UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

1
UN Conventionon theRights of Personswith
Disabilities

• Applying the CRPD in the real world ofWork and
  Employment
• Barbara Murray, ILO
• Workability International Annual Conference,
  Stockholm, 2007

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Overview

• The CRPD in brief
• CRPD provisions on workand employment
• What are the next steps?
• Relevant ILO initiatives
• What will the CRPD mean in practice?

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UN Convention on Rights of Persons with
Disabilities(CRPD) 2006

• Work on developing the Convention startedin 2003
  
• Governments negotiated, though significant role
  played by Civil Society particularly DPOs
• Adopted by the UN plenary 13 December 2006
• Convention open for signature and ratification
  from 30 March 2007
• Entry into force once ratified by 20 countries

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CRPD Overview

• Women and men with all types of disability to
  benefit from the rights enshrined in existing
  human rights instruments
• CRPD provides details on how States can promote
  this through
• Preamble
• 50 Articles
• Optional Protocol
• No new rights
• Social development emphasis

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Scope of the Convention
Comprehensive Convention, including provisions
for

• Awareness-raising
• Accessibility
• Right to life
• Situations of risk and humanitarian emergencies
• Equal recognition before the law
• Access to justice
• Liberty and security of the person
• Freedom from torture or cruel or degrading
  treatment or punishment
• Freedom from exploitation, violence and abuse
• Protecting the integrity of the person
• Liberty of movement and nationality
• Living independently and being included in the
  community
• Personal mobility

• Freedom of expression and opinion,and access to
  information
• Respect for privacy
• Respect for home and family
• Education
• Health
• Habilitation and rehabilitation
• Work and employment
• Adequate standard of living and social protection
• Participation in political and public life
• Participation in cultural life, recreation,
  leisure and sport
• Statistics and data collection
• International cooperation
• National implementation and monitoring
• International Monitoring

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CRPD Overview Principles

• Respect for inherent dignity, individual autonomy
• Non-discrimination
• Full and effective participation and inclusion in
  society
• Respect for difference persons with disabilities
  as part of human diversity
• Equality of opportunity
• Accessibility
• Equality between men and women
• Respect for evolving capacities of childrenwith
  disabilities

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CRPD OverviewDefinition of persons with
disabilities

• 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.

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CRPD - Work and Employment

• Based on Universal Declaration of Human Rights
  Art 23 (Right to Work)
• States Parties recognize the right of persons
  with disabilities, to work on an equal basiswith
  others
• Right to opportunity to gain a living by work
  freely chosen or accepted in a labour market and
  work environment that is open, inclusive and
  accessible

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CRPD - Work and Employment (2)

• States Parties shall safeguard and promote
  realization of the right to work by taking steps
  to
• Prohibit discrimination in all aspects and forms
  of employment
• Protect the right, on equal basis, to just and
  favourable conditions of work on equal basis with
  others
• Ensure exercise of trade union rights on equal
  basis with others
• Promote employment opportunities and career
  advancement in the labour market, as well
  assistance in finding, obtaining, maintaining and
  returning to employment
• Promote opportunities for self-employment,
  entrepreneurship
• Employ persons with disabilities in public sector
  
• Promote employment in the private sector
• Ensure reasonable accommodation is providedin
  workplace

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CRPD - Work and Employment (3)

• Vocational training
• Ensure persons with disabilities are able to
  access to general tertiary education, vocational
  training, adult education and lifelong learning
  without discrimination, on equal basis with
  others (Art 24.5)
• Ensure that reasonable accommodation is provided
  (Art 24.5)
• Enable effective access to general technical and
  vocational guidance programmes, placement
  services and vocational and continuing training
  (Art 27.1 d)
• Promote vocational and professional
  rehabilitation, job retention and return-to-work
  programmes (Art 27.1 k)
• Work experience
• Promote acquisition of work experience open
  labourmarket (Art 27.1 j)

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CRPD - Work and Employment (4)

• Habilitation and rehabilitation (Art 26.1)
• Enable people with disabilities to attain and
  maintain maximum independence, full physical,
  mental, social and vocational ability and full
  inclusion and participation in all aspects of
  life, by organizing strengthening and extending
  comprehensive habilitation and rehabilitation
  services and programmes
• beginning at earliest possible stage
• based on multidisciplinary assessment
• supporting participation and inclusion in the
  community and all aspects of society
• available as close as possible to own
  communities, including in rural areas

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CRPD Next Steps

• Entry into force, once 20 countries have ratified
  
• 4 ratifications to date
• Legally binding on ratifying States
• Shift to human rights approach - new in many
  countries
• Progressive implementation
• International technical cooperation central for
  developing countries
• Establishment of national monitoring mechanism
• International Monitoring
• Committee on the Rights of Persons with
  Disabilities
• Reporting by States Parties
• Conference of States Parties
• Optional Protocol
• Committee may receive and consider communications
  from or on behalf of individuals or groups of
  individuals who claim tobe victims of a
  violation by a State Party to the provisionsof
  the Convention

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UN agencies and the CRPD

• ILO, World Heath Organization, UNESCO
  long-standing involvement in disability issues
• World Bank actively promoting consideration of
  disability issues in lending and technical work
• All UN agencies to include disability component
  across all development activities
• Interagency mechanism to be established to
  promote this

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ILO initiatives relevant to CRPD

• Promotion of equality of opportunity and
  treatment for disabled persons - in particular
  through
• Capacity-building disability legislation
• Database on disability legislation and policy
• Pilot testing Disability Inclusion strategy -
  developing countries guidelines in development
• Guidelines on inclusive vocational training- in
  development
• Skills development through Community-based
  Rehabilitation guide in development
• Continuing promotion of ILO conventionNo. 159,
  and recommendations No. 99 and 168

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What will the CRPD meanin practice?

• Changes required - including in
• Roles of
• special disability agencies, service providers
• mainstream agencies, service providers
• disability advocates
• Involvement of social partners
• Employers
• Trade unions
• Civil society
• Certain types of services and programmes
• Sheltered Employment
• Vocational training

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What else will this meanin practice?

• Discussion and action needed, among other
  matters, on

• Employability
• Productivity
• Working conditions

• Attitudes
• Accessibility
• Reasonable accommodation

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Read the CRPD in full at

• http//www.un.org/disabilities/convention/