Gaetano “Tommy” Barone
Sociology Seminar
Dr. Meritta B. Cullinan
Global Respect and the Rights of the Disabled
There are countless global issues affecting the world today, including global warming,
terrorism and poverty. Citizens of the world continue to be concerned about the environment,
sustainability, the global political climate and the need for alternate sources of energy. And at
the top of the list of global concerns are human rights.
Human rights are so basic to most of us that we take them for granted, yet nearly one-third
of the world’s population lives in poverty, without adequate food, education or health care.
Millions of people in the world do not have clean water to drink, sanitary conditions in which
to live, or the freedom to practice their religious beliefs. Unfortunately, because not all people
in the world have these basic needs met, or protected, they are being denied their basic human
rights.
Many people are discriminated against because of their gender or race, while others face
unfair working conditions, religious persecution, torture and death all because their
governments do not protect their individual human rights. This is especially true of the
disabled. All too often they are discriminated against, are denied benefits, shunned from
working. I believe one of the most important issues in today’s global society is the
compromised rights of the disabled. Not only are their rights not being met, in many corners of
the world, their basic human rights are being trampled upon
Approximately 650 million people live with disabilities, making them the world’s largest
minority. That fact alone is hard to grasp, when you consider that the disabled are rarely
spoken about in global terms. They are virtually an invisible minority. Yet, disabled persons
make up a full ten percent of the world’s population, with almost eighty percent of the disabled
living in under-developed, poverty-stricken countries. Studies show that the disabled are more
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vulnerable to abuse and are more likely to be the victims of acts of violence. They are also
more likely NOT to receive police or legal protection when such incidents occur. The lack of
global respect toward the disabled and the continued denial of their basic human rights are
upsetting to me, not only as a human being, but also as a person with a disability.
Persons with disabilities worldwide, have the right to enjoy the same fundamental rights as
all citizens. They have the same civil and political rights as every other human being. Most
importantly, they have the right to be protected against discrimination, abuse and treatment that
is any less than is offered to their fellow citizens.
In her article, Reconciling Equality to Difference: Caring or
Justice for People with Disabilities, Anita Silvers says she believes that the difference between
the rights of able-bodied, mentally sound human beings as compared to the rights of the
disabled has become a key to moral value throughout the world. “It promotes disparate
treatment,” states Silvers. “People are automatically treated differently based on how they
differ from what is defined as normal in a particular culture.”
Silvers found that differences in people that were distinctive (such as disabilities) had them
categorized in many cultures as part of a “subordinated” group, which was seen as inferior.
Silvers concluded, “From that emerges an alternative system of justice for those who are
labeled subordinates, or in this case, the disabled.”
Even in well educated, forward thinking societies, where poverty is not a daily concern for
most, disabled persons are viewed as inferior. Their pay scale for equal work – if they are able
to get a job - is notoriously lower than their able-bodied co-worker. One of the worst injustices,
is that the disabled’s health insurance is much costlier. This is an added expense to those, who
by virtue of their disability, are more prone to need daily medications in order to function.
Housing is often more expensive, too. As a result of the American with Disabilities Act,
landlords must provide costly accommodations for the disabled, which can mean higher rent.
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In his article. “Nothing About Us Without Us:” Disability Rights in America, Richard K.
Scotch says that historically in the United States, the disabled were perceived as “dependent,
marginal, and often morally questionable minority who required special care but were best kept
out of public life through a combination of charity and social exclusion.” ********* He says
in more recent decades, due to political advocacy by groups of disabled Americans, disability
is now perceived as a result of “the intersection of biological attributes, cultural constructs and
social opportunities, in which the lives of people with disabilities are shaped by the presence or
absence of opportunities and accommodations to their impairments.” In other words, people
with disabilities now, somewhat, have the ability to shape their own lives. It is important to
note that political advocacy by groups of the disabled – like the blind, or deaf, or disabled
veterans – has helped support their independence and self-determination.
Early Self-Advocacy
The oldest American disability, self-advocacy organization is the National Association of
the Deaf (NAD) founded in 1880, in Cincinnati, Ohio. The represented the sector of society
that was profoundly deaf and focused on the education of deaf children. There platform was
based on the fact that they accepted they had interests particular to themselves and would take
care of them by themselves. NAD was active in promoting American sign language and
successful in expanding employment opportunities for the deaf.
