"The significance of the International Convention on the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities"

H. E. Ambassador Luis Gallegos
Permanent Representative of Ecuador to Australia
Chairperson of the United Nations Ad Hoc Committee on the Comprehensive and Integral International Convention on Protection and Promotion of the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities

I. Background

It is estimated that there are at least 600 million persons with disabilities worldwide, of whom approximately 80 percent live in less-developed countries. As a result of discrimination, segregation from society, economic marginalization, and lack of participation in social, political and economic decision-making processes, this substantial group has been left out of society and its development. In this situation, societies have also been deprived of essential human resources critical for economic and social development. We are all keenly aware of the numerous new and emerging global issues affecting persons with disabilities and the societies in which they live ?those ranging from increased poverty and inequity, escalating situations of armed conflicts, and the continuing threat of the AIDS epidemic, to important technological advances, particularly in information and communications. This complex situation requires more sophisticated norms, processes, institutions and mechanisms capable of effectively addressing the needs of persons with disabilities. The current and future work on the envisaged Convention should take into account this complexity of the world situation and increasing demands to respond to it at all levels?international, national, regional or local.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Despite a great number of barriers that persons with disabilities still face in our society today?barriers consisting of societal prejudice, discrimination, inaccessible environments, lack of support services and economic resources?persons with disabilities are advocating for their full participation in society as equal citizens, with voice and critical perspectives, in both developing and developed countries. They are working with other stakeholders to pursue their equal access to employment, health care, transport, housing, education, culture and other fundamental rights that are universal human rights for all persons.

These rights are experienced and lived in distinct ways by persons with disabilities, who require specific measures to ensure their full and equal participation in society. Growing international understanding of this reality led in 2001 to the current effort by the United Nations to draft an international convention, aimed at translating the needs and perspectives of persons with disabilities into a legal instrument to ensure effective enjoyment of their fundamental, universally-recognized human rights. Accordingly, this instrument critically depends on the active participation and invaluable contributions of persons with disabilities?those who experience first-hand the obstacles and barriers society has erected and thus are uniquely positioned to identify and offer solutions.

Persons with disabilities are prominent leaders in the process of creating this new international human rights instrument. They are enriching every aspect of the discourse on the convention, thereby contributing to promoting the human rights for all persons. In the process, they are changing the way in which the international community views persons with disabilities and their ability to contribute to the broader goals of the United Nations.

II. The Initial Phase in Promoting the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

The United Nations established the Ad Hoc Committee to elaborate the envisaged convention on the basis of many decades of international efforts to promote the rights of persons with disabilities. The commitment of the international community to promote the rights of persons with disabilities is deeply rooted in the goals of the United Nations: realization of the Charter's vision of a just and peaceful world and better standards of life in larger freedoms. The 1970s was marked by a substantial evolution in the thinking about disability issues at the international level, moving from a "medical" model to a human-rights-based model. This evolution manifested itself in a number of United Nations initiatives that incorporated the idea of human rights of persons with disabilities and equalization of opportunities for them.

Through adoption of the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons (1982), the international community redefined disability as part of the international human rights and development agenda. To further international efforts in this field, the Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities (1993) was adopted as a major outcome of the United Nations Decade of Disabled Persons (1982-1993). The Standard Rules provided policy-making guidance and served as a basis for technical and economic cooperation from a human rights perspective. The international policy framework on disability were further advanced by a series of United Nations development conferences and their respective five year reviews, the Millennium Development Goals, and other relevant international commitments.

III. The New Phase in Promotion of the Disability Rights: The Ad Hoc Committee on the International Convention on the Promotion and Protection of Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities

Within this framework, and pursuant to General Assembly Resolution 56/168 in 2001, the international community embarked upon a ground-breaking effort to work on an international convention on the promotion and protection of the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities. This initiative was specifically undertaken within the context of addressing poverty and promoting social integration to create just and equitable societies based on the participation of all citizens as stakeholders. In this sense, it represents a "holistic" approach, taking the disability perspective specifically into account to achieve human rights as well as development for all persons.

In this context, it is indeed encouraging for the international community that leading international development agencies, such as the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank are taking concrete steps to address the social and economic inequalities of persons with disabilities in their global strategy to pursue "poverty alleviation" and to integrate persons with disabilities in their current efforts.
A distinct regional effort by the Japan Program of the Inter-American Development Bank also led to a successful interregional conference last November entitled "Disability and Poverty Reduction: Including Disability in the Development Agenda", attended by distinguished leaders in the disability field from the Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and Caribbean Regions.

We know that Japanese development cooperation activities are also empowering persons with disabilities and their communities worldwide through various forms of assistance, including technical cooperation for strengthening communities in which persons with disabilities live and participate as their full fledged members.
Another exemplary effort has been undertaken in the context of Nordic Development Cooperation during the past decade?a process from which we all have much to learn.
It is a crucial task for all of us to learn how empowerment of persons with disabilities and their communities as both decision-makers and beneficiaries of development could be an entry point for promoting democracy and development, incorporating the ideas of human rights into the practice of development cooperation. In this way the synergy between human rights and development communities will benefit both persons with disabilities and their societies.

