Abstract
AbstractDisability assessments play a key role in welfare states but are increasingly contested, not least for their compatibility with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). This paper draws on evidence of global governance and assessment practices in 34 European countries, the largest international study to date. The paper reflects on the model of disability in the CRPD and its implications for disability assessment, drawing on the work of the CRPD Committee. The paper also examines examples of promising practice in assessment in European countries and concludes by identifying elements of a CRPD-compatible approach. Disability assessments must be underpinned by both a social-contextual concept of disability and a human rights approach. Administrative attribution of disability status based on categorical diagnosis or individual functioning alone is incompatible with this approach. This approach challenges the historic individualization of disability assessments and the knowledge relationships underpinning them.
Highlights
Assessments of disability status play a key role in welfare states
For illustration, the recommendation made to Latvia was to: ensure that disability determination is based on a human rights model of disability, includes an assessment of needs, will and preferences of the individuals concerned, ..., and focuses on the elimination of barriers and the promotion of full and effective participation of persons with disabilities in society. (2017b, para. 7(a))
The focus was on European states, but it looked to the global level for guidance on how to align disability assessment procedures with the CRPD
Summary
The CRPD is a global human rights treaty that aims “to promote, protect, and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities, and to promote respect for their inherent dignity.” Its scope is broad and it is not our intention to review it here, but to examine its implications for the design and implementation of disability assessment systems (for a more detailed discussion of the Convention see, Kayess & French, 2008; Lawson, 2006; Waddington, 2009). The CRPD is a global human rights treaty that aims “to promote, protect, and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities, and to promote respect for their inherent dignity.”. The Convention does not define disability, but recognizes that persons with disabilities include those “who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments” and who encounter barriers which hinder their “full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others” (Preamble, recital (e) and Article 1). This concept requires some elaboration in order to appreciate its implications for disability assessment
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