Human Rights: Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: Human Rights

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was adopted in 2007 by the United Nations General Assembly after disability rights organizations pushed to petition the Assembly to recognize disability as a human rights issue. Today, the Convention serves as the primary reference point for identifying and safeguarding the rights and freedoms of persons with disabilities. This text identifies the basic rights protected under the Convention, and the various measures that states have put in place to safeguard the same.

Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has been selected for analysis in this assignment. It basically is a civil rights treaty designed to ensure that persons with disabilities are treated with dignity and that they receive equal treatment as any other human being in all settings. The treaty, therefore, is based on both equality law and dignity rights and rides on the preamble that human rights are universal and ought to be applied equally to all. It comprises of 50 articles and is not divided into parts as is the case with most UN conventions. Article 1 defines the convention's purpose, which is to "protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities, and to promote respect for their inherent dignity"[footnoteRef:2]. Articles 2 and 3 provide the general principles upon which the treaty is based, and definitions for some core terms including communication, universal design and reasonable communication. Articles 4 to 32 provide the civil rights protected by the Convention, whereas articles 33 to 50 govern the Convention's daily operations including issues of reporting, monitoring and ratification. This text concerns itself primarily with articles 4 to 32 -- it identifies the various rights that are protected and how they are protected, and examines the historical context within which claims for the same were asserted. [2: Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, "Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities," Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, 2015, accessed November 9, 2015, http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/CRPD/Pages/ConventionRightsPersonsWithDisabilities.aspx#16 ]

Rights Protected by the Convention

As already mentioned, the Convention commits itself to safeguarding the civil rights of persons with disabilities across the world. Civil rights can be defined simply as the rights of individuals to receive equal treatment, free from discrimination or unfair treatment. The civil rights protected by the Convention are scattered across a variety of settings including housing, employment, education, culture, political life and so on.

Equality Rights: the Convention grants persons with disabilities equal rights to own property, and to access mortgages, bank loans and other such facilities (Article 12)[footnoteRef:3]. They are also accorded the right to have equal access to justice (Article 13) and equal access to secondary and primary education, lifelong learning, adult education, and vocational training (Article 24)[footnoteRef:4]. They have the right to the same range and standard of quality and affordable healthcare accorded to other citizens (Article 25)[footnoteRef:5]. Moreover, they have a right (as any other citizen) to work and earn a living, to start their own business, and to take part in job-related matters without being discriminated against (Article 27)[footnoteRef:6]. They have an equal right to use public resources, to vote, and to hold political office (Article 29), as well as to take part in sport, leisure, recreation and cultural life. Article 15 of the Convention further grants persons with disabilities the right to be, like any other citizen, protected from inhuman treatment and cruel punishment, as well as abuse, violence and exploitation. These are all regarded as positive rights[footnoteRef:7]. [3: United Nations, "Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities," The United Nations, 2006, accessed November 9, 2015, http://www.un.org/disabilities/convention/convention.shtml ] [4: Ibid. ] [5: Ibid. ] [6: Ibid. ] [7: Ibid. ]

There are a number of ways through which states safeguard these equality rights. Paralympics' games, for instance, are one way through which states increase the participation of persons with disabilities in sporting activities. Legislation has also done a lot to increase such people's participation in various settings, and remove barriers that previously hindered such participation. Legislation, for instance requires architects to design their buildings in such a way that wheelchairs and persons with visual impairment can move and maneuver easily. States further provide regulations to facilitate the accessibility of outdoor recreational facilities by persons with disabilities. California statute, for instance, requires educational and nature trails to provide guide signs, raised Arabic symbols, and rope guidelines...

Moreover, the state operates the Golden Bear Pass Program, where individuals with disabilities and their spouses are allowed a free day use access to a park of their choice[footnoteRef:9]. Provisions are also made to facilitate such persons' ability to vote. California statute, for instance, requires election officials to always select voting sites that are accessibly by persons with disabilities; otherwise, such persons can be allowed to vote in an alternative location that is more accessible or to vote by absentee ballot[footnoteRef:10]. Moreover, physically challenged voters are allowed to receive the requisite assistance from a person of their choosing when casting their vote[footnoteRef:11]. In training facilities, elective positions, hiring in the workplace, and education facilities, affirmative action programs are used to ensure that persons with disabilities are accorded equal chances as any other candidates -- an employer could, for instance, reserve one-third of all positions in their organization for persons with disabilities. Statutes such as the Equal Employment Opportunity policy are also used to minimize the incidence of discrimination on the basis of disability at the workplace. Other laws and administrative measures guarantee freedom from abuse, violence and exploitation, with states putting in place measures for investigating the abuse, and the reintegration / rehabilitation of the victim[footnoteRef:12]. All these measures serve to facilitate the participation of persons with disabilities and ensure that their handicap does not deter them from enjoying the rights and freedoms granted to them as human beings by the law. [8: California Department of Justice, "Legal Rights of Persons with Disabilities," California Department of Justice, last modified 2006, accessed November 9, 2015 http://www.ag.ca.gov/consumers/pdf/disabled.pdf, 23. ] [9: Ibid. ] [10: California Department of Justice, "Legal Rights," 26. ] [11: Ibid. ] [12: United Nations, "Convention."]
Liberty Rights: Article 19 of the Convention grants persons with disabilities the right to lead an autonomous and independent life, to move freely, to access community services and to make autonomous decisions on where to live, and who to live with[footnoteRef:13]. This is a positive right. Countries foster such persons' mobility and freedom by providing assistive technologies, increasing access to mobility aids and devices, and providing training in mobility skills[footnoteRef:14]. Further, persons with disabilities have a right to lead private lives, free from arbitrary interference in their communication, family and privacy. This too is a positive right as it fosters action as opposed to inaction. Countries safeguard this by putting in place regulations for protecting individuals' privacy and autonomy -- in the United States; this is done by the Fourth Amendment, which safeguards all citizens from illegal searches and seizures by state officers. [13: United Nations, "Convention."] [14: Ibid. ]

Dignity Rights: Article 15 of the Convention grants persons with disabilities the right to refuse to take part in any scientific or medical experiments that they may not feel comfortable participating in[footnoteRef:15]. This is a negative right, and states safeguard it by prohibiting the conduction of scientific or medical experiments without the consent of the individual concerned[footnoteRef:16]. Moreover, such persons are accorded the right to an adequate living standard and social protection to enable them lead a dignified life (a positive right). States safeguard this right though the provision of public housing facilities for persons with disabilities and implementation of programs geared at providing information on individual rights, wheelchairs, and other forms of disability-related equipment[footnoteRef:17]. [15: Ibid. ] [16: Ibid. ] [17: Ibid. ]

Historical Context in which the Convention was Prepared

The preparation and adoption of the Convention in 2007 marked the end of a long struggle by representative organizations of persons with disabilities to get the world to recognize disability as a human rights issue[footnoteRef:18]. The struggle began in 1981 when persons with disabilities and their representative organizations began to feel that the existing human rights documents did not sufficiently take care of the needs of persons with disabilities owing to the increasing number of discrimination cases against persons with disabilities, and the misplaced perception that disability translated to inability[footnoteRef:19]. There was concern that most incidences of discrimination against persons with disabilities were driven by this wrong perception that disability was an individual deficit, and was "a natural cause for some people being unable to attend a regular school, get a job, or participate in social life"[footnoteRef:20]. Employers increasingly perceived persons with disabilities as being unable to work. Representative organizations for persons with disabilities recognized that the only way to change the situation was by changing these perceptions…