Jurisprudence of human rights treaty bodies
(Draft Article 22)

Accronyms:
CESCR: Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
HRC (ICCPR): Human Rights Committee
CERD: Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
CEDAW: Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
CAT: Committee Against Torture
CRC: Committee on the Rights of the Child

Related to Draft Article 22, paragraph (a)

CESCR, General Comment no. 5 (Persons with disabilities), paras. 21-23: 21. The "right of everyone to the opportunity to gain his living by work which he freely chooses or accepts" (art. 6 (1)) is not realized where the only real opportunity open to disabled workers is to work in so-called "sheltered" facilities under substandard conditions. Arrangements whereby persons with a certain category of disability are effectively confined to certain occupations or to the production of certain goods may violate this right….
22. According to the Standard Rules, persons with disabilities, whether in rural or urban areas, must have equal opportunities for productive and gainful employment in the labour market. For this to happen it is particularly important that artificial barriers to integration in general, and to employment in particular, be removed. As the International Labour Organisation has noted, it is very often the physical barriers that society has erected in areas such as transport, housing and the workplace which are then cited as the reason why persons with disabilities cannot be employed. For example, as long as workplaces are designed and built in ways that make them inaccessible to wheelchairs, employers will be able to "justify" their failure to employ wheelchair users. Governments should also develop policies which promote and regulate flexible and alternative work arrangements that reasonably accommodate the needs of disabled workers.
23. Similarly, the failure of Governments to ensure that modes of transportation are accessible to persons with disabilities greatly reduces the chances of such persons finding suitable, integrated jobs, taking advantage of educational and vocational training, or commuting to facilities of all types. Indeed, the provision of access to appropriate and, where necessary, specially tailored forms of transportation is crucial to the realization by persons with disabilities of virtually all the rights recognized in the Covenant.

Related to Draft Article 22, paragraph (b)

CESCR, General Comment no. 5 (Persons with disabilities), para. 24: The "technical and vocational guidance and training programmes" required under article 6 (2) of the Covenant should reflect the needs of all persons with disabilities, take place in integrated settings, and be planned and implemented with the full involvement of representatives of persons with disabilities.

Related to Draft Article 22, paragraph (d)

CESCR, General Comment no. 5 (Persons with disabilities), para. 20: The field of employment is one in which disability-based discrimination has been prominent and persistent. In most countries the unemployment rate among persons with disabilities is two to three times higher than the unemployment rate for persons without disabilities. Where persons with disabilities are employed, they are mostly engaged in low-paid jobs with little social and legal security and are often segregated from the mainstream of the labour market. The integration of persons with disabilities into the regular labour market should be actively supported by States.

Related to Draft Article 22, paragraph (f)

CESCR, General Comment no. 5 (Persons with disabilities), para. 20: …The integration of persons with disabilities into the regular labour market should be actively supported by States.

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