In Uganda 1 in 5 persons over the age of 5 years has a disability (Demographic and Health Survey 2006).
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The UN is concerned that although Uganda has very sound legal frameworks, their implementation remains a huge challenge. This is however not peculiar to Uganda, but nearly all African countries experience the same scenario.That most African countries don't honour their obligations is no defense. Uganda has some of the most progressive disability rights legislation in Africa and should continue leading the way.
“There are still challenges in the enjoyment of rights of PWDs in Uganda. The laws exist but implementation is still challenging,” Dr Emelonye said, adding that majority of PWDs in Uganda continue to suffer discrimination, exclusion, sexual violence against women and children, and experience serious challenges while accessing justice.
Universal: Human rights apply to every person in the world, regardless of their race, colour, sex, ethnic or social origin, religion, language, nationality, age, sexual orientation, disability, or other status. They apply equally and without discrimination to each and every person. The only requirement for having human rights is to be human.These concepts are the foundation of the CRPD which serves to underline the human rights of PWDs. The rights in the CRPD are indivisible - all the rights must be taken together; interdependent - they can only be realized if they are all realized; and interrelated - they all effect each other. The workbook Human Rights: Yes! continues:
Inherent: Human rights are a natural part of who you are. The text of Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) begins: “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.”
Inalienable: Human rights automatically belong to each human being. They do not need to be given to persons by their government or any other authority, nor can they be taken away. Nobody can tell you that you do not have these rights. Even if your rights are violated or you are prevented from claiming your human rights, you are still entitled to these rights.
In simple terms, human rights all work together and we need them all. For example, a person’s ability to exercise the right to vote can be affected by the rights to education, freedom of opinion and information, or even an adequate standard of living. A government cannot pick and choose which rights it will uphold for the persons who live in that country. Each right is necessary and affects the others.The message of the CRPD is clear, everyone is entitled to their human rights. Everyone can demand their human rights be protected, fulfilled and respected.
The existence of human rights law does not make human rights a reality in people’s lives. Positive attitudes and good intentions are not enough either. Without individual efforts, a firm social and cultural commitment reinforced by group action, and strong implementation and enforcement by governments, human rights cannot be guaranteed.
Giving Voice to the Voiceless: Persons with Disabilities Advocacy in Africa. IRI (International Republican Institute) has worked to advance the participation of persons with disabilities in Uganda for many years, initially focusing on supporting Ugandan civil society organizations to advocate for the implementation of the Persons with Disabilities Act of 2006. This advocacy in regions such as Iganga, Gulu, Masindi and Luwero, resulted in the construction of ramps to government buildings and schools, the provision of specialized health services at local hospitals, and increases in local budget allocations for services for disabled persons. |
The CRPD committee therefore, recommends that Ugandan government reviews of the laws related to disability, establishes mechanisms of consulting PWDs and their organisations on budget allocations, incorporates the concept of reasonable accommodation in the legal systems, establishes measures to tackle discrimination against women with disabilities, increases awareness on the rights and dignity of PWDs, and raises awareness among members of parliament, executive and judiciary with the regard to the Convention on the rights of PWDs and ensure their support in implementation of the concluding observations in consultation with organisations of PWDs.(Note: These concluding observations can be found in the 2016 report the Committee on the Rights of PWDs: Concluding observations on the initial report of Uganda).
Respect for difference and acceptance of persons with disabilities as part of human diversity and humanity.In the social model of disability awareness of the barriers persons with disabilities (PWDs) face leads to a focus on the way society causes disability, the individual is lost. However with broad awareness of the barriers PWDs face in society it becomes easier to identify the human rights problems that need to be corrected. Addressing these problems the rights model of disability returns the focus to the human rights of PWDs.
Disability as a natural part of human diversity: Everyone is different, whether that difference relates to colour, gender, ethnicity, size, shape, or other characteristics. A disability is no different. It may limit a person’s mobility or their ability to hear, see, taste, or smell. A psychosocial disability or intellectual disability may affect the way persons think, feel, or process information. Regardless of its characteristics, disability neither subtracts from nor adds to a person’s humanity, value, or rights. It is simply a feature of a person.
