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United Nations
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By virtue of being citizens of their own country, persons with disabilities should be accorded the same rights as non-disabled citizens in relevant international legal instruments and their application - or incorporation - in national legislation. In other words, people with disabilities should be accorded the best possible protection of their rights by the best possible law.
International treaties which address disability issues include: (a) the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights;6 (b) the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights;7 (c) the Convention on the Rights of the Child;8 (d) the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women;9 (e) the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment;10 (f) the Convention concerning Discrimination in Respect of Employment and Occupation, International Labour Organization Convention No.111;11 (g) the Convention concerning Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment, International Labour Organization Convention No.159;12 (h) the Convention concerning Vocational Guidance and Vocational Training in the development of Human Resources, International Labour Organization Convention No.142;13 and (i) the Convention against Discrimination in Education.14
All international human rights instruments protect the rights of persons with disabilities based on the principles of equality and non-discrimination. General, universal and regional human rights instruments include the Universal Declaration of Human Rights15, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Recent international human rights instruments which have provisions concerning persons with disabilities include: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (article 25, "right to an adequate standard of living"): the Convention on the Rights of the Child (article 23); the African Charter of Human and People's Rights16 (art. 18(4)); and the draft Optional Protocol to the Convention on Human Rights in the area of economic, social and cultural rights17. Moreover, provisions protecting members of vulnerable population groups, which are included in basic human rights instruments, are also applicable to disabled persons.
In addition, a General Comment on persons with disabilities has been adopted by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights18. General Comments are authoritative statements of the Committee of its understanding of a set of rights enshrined in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which are used to measure the level of compliance of States Parties with regard to the specific rights contained in the Covenant.
International human rights treaties are binding on States Parties that have signed and ratified the instruments. Some universal instruments, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and some specific provisions, such as the principle of non-discrimination, have become part of international law and are considered binding on all States, even those that have not ratified a human rights treaty.
There has been growing recognition in contemporary international law that all States should incorporate human rights standards in their national legislation. While the means chosen to promote the full realization of economic, social and cultural rights of persons with disabilities will differ from one country to another, there is no country in which a major policy or programme effort is not required. The obligation of States Parties to the international human rights instruments to promote the progressive realization of the relevant rights to the maximum of their available resources clearly requires Governments to do much more than merely abstain from taking measures which might have a negative impact on persons with disabilities. The Charter of the United Nations itself identifies fundamental obligations of Member States to ensure the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all.19
International instruments, such as declarations, resolutions, principles, guidelines and rules, are not technically legally binding. They express generally accepted principles and represent a moral and political commitment by States to enhance the status of persons with disabilities. They also can be used as guidelines for States in enacting legislation and formulating policies concerning persons with disabilities.
Disability-specific international instruments concerning the rights of disabled persons have also been adopted at the international level. Unlike the aforementioned international legal instruments, they are declarations, resolutions and guidelines adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations that are legally non-binding. The instruments include: the Declaration of the Rights of Mentally Retarded Persons,20 the Declaration on the Rights of Disabled Persons21, the World Programme of Action of Action concerning Disabled Persons22, the Tallinn Guidelines for Action on Human Resources Development in the Field of Disability23, the Principles for the Protection of Persons with Mental Illness24, and the Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities.25
6 Adopted by the General Assembly in its resolution 2200A (XXI) of 16 December 1966, entry into force: 23 March 1976. Available at: http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/a_ccpr.htm
7 Adopted by the General Assembly in its resolution 2200A (XXI) of 16 December 1966, entry into force: 3 January 1976. Available at: http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/a_cescr.htm
8 Adopted by the General Assembly in its resolution 44/25 of 20 November 1989, entry into force: 2 September 1990. Available at: http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/k2crc.htm
9 Adopted by the General Assembly in its resolution 34/180 of 18 December 1979, entry into force: 3 September 1981. Available at: http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/e1cedaw.htm
10 Adopted by the General Assembly in its resolution 39/46 of 10 December 1984, entry into force: 26 June 1987. Available at: http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/h_cat39.htm
11 Adopted by the General Conference of the International Labour Organization on 25 June 1958, entry into force: 15 June 1960. Available at: http://ilolex.ilo.ch:1567/scripts/convd.pl?C111
12 Adopted by the General Conference of the International Labour Organization on 1 June 1983, entry into force: 20 June 1985. Available at: http://ilolex.ilo.ch:1567/scripts/convd.pl?C159
13 Adopted by the General Conference of the International Labour Organization on 4 June 1975, entry into force: 19 June 1977. Available at: http://ilolex.ilo.ch:1567/scripts/convd.pl?C142
14 Adopted by the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization on 14 December 1960, entry into force: 22 May 1966. Available at: http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/d_c_educ.htm
15 Adopted by the General Assembly in its resolution 217A (III) of 10 December 1948.
16 Opened for signature on 26 June 1981; entry into force: 21 October 1986.
17 Report of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights on its fourteenth and fifteenth sessions, Official Records of the Economic and Social Council, 1997, Supplement No. 2 (E/1997/22), annex IV.
18 General Comment, No.5, adopted by the Committee at its session on 25 November 1994.
19 Signed at San Francisco on 26 June 1945; entry into force: 24 October 1945.
20 Proclaimed by the General Assembly in its resolution 2856 (XXVI) of 20 December 1971. Available at: http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/m_mental.htm
21 Proclaimed by the General Assembly in its resolution 3447 (XXX) of 9 December 1975. Available at: http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/72.htm
22 Adopted and proclaimed by the General Assembly in its resolution 37/52 of 3 December 1982. Available at: http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/diswpa00.htm
23 Adopted by the General Assembly in its resolution 44/70 of 15 March 1990.
24 Adopted by the General Assembly in its resolution 46/119 of 17 December 1991. Available at: http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/68.htm
25 Adopted and proclaimed by the General Assembly in its resolution48/96 of 20 December 1993. Available at http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/enable/dissre00.htm