The United Nations and Disability Rights

The history and role of the United Nations (UN) and its agencies in disability rights is long and varied. A few examples followed by a timeline will illustrate this relationship. Together, the examples and timeline address the following questions: Which UN agencies have been involved in disability rights?, At what point did they become involved and why?, What was the nature of their involvement?, and How did the UN affect the nature of the issue and of the agenda-setting process?.

The United Nations (UN) as a whole has been involved in disability rights since the 1970's. However, the nature of their involvement often lagged behind the conception of disability rights promoted by the disability rights community. This was primarily manifested by using anything other than a human rights model to characterize disability rights in conventions, resolutions, and other documents. Around 1993, this began to change and the UN was eventually seen as instrumental in identifying disability rights as a human rights issue (Kanter 2003).

Support for a disability-specific convention has also increased over time. Among many reasons for increasing support, the ratification of a convention of disability rights introduces a new level of accountability to protect disabled people from harm (Kanter 2003). Another reason for support is that outside of the disability rights community, many international governmental and non-governmental organizations continued to marginalize disability issues. Examples include using the medical model in lieu of a human rights frame and failing to solicit input from the disability rights community. A UN convention on disability rights was seen as a way to combat this (Kanter 2003). Finally, a UN convention could improve monitoring and enforcement regarding disability issues (Kanter 2003).

Moving on to UN agencies, the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, World Bank, and UNESCO have all been involved in disability rights. It is not clear when the WHO became involved. However, they mimic the frame supported by the disability rights community and the UN Convention (disability arises both from the individual and interaction with the individual's environment). According to the WHO's 2006-2011 Action Plan on Disability and Rehabilitation, various factors including increased chronic illness, prolonged average lifespan, and poverty are placing enormous demands on health and rehabilitation services.

It is also not clear when UNICEF became involved. In a press release regarding the Convention, they praise the progress and note one of their first priorities will be "working with UN and civil society partners to create awareness and empower children, parent associations and other organizations to use the Convention as an advocacy tool".

The World Bank's Bangladesh Disability and Children at Risk seeks to promote equity and social inclusion by expanding social care services to those with disabilities and vulnerable children. It was approved July 1 2008 and runs through Dec 31 2014 with a budget of 35 million dollars. Another program, the PK Earthquake Disability, will improve the quality of life for disabled people and their families afflicted by the Oct 8 2005 earthquake. The project was approved May 21 2007 with a budget of 5 million dollars and will run through Dec 31 2008.

UNESCO published a report in 1995 titled "Overcoming Obstacles to the Integration of Disabled People" that provided, among other things, updated statistics on the number and location of the world's disabled (Charlton 1998, p. 8) More recently, UNESCO produced a video and press release to raise awareness about the recently adopted Convention. It focuses specifically on the importance of educating disabled children.

The timeline below provides further detail on the history and role of the UN and its agencies in disability rights.

1971: The United Nations (UN) adopts its first international human rights instrument specifically addressing the right of people with disabilities, the Declaration on the Rights of Mentally Retarded Persons (Kanter 2003). The declaration relies on a medical, instead of a human rights model (Kanter 2003).

1975: In international law, the Declaration of Rights of Disabled Persons affirms the right to the same civil and political rights as the non-disabled for persons with disabilities (Kanter 2003).

1982: A series of UN resolutions culminates in the World Programme on Action Concerning Disabled Persons.

1987: Global Meeting of Experts to review the Implementation of the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons recommends drafting of an international convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against persons with disabilities by conference of UN General Assembly. Draft agreements were prepared but rejected due to disinterest and treaty fatigue (White Paper, 68).

1993: UN adopts Standard Rules on Equalization of People with Disabilities. It promotes the "view of equal rights protections" instead of a social welfare approach (Kanter 2003, 504). A Special Rapporteur is appointed and mandated to report on the status of disabled persons in the world to the UN Commission on Social Development (Kanter 2003). The UN General Assembly used language from disabled peoples' organizations for some of their definitions (Priestley 1999, p. 8). It also promoted participation from the disabled and their families in the construction of policies and services that concern them (Priestley 1999, p. 159). The Standard Rules therefore made a clear link between equalized opportunities and participatory citizenship in states (Priestly 1999, p. 210).

1994: UN Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights issues General Comment to aid interpretation of International Convention on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights for persons with disabilities. A human rights approach is adopted.

2001: The Third Committee of the UN General Assembly adopts a resolution titled Comprehensive and Integral International Convention on Protection and Promotion of the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disability. It uses a human rights approach and recommends the formation of two UN Ad Hoc Committees. One for the development of a convention and the other for a convention including a strong statement about discrimination (Kanter 2003). Ireland and Mexico took leading roles in the committees.

2002: First meeting of Ad Hoc Committee review Resolution draft.

2002: Fewer than five people staff UN Program on Disability office, which is less than half than at the height of the Int’l Decade of Disabled Persons. Also, office is in New York, thousands of miles from UN human rights (HR) center in Geneva. Disability rights is relegated to social development sphere, as opposed to HR sphere (White Paper, p. 54, 56).

January 2004: Original draft convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities, proposed language for Articles 1-25.

May-June 2004: A series of suggestions from member states for convention, including proposed article 15bis on women.

August-September 2004: Summary of member states’ basic agreement on Convention Articles 4-7(4).

January-February 2005: Summary of member states’ basic agreement on Articles 7(5)-14(bis).

December 2006: UN General Assembly adopts Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol.

March 2007: Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol opened for signature.

May 12, 2008: Entry into force, 30 days after 20th ratification of Convention and its Optional Protocol.

References

Charlton, J.I. (1998). Nothing About Us Without Us. Berkely, CA: University of California Press.

Kanter, A.S. (2003). The Globalization of Disability Rights Law. In P. Blanck (Ed.), Disability Rights (pp. 489-517). Burlington, VT: Ashgate.

National Council on Disability. (2002). White Paper: Understanding the Role of an International Convention on the Human Rights of People with Disabilities: An analysis of the legal, social, and practical implications for policy makers and disability and human rights advocates in the United States [WWW page]. URL http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/publications/2002/publications.htm

Priestley, M. (1999). Disability Politics and Community Care. London: Jessica Kingley Publishers Ltd.