Materials : Contribution by DPI

Background Paper for the UNESCAP Regional Workshop

Contributed by Venus Ilagan, DPI

(1) General overview of disability-specific legislation in your country / region;

"The Philippines Magna Charta for People with Disabilities " can be uploaded from http://www.dredf.org/symposium/philippines.html.

Other laws possibly of interest and available on that site include laws from Fiji, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.

(2) Your views on why we need an international convention on disability;

At the DPI World Assembly in Sapporo in October 2002 the final communiqué, called the Sapporo Declaration, stated, “We demand a specific international human rights convention that is reflective of the full range of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights.”

DPI believes that there is no question that disabled people are subjects of the international human rights system, and entitled to full enjoyment of all the rights delineated in each of the existing human rights instruments. Yet human rights abuses remain a daily reality for disabled people around the world, in large part because there is currently a gap between the values expressed by the human rights system and the reality of disability. As last year's report for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights stated:

The most important argument for a convention is perhaps that of "visibility"… it has proven extremely difficult to keep people with disabilities in focus in the proceedings of the (other Human Rights) treaty monitoring bodies. To some extent this is due to the relative lack of engagement of the disability NGOs with the treaty monitoring machinery. And to some extent it is due to the lack of general comments by the treaty monitoring bodies on disability - or the kind of forethought that these general comments represent.[1]

DPI supports the position that in order for this divide to be effectively bridged, a specific international human rights Convention for disabled people must be elaborated. Furthermore, DPI believes that this Convention must be based in, and draw from, existing human rights norms and standards and address in concrete terms the economic, social, political and cultural circumstances that adversely impact the human rights condition of disabled people.

(3) Your views and inputs on a proposed convention for each of the following treaty components;

a) Preamble;

As with other treaties the preamble should set forth the rationale for developing the treaty, and also reference all prior relevant documents, such as the Standard Rules and the World Program of Action, to name two of the many important and relevant documents (Note: The Mexican draft does this (in paragraph “e”) but in no particular order).

DPI believes that consideration should be given to a chronological listing of these documents, with, perhaps, an introductory sentence or two discussing the evolving understanding of disability; that is to say the movement away from the medical / impairment view toward the human rights view to be reflected in the new treaty.

There will no doubt be concerns about reference to some of these documents (especially as they relate to psychiatric disability) and it is hoped that the chronological listing, along with a clear statement about the evolving conceptualization of disability will provide for text which is acceptable to all people with disabilities.

Further, the rationale and prior document list should be complimented with another paragraph that notes that despite this evolving understanding discrimination against People with Disabilities till exists despite these instruments. Consideration should be given to highlighting the 2002 OHCHR study on the topic at this point as well.

b) Objectives;

As stated above, at the DPI World Assembly in Sapporo in October 2002, delegates called for a new treaty that reflects the full range of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights.

c) Scope/definitions;

DPI recognizes the complexity of arriving at a definition that is acceptable to all disability groups across cultures. We were involved in the recent efforts to develop a new definition as part to the International Classification of Functioning (ICF) discussions led by the World Health Organization. We believe that the outcome of these discussions is a step forward and as such we support the (ICF) definition of disability, which is as follows: “(t)he outcome of the interaction between a person with an impairment and the environmental and attitudinal barriers he/she may face.”

d) States parties obligations;

We assume here that this is a section which might be considered under the more commonly seen title of “general obligations?” If, indeed, this is the case, DPI would anticipate a discussion in such a section addressing concepts such as the full participation of People with Disabilities all legislation, policies and programs of all States parties.

e) Guarantee of equality and non-discrimination;

The treaty should be animated by certain general principles, including, but not limited to, equality and non discrimination. This is necessary to give any future monitoring committee clear guidance when interpreting the treaty.

However, DPI is extremely wary of the process being watered down, with the result being a bare non-discrimination treaty.

There is no question that the non-discrimination idea is very important here, but, DPI is convinced that the new convention must not be limited to an anti-discrimination framework. DPI fully supports the adoption and implementation of non-discrimination legislation at the domestic level. Indeed the Sapporo Declaration states:

We demand that every country adopt and implement anti-discrimination legislation and policies that ensures the equalization of opportunity for disabled people.

We also recognize that non-discrimination and equality of opportunity must be intrinsic components of any human rights convention for disabled people. Yet we believe there must be more!