Disability is an inescapable element of human experience. Although it is rarely acknowledged as such, it is also a fundamental aspect of human diversity. It is so, first, in the sense that, world-wide, an enormous number of people are disabled. (The proportion of people who are disabled in different national populations varies significantly with economic development, health care, and other factors, of course, but in the United States, at least, people with disabilities make up the population’s largest minority.) Furthermore, because of the way this minority is constituted, it is arguably more heterogeneous than those of race, gender, class, and sexual orientation. Disabilities may affect one’s senses or one’s mobility; they may be static or progressive, congenital or acquired, formal (affecting the shape of the body) or functional, visible or invisible.
2, a, ii: To promote positive perceptions and greater social awareness towards persons with disabilities.
Disability as part of human diversity and humanity. |
“Positive perceptions and greater social awareness” are key factors in helping people with disabilities lead fulfilling lives in a society that recognises their value and the richness of human diversity. However, mere “awareness” is not enough. Awareness should lead to “understanding” and “acceptance” in order to achieve an inclusive society, respectful of human diversity. In order to achieve this objective, awareness should not be linked to a “deficit model” of disability, i.e. implying that the person has a deficit that must be corrected but be linked instead to the recognition of the strengths, skills and inherent value of disabled people, and to the understanding that each individual is a subject with rights.Disability is indeed a part of human diversity, it is of fundamental importance to everyone. Everyone should clearly understand that disability is a part of human diversity. Armed with this knowledge it becomes easier to acknowledge disability rights which are everyone's rights and especially the human rights of all PWDs.
Persons with disabilities have the right to education, but if a school or the school’s transportation system is not physically accessible, a student who uses a wheelchair may not be able to enjoy the right to education. If the school does not provide an accessible bus, then the student must find alternative transportation to get to school. Further, if the school has steps at the front entrance and there is no ramp or other way for the student to access the building, then the student may not even be able to enter the building. Even if the student can enter the building, he or she may still encounter inaccessible bathrooms or classrooms.
Lack of accessibility may prevent persons with disabilities from enjoying their right to participation in political and public life. For instance, persons who are blind may not be able to access voter information materials if they are not provided in alternative formats such as Braille or audio. If persons who are blind do not have access to voter information, they may not know when or where to register to vote, and even if they do show up, in many cases voter registration procedures may not be accessible. Additionally, many polling stations may not provide accessibility provisions, such as Tactile Ballot Guides or audio format, for persons who are blind to vote in secret.
Forcible sterilization not only denies persons with disabilities the right to have children, but is also a violation of the right to respect for personal integrity and arguably constitutes a form of violence and abuse.
Lack of access to education can hamper the opportunities for persons with disabilities to acquire knowledge and learn skills that contribute to developing ideas and sharing those ideas with other people. Violations of the right to privacy may discourage persons with disabilities from expressing their ideas in letters or other forms that they feel may be subject to search or confiscation. Such concerns may be heightened for people who do not enjoy the right to live independently and in the community. These people often live in institutional settings where staff or others living there may not be sufficiently respecting their right to privacy.
Preventing persons with disabilities from living with their families constitutes a violation of the right to live independently and be included in the community, which recognizes that persons with disabilities have the same choices as others regarding where and with whom they live.
Lack of access to an adequate standard of living, health care, and rehabilitation services can lead to malnutrition or general ill-health and can compromise the fertility of persons with disabilities. Violations of the rights to equal recognition before the law and also freedom of expression and opinion may deprive persons with disabilities of the opportunity to make, communicate, and act upon their own decisions related to their personal relationships. Similarly, lack of accessible information may deny persons with disabilities the opportunity to learn about sexual relations, family planning, availability of support services, or other information that they need to make informed personal decisions.
Education helps students develop meaningful skills that they will use in future employment. If children with disabilities do not enjoy the right to education, they may not have any skills that will help them exercise their right to work. The lack of work and financial support may impact other rights, such a one’s ability to live independently or the right to home and the family. Furthermore, education is important in helping members of society become informed about issues that impact them. When persons with disabilities cannot access their right to education, they may not be able to fully enjoy their right to participation in political and public life. There are many other examples of how the right to education is central for ensuring persons with disabilities can fully enjoy all of their human rights.
A school building may be accessible for a child who uses a wheelchair, but if no accessible transportation exists, the child may not be able to attend school. Furthermore, persons with disabilities who are denied the right to live independently and are forced to live in an institution may not have access to education.
All the rights in the CRPD are indivisible, interdependent and interrelated.
