Education: Disability and the Constitution

Uganda is a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities (CRPD). The CRPD is enshrined in Ugandan law. The blog post Do you know your rights? presented an overview of the CRPD. How does the CRPD fit into Uganda law and what is its relationship to education? To answer the first part of this question, it is important to understand the significance of the constitution of Uganda and how it relates to persons with disabilities.

Wikipedia says the constitution is the supreme law of Uganda. The current constitution came into action on the 8th October 1995. In 2005 presidential term limits were were removed and a multi-party political system was legalized. The constitution of Uganda sets limits on the powers of the government of Uganda.

The State House of Uganda describes the importance of the constitution in the following way:

• The primary function of a constitution is to lay out the basic structure of the government according to which the people are to be governed. It is the constitution of a country, which establishes the three main organs of the government, namely, the legislature, executive and judiciary.
• The constitution of a country not only defines the powers allotted to each of the three main organs, but it also significantly makes a clear demarcation of the responsibilities assigned to each of them. It effectively regulates the relationship between these organs as well as the relationship between the government and its people.
• Since the country’s constitution stands superior to all the laws framed within the territorial precincts of the country, any law enacted by the ruling government has to be in conformity with the concerned constitution. As such, the citizens would, in turn, be abiding by not just the law, but also working in sync with the demarcations of the constitution laid by the country.
• The constitution does not simply provide a recipe for an efficient government, but also deals with limitations on power. Since power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely, a constitution is established to restrict the abuse of power by those who conduct governmental functions.
• The constitution of a particular country lays down the national goals which form the basic edifice on which the nation rests upon. For instance, the constitution of India has inscribed in it the primary facets of the nation which are democracy, socialism, secularism and national integration. 
• A constitution, besides thrusting on the rights of the citizens of the concerned nation, also has embedded in it the duties that the citizens require to adhere to as well.

Paul Emong in his 2014 thesis, The Realisation of Human Rights for Disabled People in Higher Education in Uganda: A Critical Analysis Drawing on the UNConvention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, gives an overview of the constitution and its relation to PWDs. Emong then discusses it relation to education:

The current constitution in force is the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda 1995 as amended by Act No. 13 of 2000. Like for every country, the protection of human rights in Uganda should be understood within the general context of its political history and its effects in nurturing the rule of law, constitutionalism and enjoyment of human rights. One of the key indicators of the political dynamics in Uganda is the change of constitutions, as the coming in of the new Constitution is associated with the change of government (country‘s leadership) or style of leadership. Uganda, since its independence from the British rule on 9th October 1962, has had four constitutions, including being governed on the basis of presidential decrees, during Amin's regime (1971-1979). The four constitutions are the 1962, the 1966, the 1967 and the current one in force - the 1995 Constitution. It is important to note that, change of Constitutions provides a picture of the protection, promotion, fulfilment and realisation of human rights in Uganda, including the rights of disabled people.

Chapter four of the current constitution guarantees for the protection and promotion of fundamental and other human rights and freedoms for all, including disabled people. Overall, it guarantees equality and freedom from discrimination to all. In particular, the constitution prohibits direct discrimination against any person on grounds of disability, age, sex and economic status.

On education, the constitution guarantees that all persons have a right to education. The spirit of the constitution as indicated by its principle objective XVIII (Education Objectives) places an obligation on government to promote free and compulsory basic education, take appropriate measures to afford every citizen equal opportunity to attain the highest educational standards possible and allow individuals or groups freedom to found and operate educational institutions within the general educational policy. This mirrors the provisions on education in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), article 13.

The ICESCR is treaty that was adopted by the United Nations on 16 December 1966, It was in force from 3rd January 1976. It commits all parties to work toward giving economic, social, and cultural rights for the people under their jurisdiction, granting labour rights and the right to health, the right to education, and the right to an adequate standard of living (see Wikipedia).

Further more, article 13 of the ICESCR is designed to echo the article 24 of the CRPD, the right to education, (see The Right to Education in Uganda). The ICESCR affirms that education and lifelong learning should be directed to the development of a disabled person's personality, talents and creativity, as well as his/her mental and physical abilities, to his/her fullest potential and to enable a disabled person to participate effectively in a free society. Emong continues, describing the Ugandan constitution looking at article 13 of the ICESCR:

It also applies to disabled people by virtue of the generality of the constitutional rights. In particular, it provides a background for operationalisation of article 24 of CRPD on education as Uganda is a State party to the CRPD. However, the constitution does not provide specific ways how the realisation of this right is to be enforced.