An advocacy group for the blind was also formed in the nineteenth century, but no other
organizations for those with disabilities other than deafness or blindness were formed until
much later. This changed early in the twentieth century, with the increase in the number of
people with other impairments and especially after World War II. After the Paralyzed Veterans
of America was formed, a strong parent’s movement was born seeking reform that would
benefit their mentally challenged children – then known as mentally retarded. It ultimately led
to a call for universal education for all children, inclusion of the disabled student and years
later, in 1974, culminated in the passage of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. It
mandated a free and appropriate public education and related services regardless of
impairment. It is important to keep in mind that the first advocacy groups did not form in
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Europe and abroad until the 1980’s. The culmination of this country’s with disabled rights
struggle was the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act(ADA) in 1990, which
guaranteed rights of access and non-discrimination in private employment, public
accommodations, state and local governmental programs and facilities and
telecommunications. ********* Scotch
Attitude is Everything
In as many ways as attitudes toward the disabled have changed over the years, so have they
remained the same. Unfortunately, as a disabled person, I believe the perception of the disabled
as inferior is still alive and well in this country and perpetrated throughout the world. Often a
physically disabled person is labeled by their physical appearance, and most definitely, the
mentally challenged are grouped with all those who are labeled retarded. Perhaps most
offensive is the confusion in the world to distinguish one who is mentally challenged with a
person who is physically challenged. All too often, the two are considered synonymous, or
worse yet, people do not care enough to note the difference. Disabled is disabled is too often
the attitude encountered.
All through elementary school, I competed in the New York State Games for the Physically
Challenged. On my school’s Sports Day, I was asked to bring in the medals I had won at the
games. Each year, the gym teacher would announce that I won the medals at the Special
Olympics. My mother and I explained the difference between the two events many times, yet
to him, they were the same. Disabled was disabled. This is not far from how the group
“Disabled” is seen in the global world. Little distinction is made and even less clarification is
asked for. Not normal, not mainstream, not 100 percent physically able is disabled.
When I was in sixth grade, the same teacher also referred to me as a “weak link” while
explaining how to play dodge ball to the class. It didn’t matter to him that I was taller than all
my classmates and outweighed them by a good twenty pounds. When he looked at me the only
thing he saw was my disability and in his mind, my inferiority to the rest of the class.
Unfortunately, this is a common perception of the disabled across the globe.
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There have been many times in my life when my mother had to right the wrongs that were
imposed on me due to my disability. When I entered kindergarten, as the parent of a child with
a disability, my mother was overlooked and never invited to tour the school, or take part in the
welcome tea the school held for new kindergarten parents. Parents of the “special” children or
“happy kids” (as we were sometimes referred to) were not invited to be chaperones for class
trips either. They were simply not included in school activities. My mom worked hard to fight
those injustices. Maybe we should get her to work on the injustices against the disabled of the
world!
Fighting For Your Child’s Rights
In the article, Discussion Groups with Parents of Children with Cerebral Palsy in Europe
Designed to Assist Development of a Relevant Measure of Environment, the authors gathered
parents of disabled children, in this case, specifically cerebral palsy, to meet and discuss the
negative environmental factors relevant to their physically impaired children and their quality
of life. The fact that this meeting took place is a good indicator that this is a real world issue.
The parents were from five countries; Denmark, France, Italy, Ireland and Sweden. They were
specifically asked to discuss bureaucracy and access to information about their children’s
rights and entitlements. The group was called together because there was concern that the
human rights of the children were not being met and that their disability was the cause. `
The study showed difficulties with bureaucracy in all countries, where a barrier was
imposed on obtaining financial support for their disabled children. Sadly, most countries do not
have agencies specifically designed to disseminate information to those in need. In fact,
information is hard for families to access at all and often time governments are unwilling to
spend money on those they feel are a sub-standard class of citizens. They do not offer funding
to the disabled, or have specific programs in place to accommodate those with special needs. It
comes as no surprise that in these countries rarely do they enforce and protect the rights of the
disabled, nor do they meet their most basic human needs
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Some countries do not have special needs schools. The parents said they found it especially
difficult to even find schools equipped to educate their children. Most were forced to send their
children to mainstream schools where they were taught by educators who had no experience or
skill with their special needs children. This also robs the disabled child of the vital, social
environment every child is entitled to.
