The UN and Disability Rights
People living with disabilities, ten percent of the world's population, are among the poorest of the poor and frequently live on the margins of society. Like other specific groups, such as women and children, people living with disabilities require a specific international treaty, such as a U.N. Convention on the Human Rights of Persons with Disabilities, that effectively protects and promotes their human rights. Such a treaty is essential to ensuring all people have the tools to live their lives with dignity and enjoy the full range of their human rights. An International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities should form the central component of this international legal framework.

UN Convention on the Human Rights of People with Disabilities
People living with disabilities, one in ten of the world's population, are among the poorest of the poor and frequently live on the margins of society. Like other specific groups, such as women and children, people living with disabilities require a specific international treaty, such as a UN Convention on the Human Rights of People with Disabilities, that effectively protects and promotes their human rights. Such a treaty is essential to ensuring all people have the tools to live their lives with dignity and enjoy the full range of their human rights. An international Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities should form the central component of this international legal framework.

All people should be able to enjoy their basic human rights – the right to a decent education; the right to vote; the right to due process; the right to participate in the life of the community, whether through eating at a restaurant or attending a movie theater, without the threat of violence or harassment.

The disability movement, both within the United States and internationally, is working to embrace rights already enjoyed and to a large extent secured by non-disabled people.

January 16, 2004 - Draft Comprehensive and Integral International Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities.
Download now in .DOC (Microsoft Word) format (176 Kb)

An Empowering Process
An international human rights convention for people with disabilities will articulate the human rights of people with disabilities and provide mechanisms for monitoring states’ compliance with convention obligations. The process itself can generate a host of additional benefits:

UN Charter-Based Bodies
The San Francisco Conference of 1945 resulted in the drafting of the 111-article Charter of the United Nations, which was unanimously adopted in June of that year. There are a number of human rights bodies in the UN system that have their basis in the Charter. The primary overseer of human rights questions is the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) which is authorised to make recommendations to the General Assembly on human rights issues. ECOSOC was also authorised to establish bodies to deal with human rights issue and oversees several committees and commissions, such as the Commission on Human Rights, the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, the Commission on the Status of Women and the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, as well as UN specialized agencies, such as the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

Conferences play a key role in guiding the work of the UN. The UN itself was born out of a conference, when delegates from 50 nations met in San Francisco in April 1945 for the United Nations Conference on International Organization. Generally all types of actors are involved, from Heads of States and government and other high-profile world leaders to intergovernmental organizations and civil society and the private sector. Summit events are an important way of raising public awareness on an issue, and seek to mould opinion and gather political support for the issue at hand. The following document shows how disability has been addressed in the World Conferences, Summits and Special Sessions held under UN auspices in the 1990s until now.

The Commission on Human Rights
The Commission on Human Rights addresses the issue of human rights and disability. The Commission's first resolution was adopted in 1996 at the 52nd session and was only addressed every two years until its 58th session in 2002). Since its 59th session in 2003, the resolution is an annual one.

During the session, governments and NGOs are allowed to make written and oral statements on all issues, including disability and human rights. The following documents record how disability and human rights has been addressed in 2004 and 2005.

61st Session, Commission on Human Rights, 2005 (.DOC/Word 248 Kb)
60th Session, Commission on Human Rights, 2004 (.DOC/Word 444 Kb)
60th Session, Commission on Human Rights, 2004 - Additional Note (.DOC/Word 200 Kb)

Commission on Human Rights Resolution 2005/65 (.DOC/Word 192 Kb)
Commission on Human Rights Resolution 2004/52 (.DOC/Word 192 Kb)
Commission on Human Rights Resolution 2003/49 (.DOC/Word 192 Kb)
Commission on Human Rights Resolution 2002/61 (.DOC/Word 200 Kb)
Commission on Human Rights Resolution 2000/51 (.DOC/Word 192 Kb)
Commission on Human Rights Resolution 1998/31 (.DOC/Word 196 Kb)
Commission on Human Rights Resolution 1996/27 (.DOC/Word 184 Kb)
Commission on Human Rights Resolution 1995/58 (.DOC/Word 184 Kb)
Commission on Human Rights Resolution 1994/27 (.DOC/Word 184 Kb)
Commission on Human Rights Resolution 1993/29 (.DOC/Word 180 Kb)

Special Rapporteurs
The Special Rapporteurs and Independent Experts are appointed by the Commission on Human Rights. These are individual experts with a fixed term, usually of three years, renewable depending on need and the political climate. The Special Rapporteurs may either have country or thematic mandate. With respect to a country mandate, a rapporteur is usually appointed to investigate and report on the situation of human rights in a specific country, usually based on complaints raised in the Commission on Human Rights. With respect to thematic mandates, the Special Rapporteur will investigate specific types of human rights violations that are occurring worldwide. Disability has been considered by the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Housing and the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health. For more information, see www.ohchr.org.