UN Convention On The Rights Of Persons With Disabilities Research Articles

Intersecting Disability and Poverty in the Global South: Barriers to the Localization of the UNCRPD

The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) remains in place as the major disability rights instrument recognising that all persons with disabilities must enjoy human rights and freedoms as every other person. However, the CRPD does not automatically confer realization of these rights. In practice, its implementation is met by multiple hurdles, most pronounced at the local level in the Global South, where disability and poverty intersect. This article reports on findings from a study in five countries (Kenya, Philippines, Jamaica, Guatemala, and South Africa) looking at the extent to which the CRPD is being implemented locally in contexts of poverty, and the factors and processes impacting this localization. The findings highlight multiple barriers, becoming more pronounced in local rural areas. These include weak and fragmented organisations of persons with disabilities (OPDs), political and legal issues, and a siloed approach where disability is marginalised in mainstream areas, including development. These barriers are accentuated as intersectional dimensions are factored in, including indigeneity, age, gender, race, and ethnicity. Overall, each local context is left to its own devices, with urban stakeholders, unknowing of what life in poverty is like and how this reframes the CRPD in discourse and practice at the forefront. Our study concludes that there is a profound need for an informed, contextualized, intersectional, and geopolitical analysis where poverty is kept sharply in focus. This is essential to move beyond unrealistic assumptions about disability rights frameworks and to work towards truly localized and transformative efforts.

Digital Accessibility Policy Landscape in the State of Qatar

Ensuring accessibility has become a crucial element in promoting inclusivity for everyone, including Persons with Disabilities (PWDs). Qatar has undergone a huge transformation in the realm of inclusive Information and Communication Technology (ICT) towards cultivating an ecosystem that promotes ICT accessibility and embraces diversity in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), to which the State of Qatar is a signatory and a ratifying party. This article delves into Qatar's dynamic policy and regulatory framework and its adaptive response to the evolving landscape of digital access technology and trends, and the proactive approach taken by the country to ensure that individuals have adequate access to digital platforms and services.

Universal Design in Education (UDE) Across the Life Course: Applying a Systems Framework to Create an Inclusive Experience for All.

The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) promotes the realisation of the right of persons with disabilities to education through Article 24 - Education. Universal Design in Education (UDE) fosters a whole systems approach so that the physical and digital environments, the educational services, and the teaching and learning can be easily accessed, understood and used, by the widest range of learners and by all key stakeholders, in a more inclusive environment. The whole systems approach incorporates the entire educational environment, as well as the recognition of the capacity for all learners (including persons with disabilities) to learn, and environments which are fully accessible and inclusive. This paper discusses methods whereby a systems approach can be applied to various aspects of education across the life continuum. It further advocates the inclusion of Universal Design as subject matter in curricula and assessment, to ensure a broader and more widespread adoption across the educational spectrum.

How to measure multidimensional quality of life of persons with disabilities in public policies - a case of Poland

BackgroundThe aim of this paper is to construct a tool that can be used to measure multidimensional quality of life of persons with disabilities in comparison with population without disabilities for the purpose of monitoring of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) in Poland.MethodsThe Sen’s capability approach was applied to conceptualize the quality of life in various life domains. We followed guidelines of The Quality of Life Framework developed within the European Statistical System on choosing the life domains in which the QoL should be measured. The QoL scores in each domain (covered by the UNCRPD) were constructed using multiply indicators and multiple causes model (MIMIC). All analysis were based on 2018 EU-SILC data for Poland. We constructed quality of life indicators for population with and without disabilities and compared the differences.ResultsPersons without disability experienced higher QoL as compared to population with disabilities, overall and in various domains. Lower average QoL of persons with disabilities is a result of a lower share of those who experience high QoL. The biggest difference is observed for health and for productive and main activity domains. For material conditions and economic security and physical safety there was a moderate difference recorded. For the leisure and social relations domain there is almost no difference observed. Additionally, we identified diversified associations between such factors as age, gender, household situation, education, partner status, urbanization, health on the QoL across domains and analysed populations.ConclusionsA tool developed in this paper can be calibrated to enable cross-country and in time comparisons between different populations and support evidenced-based social policy.

