Human rights framework for disabled people

On May 3, the United Nations' Convention on the Human Rights of Persons with a Disability (UNCHRPD) became legally binding after 20 countries ratified the document a month before. This convention is a landmark achievement for disabled people around the world as it affirms that they should have equal human rights and liberties as any other member of society.

Indeed, the convention goes beyond any other document related to disabled people previously issued by the UN as it discards the view of disabled people as "victims" or "patients" but recognises the right of disabled people to be part of the social, economic, civil and political fabric of society.

In fact, this document looks at disability as a human rights issue, acknowledging the social and environmental factors creating disability.

The need for a UN convention that asserted the equal rights of disabled people in society was first expressed by disabled people's organisations and stated in the 2000 Beijing declaration, which kicked off a series of discussions on the contents of the new convention. In fact, the final version of the convention was agreed upon through the involvement of all stakeholders, including member country representatives and disabled people's organisations.

The UN convention is not meant to introduce new rights for disabled people. It aims to give countries clear guidelines on how to ensure that disabled people's rights are safeguarded given that such rights have been overlooked in documents that, in theory, should respect disabled people's rights. Moreover, this document should help world governments to understand in what ways disabled people may be included and how their rights can be better secured. The UN convention is based on eight general principles: respect for inherent dignity; non-discrimination; inclusion and participation in society; respect for human diversity; equality of opportunity; accessibility; equality between men and women and respect of children's evolving identity.

Evidently, these principles affirm the value of diversity by asserting the right of every human being to have access to a good quality of life based on choice and self-determination.

Additionally, the convention establishes concrete ways in which disabled people can attain equal rights by listing specific rights and applications, including: the right to life (article 10); the right to equality before the law (article 12); liberty of movement (article 18); access to education (article 24); access to health (article 25) and access to employment (article 27).

Moreover, the convention recognises the right of disabled people to enjoy political rights (article 29) and the right to independent living and life in the community (article 17).

Malta was one of the first countries to sign the UN convention and its optional protocol on March 30, 2007. This was a positive step in the right direction as by doing so it confirmed its commitment to the inclusion of disabled people in society. Indeed, Malta had already started in asserting the rights of disabled people before the convention even existed as one of the first laws passed in 2000 established the legal framework to guard against the discrimination of disabled people in education, employment, the built environment, leisure and access to services covered by the Equal Opportunities (Persons with a Disability) Act.

Having said that, the UN convention would go one step further by enabling disabled people to have a greater autonomy over their life while increasing their quality of life.

Even if Malta is a signatory to the convention, the island does not have as yet any legal obligation to follow the regulations proposed by the same convention. In fact, in order for our country to fully embrace the principles set forth by the UNHRCPD it needs to ratify the document. The ratification of the convention by Malta becomes more crucial since this convention is now a legally-binding document.

In light of this, it becomes critical for Malta to sustain its support and commitment to disabled people by ratifying the convention as soon as possible. In practice, Malta needs to update existing law and policy to move towards achieving the principles set out by the convention. By doing so, the civil rights enjoyed by Maltese disabled people will be backed up by a human rights framework. Such a move will also ensure that disabled people will have a more equal level playing field in society.

In this way, we would have peace of mind that future governments will be working towards the creation of a better, moor inclusive society. Undeniably, this would require our country to make all necessary changes to certain social structures and systems. However, such a shift will ensure that nobody is left out from having the chance to enjoy a good quality of life.

Mr Cardona is assistant manager (research) of the National Commission Persons with a Disability.