UN Special Rapporteur on Disability

Sixty-first session of the Commission on Human Rights
Geneva, 11 April 2004

Statement by Ms. Hissa Khalifa bint Ahmed al-Thani
Special Rapporteur on Disability of the United Nations Commission for Social Development

Mr. Chair,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is both an honour and a privilege for me to be invited to address the Commission on Human Rights on the experience I have gained in disability and human rights related issues through monitoring the Standard Rules.
Members of the Commission,
By the most conservative estimates, there are over 600 million people with disabilities—that is approximately 10 per cent of the world’s population. More than 80% of them live in developing countries, and have limited or no access to education, social security, health services, rehabilitation, and employment opportunities necessary to preserve their human dignity and protect their rights.
Only 2 per cent of disabled children in the developing world receive any education or rehabilitation. In too many countries, women with disabilities suffer discrimination, neglect and social exclusion on account of both disability and gender, making their lives both as women and as persons with disabilities untenable, and sometimes leading to psychosocial disabilities.
Studies and data available have established the strong link between poverty and disabilities, where persons with disability suffer from exclusion and neglect even in those societies most committed to the implementation of the Standard Rules.
In the past two decades, the perceptions towards has changed from one rooted in pity and based on charity to one solidly based on rights.

This shift to a rights-based approach is exemplified by the unanimous adoption by the General Assembly of landmark resolution entitled “Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities” (General Assembly resolution 48/96 of 20 December 1993).

The Standard Rules, encompassing 22 Rules, constitute reference guide in identifying State parties’ obligations under the existing human rights instruments. The Standard Rules recognise that disability rights are not about the enjoyment of specific rights by persons with disabilities. They are about ensuring the equal and effective enjoyment of the rights accorded to all persons without social, cultural or physical barriers and obstacles.
The Standard Rules take as their legal and moral foundation the International Bill of Human Rights.

Mr. Chair,
Despite the moral, philosophical and legislative reasons for adopting and implementing the principles of the equalization of opportunities, and despite the presence of the political will to do so on the part of Member States, there are still many barriers and obstacles facing such implementation.
In the last decade, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights has increased its attention to the issue of the human rights of persons with disabilities. The fact that the Special Rapporteur on Disability is invited to address the Commission is a clear indication of the commitment demonstrated by the Commission on Human Rights to advance the rights of persons with disabilities.
However more still needs to be done. Therefore, and in this context, I would like to make the following recommendations to your Commission:

enhancing and further developing the level of cooperation between the Human Rights Commission and Commission for Social Development in monitoring the government action on improving the situation of persons with disabilities and protecting their rights;

and in order to deepen and enhance the place of disability issues on its agenda, and to further express its commitment, I recommend that the Commission:

allocate a separate item and specific day on its agenda for the discussion of disability issues

This has become even more imperative in the light of the drafting of the International Comprehensive and Integral Convention to Protect the Rights and Promote the Dignity of Persons with Disabilities and the wide support that its drafting have received from Member States.

Mr. Chair,
My own monitoring of the Standard Rules has revealed that United Nations agencies and funds such as UNIFEM and UNICEF have not adopted the issues and concerns of women and children with disabilities or given a priority on their agendas. By the same token, a review of the work of disability rights organizations also reveals that the issues of women with disabilities have not been given the needed attention, in same way as organizations working on women’s rights have all but neglected the issues of women with disabilities.

It is for this reason that I stress the point of the rights of women with disabilities in this forum and strongly urge the use of all instruments available through the United Nations system to protect, promote and safeguard those rights.
There is also a great need to articulate and implement a human rights approach to development, and to advocate for the use of human rights instruments, norms and standards as the framework for achieving the equalization of opportunities for persons with disabilities.

In my own advocacy I have been promoting the integration of human rights into a multi-sectoral response to access to health, education, development, and full participation.

Also using a human rights approach, I have advocated for the need for clear and comprehensive legislation to entrench the rights of persons with disabilities into the legal frameworks that govern societies.

I would like to take this opportunity to call on all national human rights committees to include the issues of persons with disabilities at the top of their priority agendas; and to urge development agencies to adopt such a human rights approach to influence development policies and programmes in favour of people with disabilities.

Supported by effective and relevant legislation, the human rights approach to development would guarantee the right of persons, children and women with disabilities, and would afford them a recourse to the law—both national and international laws—when those rights are not met or are violated.
I want to thank you for your time and attention and hope that the rights of persons with disabilities become an integral part of this agenda with the full participation of representatives of the disabilities movement.
Thank you