Training professionals to improve media accessibility

COVID-19 has affected all areas of our lives, and cinema, as part of culture, is no exception. New and existing technologies applied to audiovisual products are changing the way in which we provide and access culture.Nobody challenges the importance of having accessible audiovisual content. This is the aim of the recently approved European Directives following the ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). The new European legislative framework must guarantee the full and democratic participation of all citizens in the new information society. It is crucial to ensure access to technology and content for all citizens.The objective of this article is to present the new professional profiles in the accessibility field that have been developed in the last decades through Erasmus+ projects initiatives. First, the current European legislative framework on accessibility will be outlined. Then, the main accessibility services available in the media field will be explained. Next, the professional profiles in accessibility will be presented together with the emerging new profiles and Erasmus+ projects. Finally, the conclusions will outline the existing needs and improvements in the education and training of new professionals in media accessibility.

On the obligation to make reasonable accommodation for an employee with a disability

The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) features interesting labour law related aspects. The goals of this article are to reconcile horizontal human rights and contract law in the context of reasonable accommodation in working life and to establish guidelines by which to assess the obligation to make accommodation, for example in relation to the EU Employment Equality Directive. This article utilises the framework of just social practice, which makes reference to welfarism in Nordic contract law. Just social practice creates a theoretical framework in which to investigate the rights and obligations attached to reasonable accommodation in working life, because it may be argued that its basic premises correspond to the ultimate justification of the accommodation rights provided for by the UNCRPD: the idea of social inclusion. The first part of the article seeks to identify common features between the UNCRPD and contract law. It sketches the theoretical framework of just social practice, in which contract law and human rights coincide within the context of employment. The second part of the article elaborates what the process of reasonable accommodation within the framework of just social practice constitutes and introduces specific steps that are followed when the right to accommodation is in question. The article also identifies the factors that have an influence on reasonableness evaluations as being either internal or external to the contractual relationship and exemplifies how contract law principles are to be applied when assessing reasonableness. The article argues that reconciliation of the goals of private law and human rights within the framework of just social practice makes it possible to argue that contract law principles can function as a tool for social inclusion.

Mental health and human rights of women

IntroductionMental health stigma and discrimination interact with gender inequality and the discrimination of women and girls to their mental health detriment.ObjectivesPresent and discuss the challenges and opportunities of a human rights based approach to womens’ mental health.MethodsNon-systematic review of policy and practice of human rights based interventions for womens’ mental health.ResultsCurrent mental health as well as gender equality legislation converge towards the realization of longstanding demands of equality for women as well as for persons with mental health problems: removal of barriers, respect and enablement of autonomy, renewed efforts toward effective inclusion in all spheres of life. Essential changes through non-discrimination laws concern key areas, including family planning, marriage and parenthood, employment, housing, education, health, standards of living and social, political and cultural participation, along with the right to be free from exploitation, violence and abuse. Because of the cumulation and the interaction of gender-based and other forms of discrimination, legislations such as the UN-Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN-CRPD) include a focus on gender-specific human rights needs of women and girls. Family advocacy in mental health is prominently supported by female activists as is the user movement.ConclusionsThe opportunities of a successful development towards non-discrimination and gender equality in mental health care are dependent on a viable understanding of these concepts within the mental health community as well as updated expertise concerning tools for implementation of support systems sensitive to the human rights needs of women and girls.DisclosureNo significant relationships.

