Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 12 December 2006 in resolution A/RES/61/106 and entered into force on 3 May 2008. Its stated purpose is 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 most consequential move is a definition. The Convention recognises disability as an evolving concept resulting from the interaction between persons with impairments and the attitudinal and environmental barriers that hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others. Persons with disabilities are described as including those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which, in interaction with various barriers, may hinder that participation. Locating disability in the interaction rather than in the person is what makes the barriers, and not the person, the thing the treaty obliges states to change.

Article 2 supplies the vocabulary that the rest depends on. Communication covers languages, text display, Braille, tactile communication, large print, accessible multimedia, plain-language and human-reader formats and augmentative and alternative means including accessible information and communication technology. Language covers spoken and signed languages and other forms of non-spoken language. Discrimination on the basis of disability means any distinction, exclusion or restriction on the basis of disability with the purpose or effect of impairing equal enjoyment of human rights, and it explicitly includes the denial of reasonable accommodation. Reasonable accommodation means a necessary and appropriate modification that does not impose a disproportionate or undue burden. Universal design means the design of products, environments, programmes and services usable by all people to the greatest extent possible without adaptation or specialised design.

Article 3 lists eight general principles: respect for inherent dignity, individual autonomy including the freedom to make one's own choices, and independence; non-discrimination; full and effective participation and inclusion in society; respect for difference and acceptance of persons with disabilities as part of human diversity and humanity; equality of opportunity; accessibility; equality between men and women; and respect for the evolving capacities of children with disabilities and for their right to preserve their identities. Article 4 turns those into general obligations, requiring states to adopt legislation, modify or abolish discriminatory laws and practices, mainstream disability rights into all policies, eliminate discrimination by any person or private enterprise, promote universal design and accessible technology, and closely consult with and actively involve persons with disabilities, including children with disabilities, through their representative organisations in decisions that concern them. Economic, social and cultural rights are to be realised progressively to the maximum of available resources.

Two articles carry the Convention's sharpest legal claims. Article 12 states that persons with disabilities have the right to recognition everywhere as persons before the law and enjoy legal capacity on an equal basis with others in all aspects of life, with states required to provide access to the support needed to exercise that capacity and with safeguards that respect the person's rights, will and preferences, are proportional, apply for the shortest time possible and are subject to regular independent review. Article 14 states that the existence of a disability shall in no case justify deprivation of liberty. Alongside them, Article 15 prohibits torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and prohibits medical or scientific experimentation without free consent, and Article 17 states the right to respect for physical and mental integrity on an equal basis with others.

Accessibility and independent living give the Convention its practical shape. Article 9 requires access on an equal basis to the physical environment, transportation, information and communications including information technology, and to other facilities and services open to the public, with obstacles identified and eliminated in buildings, roads, transport, schools, housing, medical facilities, workplaces and emergency services, supported by accessibility standards, training, Braille and easy-to-read signage, live assistance and interpreters. Article 19 recognises the equal right to live in the community with choices equal to others, including choosing where and with whom to live, with in-home and community support including personal assistance, so as to prevent isolation or segregation. Article 20 requires facilitation of personal mobility with the greatest possible independence, at the manner, time and affordable cost of the person's own choice. Article 21 requires public information in accessible formats without additional cost, acceptance of sign languages and Braille in official interactions, and recognition and promotion of the use of sign languages.

The substantive rights then run across every domain of life. They include the inherent right to life and protection in situations of risk including armed conflict, humanitarian emergencies and natural disasters; effective access to justice with procedural and age-appropriate accommodations and trained justice, police and prison staff; protection from exploitation, violence and abuse within and outside the home, with independent monitoring of facilities and recovery services for victims; liberty of movement, choice of residence and nationality, with children with disabilities registered at birth; respect for privacy including protection of personal, health and rehabilitation information; respect for home and family, covering marriage and founding a family by free and full consent, deciding the number and spacing of children, retention of fertility on an equal basis with others, and the rule that no child is separated from parents on the basis of the disability of the child or of a parent; inclusive education in the general system with reasonable accommodation, individualised support, Braille, alternative communication modes, sign language and orientation and mobility skills, taught by trained teachers including teachers with disabilities; health services of the same range and quality as provided to others including sexual and reproductive health, with free and informed consent and prevention of discriminatory denial of care, food or fluids; voluntary habilitation and rehabilitation beginning at the earliest possible stage and available close to the person's own community; the right to work in an open, inclusive and accessible labour market with equal remuneration, reasonable accommodation and protection from forced labour; an adequate standard of living and social protection; political rights including accessible voting procedures, secret-ballot voting without intimidation, holding office and forming organisations of persons with disabilities; and participation in cultural life, recreation, leisure and sport, with recognition of specific cultural and linguistic identity including sign languages and deaf culture, and protection against intellectual property laws that form unreasonable barriers to access.

Three articles deal with making it work. Article 31 requires collection of statistical and research data, disaggregated to identify barriers, subject to data protection and internationally accepted ethical norms, with the resulting statistics made publicly accessible. Article 32 recognises the importance of international cooperation including inclusive and accessible development programmes, capacity-building, research cooperation and technical and economic assistance including technology transfer. Article 33 requires government focal points for implementation, an independent framework to promote, protect and monitor implementation consistent with the principles for national human rights institutions, and the full involvement of civil society, particularly persons with disabilities and their representative organisations, in monitoring.

The institutional clauses establish the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, twelve experts at entry into force rising to eighteen after sixty further ratifications, elected with regard to equitable geographical distribution, representation of different forms of civilisation and legal systems, gender balance and the participation of experts with disabilities. States report within two years of entry into force and at least every four years thereafter, and a biennial Conference of States Parties meets alongside the Committee's biennial reporting to the General Assembly and ECOSOC. Reservations incompatible with the Convention's object and purpose are prohibited. Article 49 requires that the Convention's own text be made available in accessible formats, which is the treaty applying its principle to itself. The Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish texts are equally authentic.