The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol on 13 December 2006. On 30 March 2007 both were opened for signature at United Nations Headquarters in New York. An unprecedented 81 countries signed the Convention on the opening day. But what led to this momentous event?
Before the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, other human rights instruments already addressed disability, either as part of a general focus or more specifically. Some, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights—which together constitute the International Bill of Human Rights—promote and protect the rights of everyone, including persons with disabilities, through the non-discrimination clause. In all three instruments, article 2 obliges States to guarantee human rights without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. The reference to other status encompasses disability as grounds for protection from discrimination.
Specialized human rights treaties, like the Convention against Torture, the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and others, contain provisions protecting against discrimination. The Convention on the Rights of the Child specifically recognizes the need to protect against discrimination on the grounds of disability. It also specifically recognizes the right of the child with a disability to enjoy a full and decent life.
The authoritative statements by the committees supervising the application of human rights treaties (the United Nations treaty bodies) are also important. The most relevant to persons with disabilities are general comments No. 20 (2009) of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which includes disability among the grounds covered by “other status”, and No. 5 (1994), which defines factors causing discrimination against persons with disabilities; general recommendation No. 18 (1991) of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, which addresses the double discrimination affecting women with disabilities (as women and as persons with disabilities); and general comment No. 9 (2006) of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on the rights of children with disabilities.
There have also been regional developments in Africa, the Americas and Europe, such as the Inter-American Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities (1999).
Other relevant human rights instruments are the Declaration on the Rights of Disabled Persons (1975); the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons (1982); and the Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities (1993). Although not legally binding, these instruments, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly, symbolize the moral and political commitment of States to take measures to protect persons with disabilities, including through national legislation and policies.
So, if an international legal framework already existed, why was it necessary to have a convention on the rights of persons with disabilities?
There were different reasons: