The Role of Disability Groups in the Development and Implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Abstract

The neoliberal agenda has seen increased engagement of governments and disability organizations in policy making and implementation processes. Yet governments have been slow to address needed changes in disability policy over the last three decades questioning the role of disability organizations who have increasingly turned to rights-based claims on states. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities which reaffirms in article 29 the full political participation of persons with disabilities is one such example. Unclear, however, is the role of disability organizations in the UN Convention’s development, ratification and implementation. Were disability organizations active and central actors in this process? This article investigates this question in relation to three case studies: Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. The story that emerges underscores the centrality of disability organizations in policy development during times of government disinterest or indifference.