Toward a UN Convention on Disability Rights: How Did it Start and Where are We Today Remarks by Toma

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Toward a UN Convention on Disability RightsHow
Did it Start and Where are We Today?Remarks by
Tomas LagerwallRI Secretary General
Seminar on Promoting Disability Rights and
Rehabilitationin Eastern and Central Europe
Vienna, March 9, 2006
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Why do we need a UN Convention?

• Ongoing discrimination against persons with
  disabilities
• Importance of changing attitudes and laws
• Movement from social development model to
  rights-based approach
• Existing human rights instruments are not
  sufficient

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How did it start?

• 1960-70s Civil rights movements
• 1981 International Year of
• People with Disabilities
• 1982 World Program of
• Action
• 1983-1992 International Decade of People with
  Disabilities
• Late 1980s Initiatives by Italy and Sweden

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How did it start?

• 1993 Standard Rules of
• Equalization of Opportunities
• Not legally binding
• Represent the moral and
• political commitment of
• Governments to take action
• and develop disability-friendly policies
• Important tool for raising awareness on
  disability rights
• Established a monitoring mechanism

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How did it start?

• 1999 RI Charter for the New Millennium
• Calls upon member states to support the early
  promulgation of a United Nations Convention on
  the Rights of People with Disabilities as a key
  strategy in promoting the rights of people with
  disabilities
• We must create compassionate policies that
  respect the dignity of all people
• 2001 UN Convention proposed by Mexico

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Process Toward a UN Convention

• Large representation
• of persons with disabilities
• and disability organizations
• Comments by the
• International Disability
• Caucus (IDC) 65 NGOs
• from all over the world
• Input of International Disability Alliance (IDA)
  Nothing about us, without us

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Process Toward a UN Convention

• RIs involvement
• Consultations at national and regional levels
• Monitoring negotiations on specific articles
• Lunch side events on issues such as HIV/AIDS,
  poverty and disability rights, children with
  disabilities, rehabilitation, inclusive education
  and implementation
• Daily Summaries Project
• which provides accurate and
• neutral records of meetings

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So where are we now?

• Ad Hoc Committee meeting in January-February 2006
  discussed all 34 articles
• Some difficult issues remaining for next meeting
  in
• August 2006

Participants at the ISPO World Congress in Hong
Kong, November 2004
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About the UN Convention

• Article 4 (General Obligations)
• Calls on governments to adopt national
  legislation and other measures to gradually
  fulfill its obligations under the Convention
• Requires consultation with organizations of
  persons with disabilities
• Applies to local, provincial and national
  governments
• Article 9 (Accessibility)
• Access to the physical environment,
• transportation, information and
• assistive technology, including
• information and communication
• technology
• Important role of ICTA

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About the UN Convention

• Article 12 (Recognition before the law)
• Article 15 (Freedom from
• torture or cruel, inhuman or
• degrading treatment or
• punishment)
• People with psycho-social
• disabilities should not be held
• in institutions against their will
• Organizations of people with psycho-social
  disabilities argue for supported decision making
• Debate over whether states should be allowed to
  take into custody, even for a limited time, a
  person with a disability who is unable to take
  care of herself/himself

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About the UN Convention

• Article 24 (Education)
• Article 25 (Health)
• Article 26 (Habilitation and Rehabilitation)
• Essential for most people with disabilities
• Separate article represents a paradigm shift
  towards a rights-based consumer driven approach
• Article 27 (Work and
• employment)

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About the UN Convention

• Article 32 (International cooperation)
• Moral responsibility of states, international
  organizations and NGOs that have more means to
  assist Less Developed Countries to assist in
  formulating disability policies and programs

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About the UN Convention

• Article 33 (National monitoring)
• Article 34 (International monitoring)
• Some countries have questioned the need for an
  international monitoring mechanism.
• This two-tiered monitoring structure is
  fundamental to the achievement of rights for
  persons with disabilities.

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About the UN Convention

• Next steps
• August 2006 8th Session of the Ad Hoc Committee
  on the UN Convention to discuss unresolved
  articles
• Editing Committee
• Adoption by the Ad
• Hoc Committee
• Adoption by the
• UN General Assembly
• Ratification and
• implementation
• by States

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Our Role

• Cooperation between governments, disability
  organizations, advocates and service providers
• RI is committed to playing an active role in
  promoting ratification and implementation of the
  Convention
• Implementation involves
• Adopting broad national laws to fulfill legal
  obligations
• Developing practical application of the treaty

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Our Role

• For the disability community, this means we
  should be actively involved in
• Advocating for our government to adopt the UN
  Convention once it is finalized
• Developing regional, national and local action
  plans
• Carrying out projects and
• actions in our communities

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Conclusion

• A UN Convention gives us unique opportunities to
  enhance the rights and living conditions for
  people with disabilities in all parts of the
  world.
• Each one of us has a role
• in making this Convention
• work effectively.
• RI would like to work
• together with all of you
• to ensure that the
• Convention fulfills
• its promise for persons with
• disabilities worldwide.

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Publications/Resources

• International Rehabilitation Review - RI
  magazine
• Headlines - RI quarterly newsletter
• RI Website www.riglobal.org
• UN Enable website
• http//www.un.org/esa/socdev/enable/