Dr. Sumi Colligan, Professor of Anthropology at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts,
concludes that, “Historical, economic, political and cultural factors and forces have contributed
to significant inequalities in the lives of disabled persons worldwide.” She states that they
include “inaccessibility, uneven geographies, underdevelopment, globalization, warfare, a
burgeoning refugee population, indigenous beliefs and practices, and cultural representations.”
Approximately 80% of all disabled people live in the Third World. These countries are
already resource poor and that has produced disability by generating inadequate food supplies,
unsanitary living conditions and unsafe working conditions. It has also “stripped these
countries of assets necessary to guarantee disabled citizens integration and selfdetermination.”
In her study, Colligan surveyed the global landscape. She found that in many countries, the
culture relies on a premise that equates equality with sameness, which determines an
individuals’ worth. In some war-torn countries the disabled are also separated according to
specific disabilities. The countries that insist upon war-preparedness place an emphasis on
physical fitness, so those who are disabled, or not physically-abled, are classified as second
class citizens. Some countries even make physical fitness a requirement for full citizenship. A
soldier who returns from the war disabled is often hailed a hero, which generates a two-tier
system leaving the other physically disabled non-military individuals at the bottom of the pack.
Injustice against the disabled is evident worldwide. It takes the form of anti-social
structuring, unequal pay for equal work and a classification system with a negative impact on
those with limitations. Even though they are wrong, to put it in perspective, these injustices do
not injure, or take a life. These are for the most part, disrespected, ignored rights that we as a
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people can fight for, but more importantly, there are also brutal, unimaginable injustices to
individuals with disabilities that go on every day throughout the world.
Willowbrook – A Name Etched in the Wall of Shame
Some forty years later, the name Willowbrook still conjures up images of some of the
worst injustices committed against those with disabilities. In 1972, Geraldo Rivera, a reporter
for television station WABC in New York, conducted a series of investigations at
Willowbrook, a state run facility for the disabled in Staten Island. He uncovered deplorable
conditions. There were inadequate sanitary facilities and overcrowding of its 6,000 residents.
Reports also came in indicating that the residents were being physically abused by their
caregivers. The school staff was found to have often ignored the resident’s need for bathroom
privileges, leaving them to sit and play in their own waste. The residents were not offered even
the most standard of human rights in regard to their care.
The shocking discovery resulted in a class-action lawsuit filed against the State of New
York in federal court. A settlement in the case was reached on May 5, 1975, mandating
reforms at the site, but several years would elapse before all of the violations were corrected.
The publicity generated by the case was a major contributing factor to the passage of a federal
law, called the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act of 1980.********
The Act (CRIPA) basically authorizes the Attorney General to conduct investigations and
litigation relating to conditions of confinement in state or locally operated institutions.
(Unfortunately, he statute does not cover private facilities). After investigation, it is determined
whether or not there is a “pattern of practice of violations of residents’ federal rights – which
include their civil and human rights, as well.
Since the enactment of the statute, more than 430 facilities in 39 states The Commonwealth
of Puerto Rico, The Commonwealth of the Mariana Islands, Guam and the Virgin Islands. As a
result, tens of thousands of institutionalized persons who were living in horrid, often lifethreatening conditions now receive the adequate care and live in acceptable conditions. The
report goes on to say that the Act has been instrumental in “enforcing the right of the
institutionalized persons with disabilities to receive adequate habilitation and active
treatment…to be served in the most integrated setting appropriate to their needs.” The Act
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follows the path of educational guidelines that state a child with a disability must be educated
in the least restrictive environment. In other words, the least restrictive would be a mainstream
classroom, with no adaptations. If that is deemed inappropriate, then the next step would be a
mainstream classroom with an aide for the student. If more adaptations are needed, the next
step would be a Special Education classroom, and so on, until the least restrictive setting for
that specific child’s education is found.
One of the most important factors has been the implementation of a standard, whereby
complaints made by residents, staff and family are reviewed anyone deemed to have
knowledge about the conditions of the institutions are also interviewed.
It is hopeful to note that in the past forty years, many other states have enacted similar
legislation and for the more part, conditions in this country have improved for those
institutionalized. Perhaps, that gives us hope for the rest of the world, who has committed
horrific injustices against the disabled for too long.