The Legal Recognition of Sign Languages: Advocacy and Outcomes around the World ed. by Maartje De Meulder, Joseph J. Murray and Rachel L. McKee

Reviewed by: The Legal Recognition of Sign Languages: Advocacy and Outcomes around the World ed. by Maartje De Meulder, Joseph J. Murray and Rachel L. McKee J. Albert Bickford (bio) The Legal Recognition of Sign Languages: Advocacy and Outcomes around the World, ed. Maartje De Meulder, Joseph J. Murray and Rachel L. McKee (Bristol: Multilingual Matters, 2019, 352 pages. Hardbound $149.95, ISBN 978-1-7889-2400-9; Paperback $49.95, ISBN 978-1-7889-2399-6; PDF $40.00, ISBN 978-1-7889-2401-6; ePUB $40.00, ISBN 978-1-7889-2402-3) This new volume presents a set of case studies about the legal status of sign languages in eighteen countries and regions, as examples of advocacy and language planning at the national and regional levels. More than just a discussion of laws, these studies explore their social context, the processes by which they came to be enacted, and their effectiveness. Although the book is not intended as a how-to guide for developing sign language legislation, these varying situations can still serve as models for language activists, providing a framework for planning sign language advocacy and outlining strategies, realistic expectations, and pitfalls. Many of these studies are the first of their kind in their respective countries and reflect recent events and ongoing developments. The authors of the individual case studies were participantobservers in the campaigns described. At least one coauthor of each study is deaf, reflecting a broader theme that emerges from the studies: success in enacting and implementing legislation depends on broadbased collaboration between deaf community members and academic and political allies, some of whom have no prior involvement with deaf people. This broad perspective—academic, political, and social—is one of the strengths of the book. The editors' introduction makes a key distinction (following De Meulder 2015) between explicit and implicit legal recognition. [End Page 699] Explicit recognition accords a sign language status as a language, whereas implicit recognition treats sign language in the context of laws addressing other issues, such as disability or education. Many laws take a hybrid approach, incorporating both types of recognition. A key influence in many countries has been the adoption of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) in 2006, an example of implicit recognition. Still, since the 1990s, there has been increasing interest in explicit recognition, from the perspective of linguistic human rights, especially in Europe. Laws generally address concerns such as the right of deaf children and their families to learn and use a sign language, educational practices, use in general or in specific situations, instrumental rights such as sign language interpreters and captioning, and corpus planning such as dictionaries and instructional materials, among others. These laws may be modeled on legislation for minority spoken languages in a country, but they often do not achieve equal status with them. The case studies are organized into four main sections. Part 1 presents four recent "success stories," laws recently enacted (in Ireland, Korea, Malta, and Scotland). Part 2 describes five situations where recognition is implicit (in Turkey, Japan, United States, Chile, and France). Part 3 present three ongoing campaigns (in Netherlands, Italy, and Norway) that have not yet succeeded. However, just getting a law on the books is not sufficient; there must be ongoing implementation of its provisions, and such challenges are discussed in the final six countries (Austria, New Zealand, Iceland, Brazil, Catalunya, and Belgium). Thirteen of the countries/regions represented are European or more broadly Western. Only two are in South America (Brazil, Chile) and three in Asia (Japan, Korea, Turkey). This imbalance, of course, reflects greater progress towards legal support for sign languages in Europe, as documented in Wheatley and Pabsch (2012). It is understandable that the editors were limited in their selection by who offered to contribute to the volume. Still, we should hope there will eventually be a broader survey of efforts in other parts of the world, particularly Africa, to provide understanding of how these issues manifest themselves in a wider variety of cultural and legal systems. [End Page 700] A closing epilogue summarizes the main themes that emerge from the case studies. In some countries, legislators...

