in countries where relevant legislation has been enacted than in those without such laws as evidence from the forty-five countries with anti-discrimination and other disability-specific laws has demonstrated.
Adoption of the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities would likely have not become a reality without the mobilization of civil society organizations. According to Johan Schölvinck, Director of the Division for Social Policy and Development of DESA, “the process of negotiation for the convention was unique. The actual drafting of the text took less than three years with civil society organizations actively participating throughout the negotiations.”
Civil society was a powerful force moving the process forward at all stages despite initial reluctance by several countries. The Ad Hoc Committee tasked with negotiating the Convention was supported by the Secretariat for the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, housed in the Division for Social Policy and Development, in cooperation with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. The convention opens for signature in March 2007, and comes into effect thirty days after it has been ratified by twenty nations. Ratification is expected to progress rapidly as most States, even those that were initially skeptical, strongly support the Convention’s aims.
Full information on the Convention, including the full text of the treaty, is available at: http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/enable/