The world became tragically aware of the injustices forced on individuals with disabilities
when we learned of the horrific fate of disabled children in Romania in the early 1990’s. After
the fall of communism, the world became aware of abused children living in deplorable
conditions in state-run Romanian orphanages. As Razvan Amariei states in his article,
Including the Excluded, “The Communist regime in Romania went to great lengths to make
those suffering from mental illness and intellectual disabilities suffer more.” ********
Amariei explains that in mot communist countries the official government policy towards the
disabled was to hide them, thereby virtually ignoring their existence. Their archaic
governments would never think to admit that their countries had the same proportion of
disabled as Western countries. Their solution offered two options: the disabled person could
stay with their family, who were to hide them from the eyes of their neighbors, or they could
be warehoused in state institutions. This was basically the same as being abandoned to a place
where the conditions were certainly similar to that of a prison camp.
When the reality of life inside the institutions of Romania was uncovered, the Romanian
president was incarcerated. The images of those disabled children who were taken from their
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families and placed in institutions, in a move to create a perfect society, free of inferior beings,
were heart-wrenching. At the time, there was an outpouring of humanity across the world from
thousand of organizations. Many children were taken from the orphanages and adopted into
kind, loving homes. Americans were especially humane and there were droves of families who
traveled to Romania to adopt. Many became aware of the deplorable living conditions of the
disabled children and their gloomy fate after watching the popular television news show 20/20.
That was how my parents learned about the situation and they immediately decided to help.
Within a few short months, they contacted a social worked to facilitate an adoption, filed all
the necessary papers with Immigration and Naturalization Services and were set to fly to
Romania to adopt a six-month-old baby boy. I was about five-years-old at the time and excited
at the prospect of being an older brother. Of course, I didn’t understand the magnitude of what
my parents were trying to accomplish and neither did they. Unfortunately, the day before they
were scheduled to leave, Romania closed down adoptions, unable to handle the onslaught of
helping hands entering their country. While reports claim that thousands of children were
successfully adopted, it is unclear how many ever went on to live healthy lives, able to free
themselves of the scars of their childhood.
My parents eventually adopted my brother from Ukraine about two years later. Although he
also lived his first three years in an orphanage, Ukraine - the first to cecede from the Former
Soviet Union – did not institutionalize their disabled arbitrarily, rather their orphanages were
full of children whose parents were not able to afford to keep them. During the month my
parents spent in Ukraine for the adoption process, they saw many disabled people incorporated
in mainstream society. Their rights were obviously being met and their lives were valued in a
way the disabled never enjoyed in Romania.
Romania Revisited - Injustices Prevail
It is sad to learn from Amariei’s article that fourteen years after the fall of Communism,
former Communist countries, like Romania and Russia, still have institutions for the disabled
that are no more than dumping grounds. “While conditions in some state institutions have
improved somewhat, in one vital sense they remain unchanged,” said Amariei. “Their primary
function is still to keep their residents away from “normal” people.
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Most people assume the situation got better, but again in 2006, the Mental Disability Rights
International, detailed the horrible, continued abuse of handicapped children in Romanian
institutions. The organization found 46 disabled children and teenagers ages 7 to 17, inside a
hidden ward at a psychiatric hospital for adults. Many of them had cerebral palsy and had been
abandoned by parents, having been told their children were "biological garbage."
It is reported that many children continue to be placed in smaller but still sub-standard
institutions. According to a report released recently by Mental Disability Rights International, a
group based in the United States, Romania is still warehousing disabled children. Those who
are providing care, though they are dedicated to the children, are overwhelmed. At an
institution in Timisoara, outside the capital city, it was reported that one nurse and three other
staff members were giving round-the-clock care of 65 children. Literally, the staff could do
nothing more than feed the children and change their diapers. It was reported that some
children did not leave their cribs for years, and some were tied down. Sadly they did not cry,
because they learned that crying did not bring a response. Investigators also looked at several
adult psychiatric facilities that housed children in unspeakable conditions, with teenagers
confined to cribs, still wearing diapers. *********** Romanian orphanages ny times
As of 2006, although the number of Romanian children living in orphanages and institutions
has dropped by more than 60 percent, those who are still cared for by the state are not well
cared for. They are not nourished adequately, schooled effectively, or given a valued place in
their culture’s society. Today, abominations against the disabled persist not just in Romania,
but in many countries around the world.
