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Comments on the draft text
Draft Article 8: Right to life

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• NGOs
  • European Disability Forum
  • Indian NGO Consultative Meeting
  • Landmine Survivors Network
  • World Blind Union

NGOs

European Disability Forum

The wording in the Convention on the Rights of the Child is stronger and could be used for this Convention: “States Parties shall ensure to the maximum extent possible the survival and development of the disabled person.”

There are different views among EDF members on whether this Convention can cover or not the rights of a non-born disabled child. If the Ad Hoc Committee finally decides that this is possible, a prohibition of compulsory abortion at the instance of the State based on the pre-natal diagnosis of disability should be added to this article.

Indian NGO Consultative Meeting

In the area of civil and political rights, the participants suggested enlargement of the scope of the provision - “Right to Life” by including the words “survival and development”. The modified text of article 8 would therefore read-“States parties reaffirm the inherent right to life, survival and development of all persons with disabilities and shall take all necessary measures to ensure its effective enjoyment by them.”

Landmine Survivors Network

The right to life is a fundamental principle of human rights law from which no derogation is permitted. (Cf. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Articles 4(2) and 6) The Committee on the Rights of the Child has designated Article 6, expressing the right to life (and using an alternative formulation that the Ad Hoc Committee may wish to consider), as a fundamental guiding principle of the convention. Based on the foregoing, the formulation as drafted is similarly fundamental and must be reflected in the convention.

The use of the word “reaffirm” is more typically found in non-binding declaration language. It may be more appropriate to use the term “recognize” (Cf. Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 6(1)), or “shall respect.”

Footnote 31 raises the issue of people with disabilities in armed conflict. In relation to groups at risk, the reaffirmation of the right to life in a specialized convention is commonplace, and provisions in those conventions may provide useful models for the consideration of the Ad Hoc Committee. (Cf. Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 38(4); Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, Article 3(1)(a))

World Blind Union

The right to life is extremely important and should not be questioned.

The text is giving less protection than we see in the convention on the rights of the child where focus is on the right of survival: ”states parties shall ensure to the maximum extent possible the survival and development of the child.”

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