IV. Most Recent Developments in the Work of the Ad Hoc Committee

The Committee's recent negotiations on the 30+ draft articles of the envisaged Convention have been marked by a high-degree of consensus and very few contrasted positions. At the same time, it has further brought the voice of the emerging disability movement into the treaty-making process, giving legal expression to the "lived experience" of persons with disabilities, thereby facilitating its translation into policy and other programmatic contexts.

The Ad Hoc Committee concluded its fifth negotiating session last month (4 February). During that session, the Committee addressed issues such as equal recognition before the law, liberty and security of the person, the right to life, freedom from torture or cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment, freedom of expression and opinion and access to information, the right to privacy, independent living and participation in community life. The Committee identified possible approaches and narrowed down options, achieving solid progress on a number of critical issues.

In August of this year the AHC will continue its work in its sixth session. It is expected that there will be consultations and progress by Governments on the draft articles related to women with disabilities, children with disabilities, education, social security, employment, participation in political and public life, participation in cultural life, accessibility, personal mobility and the right to health and rehabilitation.

V. Future of the Convention and "Creating a New Universal Language"

What is the critical significance of the new convention?

The Convention will transform our society into a new community of stakeholders in disability rights through establishment of international legal standards on disability rights. It will clarify the content of human rights as applied to persons with disabilities, providing an authoritative and global reference point for domestic laws and policies. And, crucially, it will provide mechanisms for monitoring States' achievement in this area, providing standards of assessment and a framework for international cooperation.

We may say that developing an international human rights instrument is, in fact, an act of creating a new "universal language" for discussing the ways in which rights can be effectively realized for all persons. The process of developing a convention on the rights of persons with disabilities is in fact a way of translating the lived experience of persons with disabilities into a new language that can be used to ensure their rights in a diversity of contexts and communities, providing a contextual understanding of the lives of persons with disabilities and how they must form part of the development agenda and the implementation of resulting policies and programs.

The human rights of persons with disabilities need to be recognized as first and foremost a "lived experience" that should be realized in practice?in communities, societies and the daily lives of persons with disabilities, especially in the lives of persons with disabilities in developing countries. This approach can be an entry point for realization of a society that values difference and respects the equality of all human beings regardless of that "difference".

We also need to keep in mind that due to the changing nature of disability and how it is inevitably part of any individual's life or of any society, the Convention should be a "living document," allowing interpretation across a variety of contexts, as well as flexible implementation in relation to resources as well as cultural and other environmental specifics.

VI. Effective Implementation and Monitoring of the Future Convention: Building a "new disability community"

As the Ad Hoc Committee continues its work to elaborate an international convention, we must build a "new disability community" for effective implementation and monitoring of the future Convention.

Through the treaty-drafting process, both governmental and non-governmental communities have strongly demonstrated their firm commitment to rectifying the egregious neglect and dehumanizing practices that violate the human rights of persons with disabilities. Future implementation and monitoring of the envisaged convention must be grounded in this unwavering commitment to remove the tangible and intangible "barriers" societies placed in the path of persons with disabilities, contributing to the creation of a fully inclusive society for all persons.

The effectiveness of these efforts, however, depends upon how we strengthen the capacity of society ?and particularly the capacity of persons with disabilities? to use the new convention, in conjunction with international, regional and national human rights standards and development policies and programmes. To do this, we must focus on (1) incorporating the disability perspective into the broader development discourse, as has been done with women and children's perspectives; (2) strengthening our knowledge base on a wide range of disability issues and topics; (3) building our capacity as policy-makers, disability rights advocates and other stakeholders, such that we are able to work together closely, communicating in both "universal"(human rights language) and "specific"(based on the experience of persons with disabilities) languages ; and (4) promoting an open dialogue, well-informed consensus, and collective action?creating a "new community" of stakeholders to bring forth new changes necessary for ensuring the rights of persons with disabilities.

Networking in this new community ?between governments, organizations of persons with disabilities, scholars and practitioners, and academic institutions, as well as other civic groups?will forge a sense of integrated community and prioritize the policy agenda for promoting the rights of persons with disabilities.

We will need to devise viable and forward-looking strategies to maximize the impact of this important tool called an "international convention". We need to be able to utilize this "tool" to bring forth changes in society not only to rectify past discrimination against persons with disabilities, but also to create a society based on justice and equity where differences among individuals ?such as gender, age, disability, religion, political belief or social status? will not hinder their full and effective enjoyment of their universally-recognized human rights.

Conclusion

Without doubt, we are all part of the new emerging "disability movement," consisting of both traditional and non-traditional stakeholders; but we each have our own distinct role in this "new movement." We may be policy makers, disability rights advocates, human rights or development specialists, social workers, scholars or simply concerned individuals, but each of us should provide "an answer" in our own way as to how best to incorporate disability in legislation, policies and programs as well as their effective implementation.

As a means of concluding, I wish to reiterate that the international community, along with disability communities worldwide, have much to gain from the continuing and active participation of Japan in the work of the Ad Hoc Committee and broader disability movement. Our collective commitment to the Ad Hoc Committee's work derives from the fundamental aspiration of all humankind to establish an integrated community based upon the principles of the universality of all human rights and fundamental freedoms. It is that commitment that has made Japan a leader in the disability movement. It is also that commitment that will lead us all to ensure that the disability convention, once adopted and broadly ratified, is implemented in practice in all regions of the world.