Disability in Higher Education: Explanations and Legitimisation from Teachers at Leipzig University

In 2009, Germany ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN-CRPD) and committed itself to allow for “the full and effective participation [of people with disabilities] in society” (United Nations, 2006, §3), especially in education (United Nations, 2016, §24). The present article addresses the necessary follow-up question: which patterns of perception university teachers have of students with disabilities? A first project-based qualitative analysis of data from the EU-project “European Action on Disability within Higher Education” has been conducted on the grounds that disability can be described as a constructed sociocultural phenomenon (Tremain, 2005), showing that heterogenous concepts of disability can be reconstructed from the interviews (Aust, Trommler, & Drinck, 2015). In an adaptation of theoretical sampling according to Grounded Theory (Glaser & Strauss, 2010), interviews with teachers were selected for this article. The Explanatory Legitimacy Theory Model by DePoy and Gilson (2004, 2010) served as a pool of ideas for analysis. The four main areas of, 1) effective power of symbols or iconic figures, 2) performativity of attributions of disability, 3) dimension of time for concepts addressed, and 4) perpetuation of the medicine model can be reconstructed. The analysis indicates that the medicine model remains the dominant reference when teachers in higher education speak about disability. In conclusion, conditions that impede the proper implementation of the UN-CRPD in higher education must be identified so that higher education institutions can be further developed as multicultural organisations (Schein, 1984).

Web Accessibility for People with Disabilities in the European Union: Paving the Road to Social Inclusion

Despite the drawbacks and the challenges highlighted by several scholars, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), in particular the World Wide Web, has the potential to foster social inclusion of people with disabilities. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), which entered into force in 2008, has illuminated the role technology can play as a tool to promote the human rights of people with disabilities, and their participation and inclusion in society. The UNCRPD has also conceptualized ICT accessibility as a precondition for the enjoyment of rights, prompting a series of reforms in domestic legal frameworks globally and in the European Union (EU). Against this background, this article aims to address the role played by the EU in fostering “digital inclusion”, and critically evaluates relevant EU policies and legal rules, locating them within the broader realm of the implementation of the UNCRPD. It pays particular attention to Directive 2016/2102 on the accessibility of the websites and mobile applications of public sector bodies, as well as on the proposal for a European Accessibility Act (EAA). It attempts to show that, while the EU has thus far played an extremely important role in fostering web accessibility, many remaining obstacles must be eradicated to fully ensure access to the web to people with disabilities. This article adopts a doctrinal legal research methodology and is primarily concerned with the analysis of relevant legal rules and related scholarship. In addition, it is informed by a socially-oriented understanding of disability and builds upon the multifaceted and multidisciplinary literature on disability and technology.

Impact of the UN convention on the rights of persons with disabilities (UN-CRPD) on mental health care research - a systematic review.

BackgroundThe United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN-CRPD) aims at stimulating profound changes and social development in many areas of the society. We wanted to examine the impact of the convention on mental health care research up to now by a systematic review.MethodsWe searched relevant electronic databases for empirical studies from the area of mental health which focused directly on the content of the UN-CRPD.ResultsOne thousand six hundred ten articles were screened, 36 of which fulfilled the inclusion criteria and came from 22 different countries. 25 studies (69 %) are related to persons with intellectual disabilities, only 11 to other mental disorders. Study designs were quantitative and qualitative as well. Issues were realisation of the UN-CRPD, implementation and financing, development of instruments, and attitudes towards the UN-CRPD.ConclusionsIn contrast to possible wide-reaching consequences for the organisation of mental health care, theoretical debates prevail as of yet and empirical research is still scarce. Research on the UN-CRPD is more advanced for intellectual disabilities and provides good suggestions for relevant research aspects in major mental disorders.

Awareness-raising, legitimation or backlash? Effects of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on education systems in Germany

