Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Kicki Nordstrom, Immediate Past-President, WBU

On December 13th, 2006 the United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopted the 8th Human Rights instrument on Human Rights, under the name: the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

This is the greatest moment in the history of persons with disabilities, who have suffered from exclusion, marginalization, neglect, murder and denial, since the mankind started to write history!

The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, is a Human Rights based convention, ensuring persons with disabilities full and equal Human Rights and fundamental freedom and Non-Discrimination.

A UN Convention under the Human Rights Treaty body, like this thematic convention, is an international law to which States which ratify it, must follow.

This tematic convention provides that States Parties to the Convention, should enact national laws and other measures to guarantee full Human Rights and fundamental freedom for Persons with disabilities. States shall also abolish legislation, customs and practices that discriminate against persons with disabilities.

The negotiations took five years and thereby made it the most rapid negotiated international law in the UN ever!

The convention will be open for signature and ratification on 30 March 2007, and will enter into force once it has been ratified by 20 countries.

The target group of this convention is the 650 million people living with disabilities in the world, of whom about 160 are blind or partially sighted persons.

The resolution, which laid the ground for the adoption of the convention at the UN General Assembly, States were urged, as a matter of priority, to take immediate measures to ratify the convention.

The convention is so very well needed because of the well-known fact that there is a strong link between blindness and poverty. Blind people tend to be amongst the poorest in all societies, developing countries or industrial alike.

Blind people generally face exclusion and isolation. This is sometimes the result of express policies to keep us hidden as a disturbing and not wanted kind of humanity. But it can also be the result of architectural, physical, social, legal and attitudinal barriers, which make it impossible for us to participate as equal citizens in the society we belong to.

This attitude and exclusion result in denial of blind persons to attend schools for instance. Without any education and social inclusion, we are deemed to poverty and exclusion.

To rectify this disturbing situation, we need to start a campaign on education of various stakeholders, such as governments, the general public and decision makers. Until the attitudes are changed, it will be difficult to bring all blind and partially sighted people to school, despite any international law or convention.

However, we need this convention, which constitute an international law, as a ”weapon” in our fight for Human rights, equality, non-discrimination and equal opportunities. We need the convention as a tool for educating the society on our rights as human beings.

The basis for the new convention is to further stress what is already formulated in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights from 1948, Article 26:1: ”Everyone has the right to education”.

We all know that the reality of the right to education is different from what is stated in many existing UN documents and conventions. It is currently estimated that the average rate of literacy skills among persons with disabilities in developing countries, is about 3%.

In year 2000 the UN General Assembly has unanimously agreed on a goal of access to education of all children by 2015, Education for All (EFA). UNESCO has got the authority to implement this goal. The EFA goal has not set out any exceptions, which means that persons with disabilities are also included in this goal.

Not much has happen for persons with disabilities in the field of education since 1948, despite the adoption of EFA goals from 2000 If we should continue with this slow speed, we may not be able to live up to the agreement of 1948 and the EFA goals, in 700 years from now!

The purpose of the convention is to put an end of exclusion of persons with disabilities, that exists world wide, both as obstacles in the educational system and as lack of real political will among Governments and authorities.

Education for persons with disabilities is unfortunately, not seen as part of the general educational system. Many States do not refer education of persons with disabilities to the Ministry of Education, but rather to the Ministry of Social Affairs or under the Ministry of Health.

The responsibility for providing education to all, is in this convention, put firmly on the States Parties, not of persons with disabilities or charity organizations. Education of persons with disabilities shall sort under Ministry of Education and be covered under the general curriculum and school system in the country. States must now fulfil this obligation!

In the text of the convention on the rights of persons with disabilities, article 24 Education, the following text formulate the Chapeau:

1. States Parties recognize the right of persons with disabilities to education. With a view to realizing this right without discrimination and on an equal basis with others, States Parties shall ensure an inclusive education system at all levels and life-long learning, directed to:

(a) The full development of human potential and sense of dignity and self worth, and the strengthening of respect for human rights, fundamental freedoms and human diversity;

This text refers to the fact that, no matter the cause of disability or the time in life that the disability occurs, the person should be provided with appropriate education, in order to achieve her human rights.

Furthermore it puts the responsibility for providing education, on the States Parties, not of the person herself.

Equal opportunities should be provided to each person regardless of her status, gender or and financial situation in society.

Paragraph 2 states:2. In realizing this right, States Parties shall ensure that:

1. Persons with disabilities are not excluded from the general education system on the basis of disability, and that children with disabilities are not excluded from free and compulsory primary education, or from secondary education, on the basis of disability;
2. Persons with disabilities can access an inclusive, quality and free primary education and secondary education on an equal basis with others in the communities in which
3. Reasonable accommodation of the individual’s requirements is provided;

This second paragraph is more specific with regard to the education as such. It stresses the right for persons with disabilities to obtain free and compulsory primary education and secondary education of good quality on the basis of equal opportunities with others adapted to the needs of the person.

In paragraph 3, is the result of the strong advocacy of World Blind Union and we have been really successful and managed to include the right to Braille. This is in the first time of history that Braille now is recognised as a right for blind, deafblind or visually impaired persons and it constitute international law, which States have to follow!

3. States Parties shall enable persons with disabilities to learn life and social development skills to facilitate their full and equal participation in education and as members of the community. To this end, States Parties shall take appropriate measures, including:

(a) Facilitating the learning of Braille, alternative script, augmentative and alternative modes, means and formats of communication and orientation and mobility skills, and facilitating peer support and mentoring;

(c) Ensuring that the education of persons, and in particular children, who are blind, deaf or deafblind, is delivered in the most appropriate languages and modes and means of communication for the individual, in environments which maximize academic and social development.

This paragraph also express the right to receive education in sign-language for deaf and for deafblind, and blind persons to learn Braille as well as other communication techniques, and to receive information and daily life skills for those specific groups.

Paragraph 4 is directed to teachers:4. In order to help ensure the realization of this right, States Parties shall take appropriate measures to employ teachers, including teachers with disabilities, who are qualified in sign language or Braille, and to train professionals and staff who work at all levels of education. Such training shall incorporate disability awareness and the use of appropriate augmentative and alternative modes, means and formats of communication, educational techniques and materials to support persons with disabilities.

This paragraph ensure that States Parties make provision of education of teachers with special skills who are able to teach blind, deaf and deafblind students.

It is only in this article on Education, there the need of a particular disability group is mentioned, in all other articles, specific needs are drafted in a neutral language without any specific references to a particular group!

Article 24 Education, is a shining star in this good convention!