Convention of Rights 2: Purpose

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities (CRPD) forms the foundation of disability rights laws in Uganda and is the model for the Persons With Disabilities Act (PWDA) 2006. The CRPD underlines and recognizes that that persons with disabilities (PWDs) are entitled to all the human rights enunciated in the The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. If you are a PWD the rights in the CRPD are your rights, if you do not have a disability it is your duty to uphold and promote these rights.

Article 1 of the CRPD states the purpose of the Convention which is to promote, protect and ensure the dignity and human rights of PWDs. PWDs have the same human rights as every other person. PWDs include people with physical, mental, intellectual and/or sensory impairments. Disability arises when a person with an impairment interacts with the environment and meets a barrier. The barrier causes disability by preventing the person from having full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with other citizens.

The CRPD is important to PWDs because it seeks to remove the barriers that prevent participation in society by considering disability as a human rights issue. PWDs are no longer the object of charity. For the first time there is a legally binding law that obliges States to promote the rights of PWDs and make their own laws to support the CRPD.

PWDs have the same human rights as any other person. All PWDs have the right to live in society on an equal basis without barriers.

Celebrating 10 Years of the CRPD

The main message of the CRPD is that persons with disabilities are entitled to the full spectrum of human rights and fundamental freedoms without discrimination. To that end, the Convention promotes the full participation of PWDs in all spheres of life, challenging customs, stereotypes, prejudices, harmful practices and stigma relating to PWDs.

This is written in Article 1 of the CRPD in the following way:

Article 1 Purpose

The purpose of the present Convention is to promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities, and to promote respect for their inherent dignity.

Persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others.