Global discourse about human rights, education for all, and inclusive education has altered social norms relating to dis/ability and schooling, especially through awareness-raising, by legitimating advocates’ positions and by facilitating policy reforms. Affected by societal and educational change, special education systems and their participants have also transformed societies. Widespread recognition of education's impact – and of institutionalised discrimination that disabled pupils face – galvanises contemporary debates. If special education successfully provided learning opportunities to previously excluded pupils, the goal has shifted to inclusive education. In such settings, all children, regardless of their characteristics, attend neighbourhood schools where they are supported to reach their individual learning goals in diverse classrooms. This global ideal has gained legitimacy, as most countries have ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN-CRPD), which mandates inclusive education, specifying facilitated access and meaningful educational opportunities. This has considerable implications for all learners. Examining the effects of the UN-CRPD in Germany, one of the most highly stratified and segregated education systems in Europe, provides a hard test case of the (potential) impact of this international charter on national education systems. To meet its mandate, Germany's 16 states (Bundesländer) would have to radically reform their education systems, whose segregated structures remain antithetical to inclusive education. Examining education policy reform processes since the 1970s, we find contrasting path-dependent reactions: In Schleswig-Holstein, inclusive education has diffused broadly and attained broad legitimacy, but in Bavaria its development has stalled; school segregation remains pervasive. Below national level, the UN-CRPD's potential to affect the pace and scope of change depends considerably on the structures in place at ratification.

Inklusion im Kontext gesellschaftlicher Exklusion?

Taking a sociological account, this paper introduces to the VHN-series on “Inclusion and Educational Profession”. We discuss the priorities given to the UN-Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN-CRPD) by the political elites. We hypothesize: Since the beginning of the Federal Republic of Germany, the social status has changed to marginalisation and exclusion of whole population groups. Sections of the political elite may use the UN-CRPD, what originally aims at inclusion of people with disabilities, to extend inclusionary criteria to other excluded minorities. Thus, the cohesion of society may be strengthened. Inclusion concerns all aspects of society, amongst others the area of education. An inclusive educational system should realign on the major principles “acceptance of subjection” and “justice”. It succeeds if educational professions change correspondingly.

Care at home: Article 8 and incapacitated adults

PurposeThis paper aims to review recent cases in the Court of Protection on the issue of article 8 ECHR right to respect for family life and whether it requires a starting point that it is in an incapacitated adult's best interests to be cared from at home. In this context, it examines the role of article 19 UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) in the article 8 and best interests analysis carried out by the court under s.4 Mental Capacity Act 2005.Design/methodology/approachThe article examines the recent cases of K v. A Local Authority, FM and GM v. A Health Board and recent cases on the status of the UNCRPD in English Law to explore whether the UK's obligations under that convention require there to be a starting point that incapacitated adults should be cared for at home.FindingsThe Court of Protection has made it clear that talking in terms of presumptions is unhelpful when it comes to the s.4 MCA 2005 checklist. The broad terms of s.4 require that all relevant circumstances are taken into account which would include any potential infringement of article 8 ECHR.Originality/valueThe article identifies an argument that could be used by campaigners and practitioners who advocate for the right for disabled persons to be cared for at home, through an analysis of recent cases. It notes the argument's limitations with respect to incapacitated adults and the application of s.4 Mental Capacity Act 2005.

Fundamental questions before recording or measuring functioning and disability

Purpose: This paper seeks to contribute to thoughtful description, recording and measurement of functioning, by discussing some fundamental questions to consider before starting, framed as: why, what, how and who.Method: Generic literature on measurement methods and the more specialised literature on application of the ICF over the last decade inform the consideration of these questions. The context of recording or measurement is examined, including the moral and legal framework of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) and the technical framework of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF).Results: Whatever the setting in which describing, recording or measuring is being undertaken – in policy development, service planning and management, clinical management or population health monitoring – determining the purpose is the key starting point. Purpose (why) frames the consideration of content (what), method (how) and source (who). Many generic measurement methods can be applied in the disability field, but there are challenges particular to the field. The perspectives of people with disabilities and “patients” require consideration, especially with the trend to person-centred care and the social justice principles emanating from the UNCRPD.Conclusions: Considering these basic questions is a pre-requisite to meaningful recording and measurement of functioning and disability. Future challenges include: incorporating environmental factors into measurement; setting thresholds on the disability spectrum; and combining the views of the person concerned with those of various professionals.Implications for RehabilitationPartnership with people with disabilities in their rehabilitation is based on their co-ownership with service providers of the questions that drive the assessment process. Asking basic questions of the assessment process – such as why, what, how and who – demystifies its intent and outcomes for people receiving rehabilitation services and contributes to genuine partnership in the provision of rehabilitation services.Validity of measurement depends on both the evidence for and the consequences of score interpretation. The consideration of these basic questions will contribute to the validity of rehabilitation assessment.