On disability rights, the constitution provides for specific provisions on disability. Together with other constitutional provisions as those also apply to disability by virtue of the generality of the constitutional rights, the constitution therefore, provides a strong and wide ranging mandate to the state on disability inclusion. Of particular importance to bringing disability inclusion are the provisions on affirmative action, representation of disabled people in parliament and provision on parliament to make laws to give effect to the promotion, protection and realisation of human rights for marginalised groups such as disabled people. Through those provisions, a wide ranging scope of the disability legislation has been enacted in Uganda. As such, the Uganda disability legal framework is seen in three strands i.e. the constitutional guarantees on disability; provisions on disability in other equality laws; and disability-specific Acts of Parliament. The scope of that legal framework on providing for equality, access and inclusion of disabled people in higher education is the focus of this section.

... it is also important to point out that, two important effects associated with the above constitutional provisions; as such effects also have direct impact on disability inclusion. One, disabled people are represented in Parliament by 5 MPs regionally elected. Their being in parliament makes disability equality visible in Acts of Parliament and this is significantly broadening Uganda's disability legal framework. Another effect is the development of a strong disability structure in Uganda as a voice of disabled people. This also plays an important role of creating awareness, advocacy and policy influence for inclusion of disabled people. 

These disability rights groups (DRGs) like NUDIPU, the National Union of Disabled People Uganda are legislated for in the constitution. This integration will be discussed in a subsequent post.

PWD’s electing their representatives for the 10th Parliament at Collins Hotel Mukono

This article from 2013, UK minister hails Uganda on disability action, highlights the importance of Uganda's disability legislation:

Lynne Featherstone, the visiting UK minister for disability, has hailed Uganda’s efforts to address challenges of people with disabilities.

In her keynote address at Sheraton Hotel in Kampala, the diplomat said Uganda had played a key role in the promotion of disability rights in the country and Africa.

“Uganda was one of the first countries anywhere to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. You have enshrined the rights of people with disabilities in your constitution, which also recognizes sign language as a national language,” she stated.

She noted that persons with disabilities were well represented right from Parliament to village levels and commended the strong disability movement.

Featherstone, however, said there were challenges in addressing the welfare issues of persons with disabilities as well as discrimination.

“Despite this progress, Uganda still faces a number of challenges when it comes to giving people with disabilities a chance to earn a living and building their own lives,” she said.

She noted that majority of persons with disabilities, especially girls, are faced with unique challenges that hinder their education.

Featherstone is on a three-day visit to see the efforts of Uganda and NGOs in the empowerment of people with disabilities.

She is MP for Hornsey and Wood Green. She is also UK's international violence against women champion.

Featherstone noted that disability was a global challenge, including in her own country where disabled persons are discriminated against and lack access to basic services.

She pledged UK’s support for disability programmes in Uganda and said all schools built with her country’s support will be designed to ensure they are accessible to persons with disabilities.

With the end of Millenium Development Goals (MDGs), she rallied Uganda to take part in the post-2015 framework that seeks to include disability as one of the next global targets.

British Paralympic star, Ade Adepitan, who accompanied her for the visit, appealed to Government to promote sports for persons with disabilities. “Sports helped me to become independent because I did not want to rely on anyone.

Sports can break down barriers to success for persons with disabilities,” he said. The state minister for the elderly and disabled, Sulaiman Madada said Government was committed to improving the welfare of persons with disabilities by enacting disability laws, establishing social grants, political representation and community rehabilitation programmes.

The MP for people with disabilities (central region), Alex Ndeezi urged Government to integrate disability in all government programmes.

The constitution of Uganda is the document that sets the limits on the organs of government. Through the constitution human rights of all Ugandans are assured. Additionally, through affirmative action legislation in the constitution 5 MPs are admitted to parliament to represent all PWDs. The constitution underlines: All people are equal and there should be be no discrimination on the basis of disability, age, sex or economic status. Do you know your rights?