An inaccessible transport system and inaccessible roads prevent this boy from getting an education. |
A person with a disability who is unable to work and earn a fair wage may be unable to attain an adequate standard of living. This circumstance, in turn, may force that person to become dependent upon others, restricting choices and curtailing the ability to live independently in the community. In many cases, persons with disabilities who are unable to support themselves financially can become trapped in a cycle of poverty, unable to meet even their most basic needs for food, water, clothing, and shelter, or indeed raise a family as they would wish. In some countries, employment provides a means of accessing the health insurance needed to obtain health care services. Where persons with disabilities are unable to obtain employment in such countries, their access to health care services may also be restricted.
Perhaps the most far-reaching impact of the denial of the right to work is on a person’s sense of dignity and self-worth. In many societies, the ability to work is commonly viewed as one of the most important ways in which people can make their individual contributions to society, and those perceived as unable or unwilling to work may be viewed as less valuable members of that society, especially when their inability to earn a living causes them to become reliant on the support of the government or others. Thus, full enjoyment of the right to work can be of critical importance in the full inclusion of persons with disabilities as equal members of the societies in which they live, as well as in the self-image and sense of self-worth that persons with disabilities have.These examples make it clear that all the human rights in the CRPD are indivisible, interdependent and interrelated. Failure to achieve a human right might not be because that right is not met, it might be because other human rights have not been met. The human rights enunciated in the CRPD have application throughout society, from the home to the community, from the individual to the State. No one is isolated.
The first assumption legitimizes the segregation of PWDs in special schools, sheltered workshops and living institutions.
The second assumption has led to mental health and guardianship laws that view PWDs as incapable of decision making.
First, whereas the social model merely explains disability, the human rights model encompasses values for disability policy that acknowledge the human dignity of disabled persons. Only the human rights model can explain why all persons with disabilities have a right to be legally recognized as a person before the law.
Second, while the social model approach to disability policy supports anti-discrimination policy and civil rights reforms, the human rights model is more comprehensive in that it encompasses both sets of human rights, civil and political, as well as economic, social, and cultural rights.
A third argument is as follows: whereas the social model of disability neglects the fact that disabled persons might have to deal with pain, deterioration of quality of life, and early death due to impairment and dependency, the human rights model of disability acknowledges these life circumstances and demands them to be considered when social justice theories are developed.
Fourth, the social model of disability neglects identity politics as a valuable component of disability policy, whereas the human rights model offers room for minority and cultural identification.
The fifth argument is that while the social model of disability is critical of prevention policy, the human rights model offers a basis for assessment when prevention policy can be claimed as human rights protection for disabled persons.
The sixth argument states: whereas the social model of disability can explain why two-thirds of the one billion disabled persons in the world live in relative poverty, the human rights model offers a roadmap for change.
Disability rights are moral rights. Tied to a rope because she is disabled. Lisa is tied to the tree during the day, as her parents go working. Her mother says she returns home at several periods to feed and clean her up. |
The CRPD has further developed the social model into a human rights model of disability. The latter differs from the social model in at least six aspects. First, the human rights model ensures that no person with a disability is denied legal capacity. Second, it goes beyond non-discrimination rights and includes first and second generation human rights. Third, it acknowledges that impairment matters in the life of persons with disabilities. Fourth, it recognizes that identity is composed of different layers. Fifth, it provides a roadmap for non-discriminatory preventative health policy. Sixth, the human rights model proves a roadmap for disability inclusive development and humanitarian aid.
The Committee has embraced the term “human rights model” in its more recent concluding observations. Most of the States Parties’ reports, however, do not reflect a clear understanding of the human rights model of disability. While it has become unfashionable to rely on the medical model of disability, the paradigm shift to the human rights model has yet to be reflected in implementation.
Armed with the idea that we needed to identify and eradicate the disabling barriers we faced, the disabled people’s movement forced the media to change their images of us and transport providers to open up many of their services to us; public buildings became much more accessible and the legal system changed to make it illegal to discriminate against us.The model was open to criticism which can be divided in 3 ways:
As a concluding note I suggest that, despite its internal limits, the social model of disability nevertheless acts as a powerful and important corrective to our understanding of disability, to simplistic views on the experience of disability and, more importantly, to the oppressive nature of some social arrangements. This is the actual powerful core value of the model, its constant reminder to face issues of inclusion as fundamental moral issues.From the above discussion it is clear that the social model is in need of improvement. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities (CRPD) provides a new rights based model for the consideration of disability which will be considered in the next post.