Language Policy and Planning for Sign Languages (review)

Reviewed by: Language Policy and Planning for Sign Languages Verena Krausneker (bio) Language Policy and Planning for Sign Languages, by Timothy Reagan (Washington, D.C.: Gallaudet University Press, 2010, 296 pp., hardcover, $85.00, ISBN 1-56368-462-4, 978-1-56368-462-3) The author of Language Policy and Planning for Sign Languages addresses two audiences: the educated newcomer to the world of signed languages and the member of the Deaf World who is unfamiliar with matters of language planning and policy studies. That is an ambitious goal and will certainly broaden many academic and nonacademic horizons. The academic sign-language person as a potentially interested reader might find the book with its six chapters useful as an introduction to the field. Chapter 1 presents the history, culture, and sociolinguistic characteristics of the world of signed languages, which Reagan calls a "special case." Since this chapter focuses primarily on the Deaf community of North America, most of the examples and in-depth descriptions refer to ASL. The second chapter, "Language Planning and Language Policy," shows the author's true strength: It is a concise yet rich and diverse introduction to the subject. The text integrates many approaches and offers theoretical and applied tools to help readers understand the subject. The chapter is cleverly enriched by an impressive collection of real-world examples from around the globe and since the Greek and Roman empires. The fewest cases, though, are from the Deaf World. Chapter 3 looks at ASL plannning and policy in depth. Reagan criticizes planning decisions that categorize ASL as a "foreign language" as being fundamentally based on deficit views. He also states that access to well-trained interpreters is more important but then [End Page 334] differentiates this claim with respect to the educational situation. Reagan's very short summary of the legal status of ASL in the individual states presents the situation as it was four years prior to the publication date (no source is disclosed) and does not explain which laws in what contexts and which exact formulations secure ASL rights. The author wraps up the chapter with observations on the risks the ASL community faces, mainly biotechnical and educational decisions based on biotechnical developments, but ends with a clear statement of trust in the language community's commitment to continue thriving. Chapter 4 describes the "creation and use of manual sign codes" as a form of language planning. Reagan-as many authors before him-takes a very critical position. Chapter 5, "International Perspectives," gives an overview of the status of various sign languages and a critical analysis of the contexts and discussions surrounding the legal recognitions. The author discusses a resolution passed by the European Parliament in the same paragraph and with the same care as resolutions passed at academic congresses. To the European reader this seems a dubious juxtaposition because there are numerous such academic and NGO-authored resolutions in European countries, and these differ significantly from resolutions passed by the European Parliament. The Official Journal of the European Union and an NGO's document (e.g., the "Brussels Declaration" by the European Union of the Deaf, which was issued just a few months after this book was published) carry completely different weight in the political arena. Reagan apparently decided to not include other supranational activities by the European Union, the Council of Europe, and, most important, the United Nations. In most countries of the world the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) presently receives a great deal of attention. The UNCRPD, with its several explicit paragraphs on sign languages and Deaf culture, is a source of optimism and, especially in the work of the World Federatiojn of the Deaf (WFD) and the European Union of the Deaf (EUD), triggers new planning of activities and readjustments of sign-language policy strategies. The chapter includes a brief discussion of the real threat that ASL poses to many of the world's smaller sign languages and then moves on to corpus planning. A list of all online sign [End Page 335] language dictionaries is provided. Both compounding and borrowing processes are discussed, followed by a description of the infamous unification project in...

Disability, conflict, and emergencies

The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) outlines the obligation of States to protect and ensure the safety of people with disabilities in situations of risk, including armed conflict. In practice, disability is rarely considered in humanitarian programmes, even when a growing body of evidence shows that people with disabilities in such situations are at particular risk.1–3