Disability And Human Rights

This week, April 16th – April 20th 2012, the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities will meet for its 7th session. If you are interested to follow proceedings, you can do so by following the web broadcast here.  The reports up for discussion this week are, Argentina, China, Hungary and Peru. You can find the reports each of these countries have submitted here. We will have some analysis of the meeting as it takes place over the coming days.

by Jana Offergeld

In the light of the ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), the German Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs initiated a poll on the public’s perception of the inclusion of persons with disabilities in Germany. The survey aimed to assess opinions on the current situation of persons with disabilities, on which measures and strategies are considered effective for the improvement of participation opportunities, and – on a more general level – to what extend participants were aware of the CRPD and its purpose.

by Charles O’Mahony

The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Thomas Hammerberg published an Issue Paper entitled “The Right Of People With Disabilities To Live Independently And Be Included In The Community”.  This Issue Paper Follows On From One On Legal Capacity Published Last Month Entitled “Who Gets to Decide? Right to Legal Capacity for Persons with Intellectual and Psychosocial Disabilities”.  Issue Papers are commissioned and published by the Commissioner for Human Rights, to contribute to debate and reflection on important current human rights issues. Many of them also include Recommendations by the Commissioner for addressing the concerns identified. The Commissioner in this Issue Paper made a number of important recommendations on how States can realise the right to independent living.   The Issue Paper identifies the right to live in the community as enabling people to live their lives to their fullest within society and access the public sphere and as “… a foundational platform for all other rights: a precondition for anyone to enjoy all their human rights is that they are within and among the community”.   The Issue Paper very much is based on the emerging discourse being generated by Article 19 of the CRPD, which captures the right to live independently in the community as a distinct right. The Issue Paper also makes a number of references to the synergy between Article 19 of the CRPD and Article 12 on legal capacity and the right to live independently in the community is closely allied to fundamental rights such as personal liberty, private and family life and freedom from ill-treatment or punishment etc.

by Mary Keogh

This year March 8^th 2012 commemorates International Women’s Day. Events and activities worldwide will celebrate what it means to be a woman in the 21st century. While advancements have been made with regard to women’s rights, as with all progress much still remains to be achieved. Women continue to face systemic discrimination in areas of employment, healthcare, and education and also bear a disproportionate burden of the world’s poverty. Policy makers continue to grapple with effective strategies to promote and advance progress towards equal opportunities for women. These strategies must include recognition that women are not a homogenous group but rather include of many different identities. Among women who frequently face an even greater level of discrimination are women with disabilities.

The Centre for Disability Law & Policy and the Harvard Project on Disability have announced their 4th International Disability Summer School.  The theme of this years Summer School is “The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities – How to Use it”.  The Summer School will run from 18-23 June 2012 at NUI Galway.  Details on registration is available here.

The purpose of this six day International Summer School is to equip participants with the insights and skills necessary to translate the generalities of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities into tangible reform for persons with disabilities.  The participants will include persons with disabilities, their families, civil society groups of persons with disabilities as well as advocates for disability law reform, lawyers, policy makers, policy analysts and others. The Faculty includes senior academics, practitioners and policy makers from around the world most of whom have been directly and actively engaged in drafting and implementing the Convention.