There Is Some Good News
Since the mid 1990’s, organizations have sprung up in many regions of the world, to
challenge the idea that the disabled are less than valuable members of society. They are
focusing on advocacy for the disabled, and are working hard to reintegrate former patients of
facilities into the mainstream. While the current, unacceptable conditions still exist in
Timisoara, Romania, it is hopeful to learn that in that same city, there is a leading institution
dealing with alternate approaches for caring for the disabled.
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The Pentru Voi Center was started by a group of parents whose children have intellectual
disabilities. Their self-help initiative has become a cry against the traditionally hostile attitudes
toward the handicapped. What started as a simple day care center for their children, has now
become a place for not only the young, but it provides care for the children who eventually
become adults, too. So successful was the program, that in 1997, they persuaded the city
council to cover their basic operating expenses. The public budget now covers food, heating,
water, wages, electricity and the gas for the minibus that carries the children. It is the first such
alternative care facility of its kind in Europe.
The Center teaches its patients much more than the basic education skills, too. Here, the
disabled are trained in special skills, in hopes of finding work and they are coached on their
interpersonal skills as well as how to care for themselves hygienically. The 110 patients – or
clients, as they are called – are divided according to their abilities and there are eleven
instructors on staff, as well as additional caregivers. The Center also houses a copy shop and
sells products produced by its clients. For those clients who are ready to venture out on their
own, the Center’s Foundation provides protected housing.
For the children of Timisoara, it’s been a long road back from the horrors committed against
the disabled of the not so distant past, but at least their future is bright. However, overcoming
the social stigma will probably prove to be the hardest test. At least, in Timisoara there is hope,
something not found in the lives of Africa’s disabled.
Affording Africa’s Disabled Their Rights
Africa not only has the greatest burden of disease of any nation, it also has some of the most
poorly resourced health services in the world, as reported in Realizing the Rights of Disabled
People in Africa, an article released in 2009. In it, the authors point out that people with
disabilities have greater needs for health services and quite specific requirements to assist them
with rehabilitation and coping with the environment they live in. They stress that the disabled
have the right to education, social services, transportation, employment and equitable and
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equally accessible health services. They stress that all these components are an essential part
of being a valued and meaningful participant in society.********
Although global acts for the rights of the disabled have produced some success in Africa,
they contend that most efforts fell short of their objective. While solutions were offered, they
were global and general and based on the assumption that economic and technical resources
were available – not so in Africa, where those two fundament resources are lacking. The article
contends that it is the obligation of high income countries to not only ensure that the rights of
the disabled are met in their own countries, but to also imperative that they assist in
implementing and ensuring those rights in low income countries, as well. “Disability and
development is now everyone’s responsibility.” ********* They argue that the disabled
people of Africa are not included in international development work when implementing the
stipulations of the Rights of the Disabled Acts.
In Africa, the historical exclusion of people with disabilities from society still persists.
There remain physical and social barriers to inclusion with the general population and not
much hope for that to change without intervention from wealthier nations. In fact, it is one
thing to be aware of a situation, but something entirely different from being able to implement
the necessary changes to correct that situation.
When the nation, as a whole, is desperate for clean water, how can we ensure that the rights
of the disabled, which includes clean water can be met? When the whole population is
suffering injustices due to their economic status, how can we hope to ensure justice for the
minority – the disabled? AfriNEAD is a start. It is a grass roots project with many partners and
collaborators organized to address the needs of people with disabilities in Africa. It seeks to
“achieve this by assisting in translating existing as well as new research in the disability arena
into meaningful, evidence-based advocacy, practice and products which can inform policy.
What is unique about this project is that it seeks to isolate obstacles and barriers within an
African context. The project has rightfully determined that while the Persons with Disabilities
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Rights Act may work in some nations, in theirs is hasn’t. The needs of the African disabled are
in some ways different and the path to solutions is decidedly different that it is for other
nations.
