The adoption by the United Nations General Assembly in December 2006 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities closed a long chapter in the fight against the exclusion and marginalization of disabled people - 10 per cent of the world’s population, and opened a new one: the challenge is now to translate the Convention into reality and ensure that it makes a real difference in the lives of disabled people.
 |
One of the first initiatives the IPU took to draw the attention of parliaments to the Convention, the need for its ratification and implementation, was the publication in 2007 of a Handbook prepared jointly with the Department of Economic and Social Affairs and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. It has raised much interest, and prompted a number of parliaments to envisage organizing seminars on the Convention. The first one was the parliament of the United Kingdom, which, in cooperation with the IPU, organized a regional seminar on the Convention. It took place on 27 and 28 April and brought together experts and members of parliament from 11 European countries.
Speakers agreed that the Convention was a big step forward as it turns away from considering disabled people as objects of charity and medical care, but clearly states that they, like everyone else, are right holders. The discussions focused on a number of key articles of the Convention, in particular those concerning accessibility, including to new information technologies, universal design, recognition of legal capacity and the non-definition of disability. Participants insisted on the essential role of civil society. In this context, the representatives of disability organizations made it clear that States should involve disabled people and their organizations in all decision-making processes concerning them. Nothing about us without us is the watchword! Several participants, including disabled persons, said that the Convention and the process leading up to its adoption had already led to a change in societal attitudes towards disabled persons. Language was also considered important in this context: rather than insisting on the disability, society should look at the "abilities" of persons with a disability.
It was of course logical for a parliamentary seminar to also raise the question of the representation of disabled persons in parliament. The example of Uganda was mentioned in this respect, where four seats are reserved for persons with disabilities who are elected by disability organizations. Their representation in parliament has raised the status of persons with disabilities in Uganda and it was mentioned in this regard that representation in parliament led to a necessary shift in the balance of power.
Many States, including the United Kingdom, still need to ratify the Convention. Participants called on European States which had not yet done so to ratify the Convention as soon as possible and to refrain from making reservations to it. After all, any person can become disabled at any time and the likelihood of that happening increases with age. Ratification and implementation are undoubtedly in the interests of all.
