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by United Nations Department of Public Information
The 61st United Nations General Assembly adopted the first new human rights treaty of the twenty-first century in December, 2006, marking the culmination of nearly two decades of work on protecting and promoting the rights of persons with disabilities and a major shift in the way the world treats its 650 million disabled people.
In opening remarks, Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa (Bahrain), President of the General Assembly, said all Member States had now committed to promoting and protecting the human rights, freedoms and dignity of all persons with disabilities. The Convention was an "opportunity to reaffirm the universal commitment to the rights and dignity of all people without discrimination" that could likewise provide the much-needed impetus for wider cultural changes in the world's perception of disabled people.
Secretary-General Kofi Annan, in a message delivered by Deputy Secretary-General Mark Malloch Brown, said today was the dawn of a new era for people with disabilities, who, for far too long, had been relegated to the margins of society and denied the rights that others took for granted. The Convention was the most rapidly elaborated instrument ever, accomplished in just three years because of the dedication of its supporters, including a large segment of civil society who had lobbied heavily both in person and over the Internet, including with Governments.
Don MacKay ( New Zealand), Chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities, said that, theoretically there was no need for a new Convention as existing human rights instruments already applied to persons with disabilities in the same way they applied to everyone else. Unfortunately, however, that was not the reality. The Convention was a "benchmark for future standards and action".
At the same time, all delegations agreed that the Convention's adoption ushered in an important paradigm shift towards recognizing disabled persons as rights holders and active members of society rather than objects of charity.
Under the Convention, States parties guarantee that persons with disabilities enjoy their inherent right to life on an equal basis with others (article 10). They are to ensure the equal rights and advancement of women and girls with disabilities (article 6) and protect children with disabilities (article 7). Children with disabilities will have equal rights, will not be separated from their parents against their will, except in their best interests, and would in no case be separated from their parents on the basis of a disability of either the child or the parents (article 23).
States parties ensure the equal right to own and inherit property, to control financial affairs and to have equal access to bank loans, credit and mortgages (article 12). They ensure access to justice on an equal basis with others (article 13), make sure that persons with disabilities enjoy the right to liberty and security, and were not deprived of their liberty, unlawfully or arbitrarily (article 14).
According to the Convention, countries must guarantee freedom from torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and prohibit medical or scientific experiments without the consent of the person concerned (article 15); and protect the physical and mental integrity of persons with disabilities. In case of abuse, States promote the physical and psychological recovery, rehabilitation and reintegration of the victim and investigate the abuse (article 16).
By other provisions of the treaty, persons with disabilities would not be subjected to arbitrary or illegal interference with their privacy, family, home, correspondence or communication. The privacy of their personal, health and rehabilitation information was to be protected on an equal basis with others (article 22).
On the fundamental issue of accessibility (article 9), the Convention requires States parties to identify and eliminate obstacles and barriers, and ensure that persons with disabilities could access their environment, transportation, public facilities and services, and information and communications.
Countries are required to promote the right to an adequate standard of living and social protection, including public housing, services and assistance for disability-related needs, and assistance with disability-related expenses in the case of poverty (article 28).
Also by the Convention, discrimination relating to marriage, family and personal relations would be eliminated. Persons with disabilities would have equal opportunity to experience parenthood, marry and establish a family, decide on the number and spacing of children, have access to reproductive and family planning education and means, and to enjoy equal rights and responsibilities regarding guardianship, wardship, trusteeship and adoption of children (article 23).
States ensure equal access to education, vocational training, adult education and lifelong learning. Under article 25, persons with disabilities have the right to the highest attainable standard of health without discrimination on the basis of disability. They receive the same range, quality and standard of free or affordable health services as provided other persons and not be subjected to discrimination in the provision of health insurance.
The 18-article Optional Protocol on Communications allows petitioning by individuals and groups to the Ad Hoc Committee, once all national recourse procedures have been exhausted.
Source: Edoardo Bellando, United Nations Department of Public Information. For further information please check http://www.un.org/disabilities/convention/about.shtml.
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