Everyone has the right to be heard. Deaf Link Uganda: Reporting back from week three of the Geneva marathon of Spring 2016. |
For the first time, a legally binding international instrument now exists to guarantee that States that have ratified the treaty will promote and protect the rights of people with disabilities. These States will next work on passing their own national civil rights legislation to improve the lives of people with disabilities.The CRPD is relevant and important for everyone in the community. It means your voice can be heard. With the support of the CRPD you can demand your rights.
1, The State is responsible for collecting data to monitor and formulate policies based on the CRPD. Collecting and maintaining information shall:
a, comply with the law, ensure confidentiality and protect the privacy of PWDs.
b, comply with international norms to respect human rights and freedoms, and respect the ethics of collecting data.
2, the data shall be split up as far as possible into its components and be used to help assess the implementation of obligations under the CRPD to better identify barriers faced by PWDs in accessing their rights.
3, the State is responsible for telling people these statistics and ensuring they are accessible by PWDs and others.This Article is about obtaining simple straightforward data that is not confusing so that it is possible to use and compare statistical data. There are no international standards for data collection. It is for the discretion of governments to decide what data is collected. However, data collected should be used to assess whether the CRPD is being implemented correctly. It should be noted that data collection and presentation is not a right. The 2017 book The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: A commentary makes the following observation:
Article 31 may not be the most discussed provision in the available literature on the CRPD, but it has the potential of being one of the provisions that can have the most impact. One explanation for the ‘low profile’ of this provision is that it has a more instrumental rather than substantive character. Hence, at the negotiation sessions leading to adoption of the CRPD, the Israel Human Rights Centre for People with Disabilities, commenting on the proposal of a provision on data and statistics in the CRPD, observed that collection of data was ‘a tool in the promotion of rights, not a right in itself.’ For this, some have argued that Article 31 did not belong in a human rights treaty.
Nevertheless, the idea of an obligation to collect data was not foreign to the Ad Hoc Committee responsible for negotiating the draft treaty. Data collection has been recommended in Rule 13 of the Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities, which specifies that ‘States assume the ultimate responsibility for the collection and dissemination of information on the living conditions of persons with disabilities and promote comprehensive research on all aspects, including obstacles that affect the lives of persons with disabilities.’ In General Assembly Resolution 58/132 of December 22, 2003, para. 8, the importance of improving data and statistics covering persons with disabilities was also stressed. Likewise, the call for collecting data has been reiterated in connection with other UN conventions. To have a provision on data collection in the text of a human rights treaty is nevertheless a breakthrough.The 2014 National Union of Disabled Persons of Uganda (NUDIPU) report Alternative Report to the UN Committee of Experts on the Implementation of the CRPD gives the following criticism of statistics collected by the Ugandan Government:
174. Current data is predominantly based on estimates and that captured by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) is too general and may be insufficient to guide planning processes. It is not disaggregated to gender, nature, age and extent of disability.
175. Refugees with disabilities are often hidden in refugee and displaced people’s camps, and are subsequently not identified in data collection or included in needs assessments. Consequently, mainstream assistance programs exclude them.
This graphic is from THE STATE OF THE WORLD’S CHILDREN 2013. |
Article 31
Statistics and data collection
1. States Parties undertake to collect appropriate information, including statistical and research data, to enable them to formulate and implement policies to give effect to the present Convention. The process of collecting and maintaining this information shall:
(a) Comply with legally established safeguards, including legislation on data protection, to ensure confidentiality and respect for the privacy of persons with disabilities;
(b) Comply with internationally accepted norms to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms and ethical principles in the collection and use of statistics.
2. The information collected in accordance with this article shall be disaggregated, as appropriate, and used to help assess the implementation of States Parties’ obligations under the present Convention and to identify and address the barriers faced by persons with disabilities in exercising their rights.
3. States Parties shall assume responsibility for the dissemination of these statistics and ensure their accessibility to persons with disabilities and others.
1, PWDs have the right to take part in cultural activities and measures will be taken to ensure PWDs:
a, have access to cultural materials in accessible formats.
b, have access to TV, films, theaters and other cultural activities in accessible formats.
c, have access to cultural performances and other services like theaters, museums, cinemas, libraries, tourist services and as far as possible enjoy national monuments and sites of cultural importance.
2, PWDs should be able to develop and use their creative, artistic and intellectual potential for their own benefit and the enrichment of society.
3, PWDs are ensured that the laws that protect intellectual property rights are not unreasonable or a discriminatory barrier for PWDs to access cultural materials.