The project seeks to measure disability, thus implementing a chart by which health care
services may effect change. There is also a call to involve the disabled in their quest for
solutions. After all, who better to discuss the needs of the disabled then those who are
disabled? Who better to shed light on where the barriers exist than those who encounter them
every day? I think it’s brilliant and hope that this nation of such a strong population of disabled
emerges successful in its efforts to ensure the rights of their population as a whole and of the
disabled as a specific, valuable group.
Some Disabled Can’t Talk – But Money Does
Economics do enter into the global issue of respect for the disabled. It does cost to care for
the disabled and provide what their basic human rights entitle them to – but no more than it
costs to give those same rights to a person who does not have a disability.
I found a very interesting table of facts issued by the Inter Press Service, on their Website
Global Issues. The chart details global spending and the results are embarrassing.
Global Priorities in Spending 1988
Global Priority
Cosmetics in the United States
$U.S. Billions
8
Ice cream in Europe
11
Perfumes in Europe and the United States
12
Pet foods in Europe and the United States
17
13
Global Priority
Business entertainment in Japan
$U.S. Billions
35
Cigarettes in Europe
50
Alcoholic drinks in Europe
105
Narcotics drugs in the world
400
Military spending in the world
780
Estimated Additional Costs to Achieve Universal Access to Basic Social Services in
Developing Countries
Global Priority
Basic education for all
$U.S. Billions
6
Water and sanitation for all
9
Reproductive health for all women 12
Basic health and nutrition
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The article India: No Place to be Disabled In, acknowledges that India has passed laws for
equal opportunities and rights for persons with disabilities in 1995, but in spite of taking more
steps than some of the other developing countries, India still has 60 million physically
challenged individuals, who remain hugely disadvantaged.
There are reportedly no options in wheelchair production, especially for children, and no
guaranteed supply of whatever is available, reports K.N. Gopinath, Assistant Director of the
Bangalore-based Association of People with Disabilities (APD). This is a national organization
working to empower the physically challenged of India. Of those who do have wheelchairs, or
similar adaptive devices, only about 15 percent of the loco-motor disabled in India are able to
use public transportation. That is compared to over 65 percent of disabled populations in
developed countries. The rest of the disabled are left to struggle to commute daily, or they
surrender and are immobile. That is sad when you consider that India's social support network
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of family and friends is much stronger than in developed nations. There is little barrier-free
access to public facilities which makes it almost impossible to have the disabled out in public.
Few are able to leave their homes and most are not educated in a public setting.
Around the world, the mentally and physically challenged are subject to a variety of
mistreatment and abuse as a result of their disabilities. There is no legal statute to establish the
disabled as a “social group” eligible for asylum under the Immigration and Nationality Act.
Often, especially in under-developed, third world countries, the disabled do not even count
as people. Children born blind or deaf are taken from their families and housed in orphanages,
specifically for the disabled. Eugenics programs are still present in many countries, whereby
the disabled are forcefully sterilized. ************* Gopinath contends that such acts have
been defined by the courts as a form of persecution and therefore entitles the group to be
categorized as a group and receive asylum in the United States.
The United Nations To The Rescue
Today, there is some hope to turn these injustices around. There is an emerging, significant
and expanding global disability rights movement that is seeking recognition from national and
international bodies, demanding that disability rights be recognized as human rights. The
United Nations has a program hoping to make strides toward ensuring and protecting the rights
of the disabled around the world. The United Nations, Enable, is a program that is fighting hard
for the rights and dignity of all people with disabilities. They are striving to right the wrong
and erase this global concern of injustice toward the disabled.
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Person with Disabilities (UNCRPD)
requires that all governments take action to ensure that the human rights of people with
disabilities are realized. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its
Optional Protocol was adopted in December 2006 at the United Nations Headquarters in New
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York. There were 82 signatories to the Convention, 44 signatories to the Optional Protocol, and
one ratification of the Convention. This is the highest number of signatories in history to a
United Nations Convention on its opening day. It is also the first comprehensive human rights
treaty of the 21st century.