In order to be fully effective, the new treaty should provide scope for the full elaboration of human rights in the context of disability. Only in this way can the international human rights framework effectively incorporate the disability perspective.

f) Guarantees of specific rights;

There are no human rights to which disabled people do not lay claim, and if existing norms and standards are to be placed in a disability context the convention must address the full range of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. The following list is by no means exhaustive, but reflects (in no specific order) some of the rights addressed by existing human rights instruments that should be further elaborated if the convention is to cover the full spectrum of human rights:

Stereotyping of groups
Non-discrimination and measures to eliminate discrimination
Action to guarantee the exercise and enjoyment of rights
Participation
Accessibility
Right to life
Torture and other ill-treatment
Sexual exploitation and related abuses
Slavery, servitude and forced labour
Survivor assistance
Equality before the law
Due process protections
Peaceful assembly and association
Freedom of thought / opinion and information
Political and public life
Medical care / health / rehabilitation
Employment / social security / income maintenance
Housing
Education
Family
Culture and religion
Linguistic minorities
Recreation and sports
Nationality / freedom of movement
Refugees / internally displaced persons

g) Monitoring/ review/ remedy mechanisms;

If the convention is to be successful, a strong monitoring mechanism must be established to gauge the levels of implementation and provide guidance on best practices. This monitoring mechanism should be empowered to engage all relevant levels, including states, intergovernmental organizations, non-governmental organizations and individuals. The convention should establish a monitoring body. This body, ideally, should be empowered to do the following:

Receive and assess regular reports from states parties, with no more than five years between reports.
Have authority to receive inter-state, non-governmental organization and individual complaints.
Have authority to conduct investigations into alleged abuses of human rights.
Have authority to call upon other members of the UN family to assist in producing reports and studies addressing human rights in the context of disability.

Any monitoring mechanism for the convention must be fully informed by disability and human rights expertise. Disabled people are the experts regarding our situation and it is therefore crucial that any monitoring body established under the convention include a majority of disabled people in its composition.

h) Miscellaneous provisions

It will be important to give some attention to cross-cutting groups such as gender, race, children; and issues such as bioethics.

(4) Your views and inputs on process towards elaborating a proposed convention.

Participation of disabled people in decisions that concern us is a fundamental principle that must be reflected in international law and policy. All stakeholders, and first and foremost disability and human rights organizations and their representatives, should be fully involved in the process of developing a new treaty on the human rights of disabled people. DPI’s motto is “NOTHING ABOUT US WITH OUT US” and this must be fundamental to any process leading to the elaboration of a convention. Clearly this must translate into tangible support for disabled people and their organizations to meaningfully participate in the drafting processes of the Working Group as well as the meetings of the Ad Hoc Committee and any other meetings that take place as part of the process. Moreover, meaningful participation requires appropriate resources and these must be made available in a timely fashion, otherwise the ability of the disability community to participate will be severely compromised and – ultimately – so too will be the quality of the new treaty itself.

DPI welcomed the resolution on the "accreditation and participation of non-governmental organizations" in the Ad Hoc Committee's inaugural session. We were further pleased to see these working methods fully implementedin the second meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee and in the upcoming meeting of the Working Group. We note as well that, with equal importance, the resolution states the following:

(The Ad Hoc Committee) Urges relevant United Nations bodies, in recognition of the importance of the equitable geographical participation of non-governmental organizations in the Ad Hoc Committee to assist those non-governmental organizations that lack resources, in particular non-governmental organizations interested in the matter from developing countries and countries with economies in transition, to participate in the Ad Hoc Committee;

DPI also encourages the allocation of sufficient resources to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) in order to ensure that sufficient information is communicated to the global disability community.

Equally, in order to realize the Ad Hoc Committee's goal of inclusion, DPI notes in particular that two key issues must be addressed:

Access - full access according to the principles of Universal design must be in place to ensure complete access of people with every type of disability to the full proceedings of the Ad Hoc Committee and Working Group.
Financial Support - through the UN Voluntary Fund (established by A/Res/57/229), to ensure the full participation at all levels of the process by people with disabilities and their representative organizations, particularly those from developing countries, and countries with economies in transition.

Finally, while underscoring the importance of independent civil society participation in this process, DPI urges all Member States to participate in the convention development process, and especially encourages Member States to include disabled people as part of their official delegations.

[1] Gerard Quinn, Theresia Degener, et. al. (2002) Human Rights and Disability: The current use and future potential of United Nations human rights instruments in the context of disability, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights, Geneva

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Main	Programme	Materials	Online	Bangkok

	Regional Workshop towards a Comprehensive and Integral International Convention on Protection and Promotion of the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities Bangkok, Thailand, 14-17 October 2003