The Convention in Brief
Countries that join in the Convention engage themselves
to develop and carry out policies, laws and administrative measures for
securing the rights recognized in the Convention and abolish laws, regulations,
customs and practices that constitute discrimination.
As a change of perceptions is essential to improve the
situation of persons with disabilities, ratifying countries are to combat
stereotypes and prejudices and promote awareness of the capabilities of persons
with disabilities.
Countries are to guarantee that persons with
disabilities enjoy their inherent right to life on an equal basis with others,
ensure the equal rights and advancement of women and girls with disabilities
(Article 6) and protect children with disabilities.
Children with disabilities shall have equal rights,
shall not be separated from their parents against their will, except when the
authorities determine that this is in the child’s best interests, and in no
case shall be separated from their parents on the basis of a disability of
either the child or the parents.
Countries are to recognize that all persons are equal
before the law, to prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability and
guarantee equal legal protection.
Countries are to ensure the equal right to own and
inherit property, to control financial affairs and to have equal access to bank
loans, credit and mortgages. They are to ensure access to justice on an equal
basis with others, and make sure that persons with disabilities enjoy the right
to liberty and security and are not deprived of their liberty unlawfully or
arbitrarily.
Countries must protect the physical and mental
integrity of persons with disabilities, just as for everyone else, guarantee
freedom from torture and from cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment, and prohibit medical or scientific experiments without the consent
of the person concerned.
Laws and administrative measures must guarantee
freedom from exploitation, violence and abuse. In case of abuse, States shall
promote the recovery, rehabilitation and reintegration of the victim and investigate
the abuse.
Persons with disabilities are not to be subjected to
arbitrary or illegal interference with their privacy, family, home,
correspondence or communication. The privacy of their personal, health and
rehabilitation information is to be protected like that of others .
On the fundamental issue of accessibility, the
Convention requires countries to identify and eliminate obstacles and barriers
and ensure that persons with disabilities can access their environment, transportation,
public facilities and services, and information and communications
technologies.
Persons with disabilities must be able to live
independently, to be included in the community, to choose where and with whom
to live and to have access to in-home, residential and community support services.
Personal mobility and independence are to be fostered by facilitating
affordable personal mobility, training in mobility skills and access to
mobility aids, devices, assistive technologies and live assistance.
Countries recognize the right to an adequate standard
of living and social protection; this includes public housing, services and
assistance for disability-related needs, as well as assistance with
disability-related expenses in case of poverty.
Countries are to promote access to information by
providing information intended for the general public in accessible formats and
technologies, by facilitating the use of Braille, sign language and other forms
of communication and by encouraging the media and Internet providers to make
on-line information available in accessible formats.
Discrimination relating to marriage, family and
personal relations shall be eliminated. Persons with disabilities shall have
the equal opportunity to experience parenthood, to marry and to found a family,
to decide on the number and spacing of children, to have access to reproductive
and family planning education and means, and to enjoy equal rights and
responsibilities regarding guardianship, wardship, trusteeship and adoption of
children.
States are to ensure equal access to primary and
secondary education, vocational training, adult education and lifelong
learning. Education is to employ the appropriate materials, techniques and
forms of communication. Pupils with support needs are to receive support
measures, and pupils who are blind, deaf and deaf-blind are to receive their
education in the most appropriate modes of communication from teachers who are
fluent in sign language and Braille. Education of persons with disabilities
must foster their participation in society, their sense of dignity and self
worth and the development of their personality, abilities and creativity.
Persons with disabilities have the right to the
highest attainable standard of health without discrimination on the basis of
disability. They are to receive the same range, quality and standard of free or
affordable health services as provided other persons, receive those health
services needed because of their disabilities, and not to be discriminated
against in the provision of health insurance .
To enable persons with disabilities to attain maximum
independence and ability, countries are to provide comprehensive habilitation
and rehabilitation services in the areas of health, employment and education.
Persons with disabilities have equal rights to work
and gain a living. Countries are to prohibit discrimination in job-related
matters, promote self-employment, entrepreneurship and starting one’s own
business, employ persons with disabilities in the public sector, promote their
employment in the private sector, and ensure that they are provided with
reasonable accommodation at work
Countries are to ensure equal participation in
political and public life, including the right to vote, to stand for elections
and to hold office.
Countries are to promote participation in cultural
life, recreation, leisure and sport by ensuring provision of television
programmes, films, theatre and cultural material in accessible formats, by
making theatres, museums, cinemas and libraries accessible, and by guaranteeing
that persons with disabilities have the opportunity to develop and utilize
their creative potential not only for their own benefit, but also for the
enrichment of society. Countries are to ensure their participation in mainstream
and disability-specific sports.
Countries are to provide development assistance in
efforts by developing countries to put into practice the Convention.
To ensure implementation and monitoring of the
Convention, countries are to designate a focal point in the government and
create a national mechanism to promote and monitor implementation.
A Committee on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities, made up of independent experts, will receive periodic reports
from States parties on progress made in implementing the Convention (articles
34 to 39).
The full text of the Convention
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