The Convention marks a positive shift in attitudes and approaches to persons with
disabilities. It takes to a new height the movement from viewing persons with disabilities as
"objects" of charity, medical treatment and social protection towards viewing persons with
disabilities as "subjects" with rights, who are capable of claiming those rights and making
decisions for their lives based on their free and informed consent as well as being active
members of society.*******************
The Convention is first intended as a human rights instrument. It adopts a broad categorization
of persons with disabilities and reaffirms that all persons with all types of disabilities must
enjoy all human rights and fundamental freedoms. It clarifies and by doing so, qualifies how all
categories of rights apply to persons with disabilities. It also identifies areas where adaptations
have to be made for persons with disabilities to effectively exercise their rights. It also clearly
highlights areas where the rights of the disabled have been violated, and where protection of
rights must be reinforced. Interestingly, the Convention was negotiated during eight sessions of
an Ad Hoc Committee of the General Assembly from 2002 to 2006, making it the fastest
negotiated human rights treaty.
What I love is that the treaty specifically addresses the disabled person’s rights in countries
like Croatia, Cambodia, Iran, Brazil, Korea, Slovenia and Turkey, to name a few.
Article 1 - Purpose
The purpose of the present Convention 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.
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Persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual or
sensory impairments which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and
effective participation in society on an equal basis with others.
The first article is so important, because it not only states the purpose of the Act, it also
stands to define disabled. It shows those who must be included in the positives of the act, not
only the mentally and physically challenged, but also those with long-term conditions that
impair their participation in society. It also addresses “universal design,” meaning that the
design of products or programs, environments or services must be usable and accessible to all
people, “to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaption.” That means
communication must include all languages, the display of text, Braille and large print. As
someone who is visually impaired, just in theory, this means an ease of an everyday barrier for
me. It is disheartening to learn as a student with such a disability, that my text books were not
available in large print.
When the United Nation’s Enable speaks about ensuring “reasonable accommodations" to
those with disabilities, I think about the simple things that can easily be put into play so that
children with disabilities all over the world can enter a school building without the physical
barriers that now keep them out. Simply put, it aims to ensure to persons with disabilities “the
enjoyment or exercise on an equal basis with others of all human rights and fundamental
freedoms.”
The next is perhaps, the most needed through the world:
Article 3 - General principles
The principles of the present Convention shall be:
A. Respect for inherent dignity, individual autonomy including the freedom to make
one's own choices, and independence of persons
B. Non-discrimination
C. Full and effective participation and inclusion in society
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D. Respect for difference and acceptance of persons with disabilities as part of
human diversity and humanity
E. Equality of opportunity
F. Accessibility
G. Equality between men and women
H. Respect for the evolving capacities of children with disabilities and respect for
the right of children with disabilities to preserve their identities.
Imagine being able to wipe out the historic wrongs of so many with the guidelines the United
Nations has put forth. Disabled people would no longer have to live in shame, or as invisible
members of a society that has all too often rejected them.
Granted, this is no easy task. Governments will have to actively work to ensure and promote
the full realization of all human rights and fundamental freedoms for all persons with
disabilities without discrimination of any kind. To do this, they must now adopt appropriate
legislation and administrative policies to implement the rights of the disabled. That means first
abolishing those laws and regulations and practices that discriminate against those with
disabilities. They will also have to promote research – which may prove costly – regarding the
development of universally designed goods, services, equipment and facilities, which would
require the minimum possible adaptation at the least cost to meet the specific needs of a person
with disabilities.
One of the things which I feel will make the most difference, will be to promote the training
of professionals and staff working with persons with disabilities, so they can better provide the
assistance and services which would be guaranteed by those rights.
What will be the toughest, especially in under-developed, economically-challenged nations,
will be to have resources available and accessible to persons with disabilities. Programs will
have to be funded and in most cases established so that services are readily available to the
handicapped.
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As long as negative attitudes and perceptions towards persons with disabilities still exist in
the world, we have work to do as a people. This issue concerns us globally, for there is not a
country, not a culture, not a religion that is untouched by disability. In the United States, we
have 54 million persons with disabilities. We have made great strides as a nation toward
promoting and assuring the rights of the disabled. I feel it is our responsibility to lead the rest
of the world toward a more fair, balanced, equal place for all. While negative attitudes may be
hard to change, researchers suggest that “one of the most effective methods for doing so is to
provide new information that challenge existing beliefs.” I think it is our responsibility to do
that. We owe it to the world and especially to those who face the challenges of their disabilities
every day.
References
(2006, May 14). Romania's Orphanages, Continued. New York Times, p. 11. Retrieved
from Academic Search Premier database.
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