4, PWDs are entitled to recognition and support for their specific cultural and linguistic identity, including sign languages and deaf culture.
5, PWDs should be enabled to participate on an equal basis in recreational, sporting and leisure activities. Measures will be taken to:
a, encourage participation in mainstream sporting activities at all levels.
b, ensure PWDs have the opportunity to organize, develop and participate in disability specific sports and recreation activities, and to encourage instruction, training and resources.
c, ensure PWDs have access to sports, recreation and tourist venues.
d, ensure children with disabilities have the same access as other children to play, recreation, leisure and sports activities including activities in school.
Being able to take part in sport, recreation and cultural activities is an important part of inclusion in any community. PWDs are often denied the right to take part and more often children with disabilities (CWDs) are denied the right to play. Discrimination takes many forms, for instance people in wheelchairs are denied access to movies and theaters because their wheelchair are said to be fire hazards. Hotels and tourist activities have barriers and buses are not equipped for wheelchairs (see Human Rights: Yes!).e, PWDs have access to services from those who organize recreational, tourism, leisure and sporting activities.
At the end of the three-year project 587 disabled children had participated in sport and benefited from the additional peer support. Evaluations found that 95% of these children showed increased confidence; at least 78% had an increased awareness of their rights and how to defend themselves; all children showed increased levels of independence and empowerment and about 50% shared stories of advocacy actions; and, crucially, all of these children made new friends with able bodied children with 70% feeling more included in community activities. We also saw children enrolling in school for the first time and parents became much more aware of the abilities of their children.
14-year-old Vincent was one of the children that we worked with: “I didn’t know disabled sports existed. Now I realise I am capable of taking part in sport, I have potential. I’ve learned to respect myself. I have made friends with other disabled children. I see the coaches as role models; they have taught me that disability does not mean inability."
“I really worked very hard to pave a way for other upcoming athletes that are coming behind me. And I really thank those who have prayed for me. I thank the Uganda National Council of Sports for supporting me. And other members who have been giving me support... my dream now is to bring the gold medal for my country.”
promote the welfare of deaf and hard of hearing people in Uganda. We operate projects in urban, semi-urban and rural areas providing intervention services that enable deaf and hard of hearing individuals realise and utilise their potentials to become self-reliant citizens capable of contributing to community and national development. Deaf Link Uganda is committed to overcoming all forms of barriers through supporting inclusive societies that recognise and celebrate deaf people’s diversity.This is written in Article 30 of the CRPD in the following way:
Article 30
Participation in cultural life, recreation, leisure and sport
1. States Parties recognize the right of persons with disabilities to take part on an equal basis with others in cultural life, and shall take all appropriate measures to ensure that persons with disabilities:
(a) Enjoy access to cultural materials in accessible formats;
(b) Enjoy access to television programmes, films, theatre and other cultural activities, in accessible formats;
(c) Enjoy access to places for cultural performances or services, such as theatres, museums, cinemas, libraries and tourism services, and, as far as possible, enjoy access to monuments and sites of national cultural importance.
2. States Parties shall take appropriate measures to enable persons with disabilities to have the opportunity to develop and utilize their creative, artistic and intellectual potential, not only for their own benefit, but also for the enrichment of society.
3. States Parties shall take all appropriate steps, in accordance with international law, to ensure that laws protecting intellectual property rights do not constitute an unreasonable or discriminatory barrier to access by persons with disabilities to cultural materials.
4. Persons with disabilities shall be entitled, on an equal basis with others, to recognition and support of their specific cultural and linguistic identity, including sign languages and deaf culture.
5. With a view to enabling persons with disabilities to participate on an equal basis with others in recreational, leisure and sporting activities, States Parties shall take appropriate measures:
(a) To encourage and promote the participation, to the fullest extent possible, of persons with disabilities in mainstream sporting activities at all levels;
(b) To ensure that persons with disabilities have an opportunity to organize, develop and participate in disability-specific sporting and recreational activities and, to this end, encourage the provision, on an equal basis with others, of appropriate instruction, training and resources;
(c) To ensure that persons with disabilities have access to sporting, recreational and tourism venues;
(d) To ensure that children with disabilities have equal access with other children to participation in play, recreation and leisure and sporting activities, including those activities in the school system;
(e) To ensure that persons with disabilities have access to services from those involved in the organization of recreational, tourism, leisure and sporting activities.