Putting fundamental rights of persons with disabilities on the map

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at VerticalNews Health -- Ten years ago this month, the United Nations adopted the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)--a landmark human rights treaty among countries around the world to protect the fundamental rights of all persons with disabilities.

With more than 1 billion people worldwide -- 15 percent of the global population -- living with some form of disability, CRPD has become one of the most rapidly ratified human rights treaties in history. More than 168 countries are now represented.

But have the promises made 10 years ago been kept?

The WORLD Policy Analysis Center at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health produced a far-reaching analysis of countries' efforts, since the adoption of CRPD, to enact and address global rights, laws and policies that affect persons with disabilities.

While progress through the convention and global social movements has occurred, nations still have a long way to go in fulfilling their commitments, the analysis found.

"The United States has strong laws guaranteeing equal rights in education, work, and civic life, which have led to dramatic progress in our lifetime," said Dr. Jody Heymann, founding director of the WORLD Policy Analysis Center and dean of the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. "More recently, the Affordable Care Act significantly reduced barriers to affordable health care for people with disabilities by guaranteeing access to insurance regardless of pre-existing conditions. However, particularly as the ACA and other laws are facing new threats, the importance of a foundation of constitutional equal rights is clear. The U.S. Constitution does not explicitly grant equal rights to persons with disabilities--a critical gap that needs to be addressed."

Only 24 percent of countries in the world have constitutions that specifically prohibit discrimination or guarantee equal rights on the basis of disability.

WORLD examined concrete steps taken by countries to protect the rights of persons with disabilities and reduce inequality. Among the global findings:

Does the constitution guarantee equality and non-discrimination to persons with disabilities?

Is inclusive education available for children with disabilities?

Does the constitution guarantee the right to work for adults with disabilities?

Health

Does the constitution guarantee the right to health for persons with disabilities?

Among countries with constitutions adopted since 2010, 68 percent prohibit discrimination based on disability, while 58 percent guarantee the right to work for adults with disabilities, and 63 percent guarantee the right to education for children with disabilities.

"The WORLD Policy Analysis Center has provided a unique and invaluable resource for anyone interested in disability social justice," said Michael Stein, executive director of the Harvard Law School Project on Disability, who participated in the drafting of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. "The data, which is accessible to all and includes easy to grasp graphics, will be used by rights advocates, policy makers, and researchers, to understand relative progress of laws and policies across the globe."

Heymann summarized the findings, "The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is a promise from our global community to enact and enforce laws that guarantee equality and inclusion. Yet we are far from the world we need -- where every country has ratified the convention and every country that has ratified the convention has guaranteed people with disabilities equal rights, ensured education is fully inclusive, and protected people from discrimination at work."

Keywords for this news article include: Legal Issues, Public Health, University of California - Los Angeles Health Sciences.

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