International Disability Alliance Adopts Resolution of Consensus on Critical Elements related to Treaty on Rights of Persons with Disabilities
The following short statement was issued by the International Disability Alliance during the UN Ad Hoc Meeting concerning the proposed UN Disability Rights Convention, held in late July and early August 2002 in New York.
International Disability Alliance (IDA)
Disabled Peoples' International, Inclusion International, Rehabilitation International, World Blind Union, World Federation of the Deaf, World Federation of Deafblind, World Network of Users and Survivors of Psychiatry
The International Disability Alliance (IDA) offers the following resolution outlining critical points pertaining to the development of a treaty on the rights of persons with disabilities. This document does not claim to be an exhaustive examination of all issues that should be addressed in a treaty. However, it represents a consensus of IDA members regarding many important elements related to both the development process and ultimate substance of a treaty.
The objective of an international convention on the rights of persons with disabilities is to elaborate enforceable standards and implementation procedures that enable persons with disabilities to exercise the human rights and fundamental freedoms to which all human beings are entitled. Grounded in the primary human right to live and to exist freely, a convention must embody the values of equality, liberty, independence, dignity, self-determination, social solidarity, personal autonomy, and non-discrimination. Standards inferior to those contained in any other human rights treaty, including general and specialized treaties, must not be accepted. The authority of a convention must be clearly established so that it has recognized precedence over other UN instruments pertaining to disability that were developed earlier and may have outdated or conflicting concepts or weaker provisions.
The development, implementation and monitoring of a treaty must be undertaken by States with the fullest possible participation of people with disabilities through their representative organizations. Such representation should include parents of people with intellectual disabilities who are unable to represent themselves. Deliberate efforts must be taken to ensure that the situation of all disability groups, and the diverse conditions related to gender, race, color, age, ethnic and other considerations, are taken into full account during the drafting process. Furthermore, special attention should be paid to the perspectives and conditions of persons with disabilities in developing countries and countries in transition. A convention should build on the existing positive human rights achievements in the disability field. For instance, in seeking implementation measures, valuable existing resources, such as the Standard Rules and the World Programme of Action, should be used as reference tools.
A convention must address a broad array of issues to achieve the goal of enabling persons with disabilities to exercise the human rights and fundamental freedoms to which all human beings are entitled. These include, but may not be limited to, the right to:
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Life
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Freedom of association in public and private life
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Vote by secret ballot and engage fully in the political process
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Citizenship, immigration and asylum
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Transportation
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Housing
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Employment, Social Security, Income Maintenance
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Health care
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Education
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Rehabilitation
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Assistive technology
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Vocational training
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Culture and leisure
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Access to public and private services
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Access to the built environment
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Access to the virtual environment (communications and information technology)
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Access to public and social facilities
Of particular concern are the following issues:
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Freedom from forced intervention in the name of treatment
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Freedom from involuntary institutionalization on account of real or perceived disability
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Identification of deafblind individuals and assurance that their service needs are met
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The right to communicate in any means suitable to the individual.
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The right to use sign language and have it officially recognized
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Official recognition of Braille as the written language of blind persons
In order to assist developing countries in complying with the required standards within a suitable period of time, implementation provisions within the treaty text should include mechanisms to provide technical and other assistance. In addition, a convention must include a strong monitoring and enforcement system that allows for the hearing and prosecution of complaints by individuals with disabilities, disability advocates and states rights bodies on behalf of groups or classes of persons with disabilities. Finally, it must be recognized that legal standards alone will not change attitudes towards persons with disabilities among the general public. Therefore, provisions regarding public education and training should be part of a treaty so that all people are sensitized to the issues pertaining to the large population of persons with disabilities.
Certain concepts and portions of this paper borrow heavily from documents prepared during the Experts Meeting on the Comprehensive and Integral International Convention to Promote and Protect the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities held in Mexico City, June 11 - 14, 2002. These include primarily documents authored by Lindqvist et al, Quinn et al and Nordstrom. While these papers may include issues not highlighted here by IDA, this should not interpreted as a lack of support for these points by IDA and its member organizations. The issues that were included in this IDA document were chosen because they are regarded by the member organization as paramount and of uncompromising importance.
IDA Chairperson: Kicki Nordström, President, World Blind Union, E-mail: kicki.nordstrom@iris.se
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