Convention of Rights 4: General Principles

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 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 3 of the CRPD outlines the general principles of the Convention. These are the fundamental rights that guide the Convention:

• Respect for the inherent dignity and individual autonomy and independence of PWDs.
• No discrimination.
• Full social inclusion and participation.
• Respect for the differences in humanity, PWDs are part of human diversity.
• Equality opportunity.
• Accessibility.
• Equality of men and women.
• Respect for the evolving capacities of children with disabilities (CWDs) - CWDs have rights, and their rights should be respected. CWDs should be given the opportunity to exercise their rights according to their capacity.
• Respect for the right of CWDs to preserve their identity - besides their name and nationality, CWDs have the right to know their parents and be treated as individuals.

These are the guidelines for the CRPD. There are 2 important points to bring out:

1. If you are a woman with a disability (WWD), your rights count just as much as any man. Men and women are equal.

2. If you a CWD, in April 2016 The Children Act Amendment was passed into legislation in Uganda. This amendment brings The Children's Act 1997 and Ugandan law into line with the Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989. That means the rights of CWDs are in line with the CRPD. The key amendments are in clause 4 of The Children Act Amendment, they are summarized as follows:

Clause 4 comprehensively provides for full rights of the child.

The old Act limited child rights to basic needs. The new Act introduces rights of children to:

• Express their opinions in matters affecting the child.

• Birth registration.

• Privacy, legal representation in court, access to information to which a parent or guardian deems necessary for the child’s growth and well-being.

• Freedom of expression.

• Inheritance of property.

• Be treated without discrimination etc.

Children with disabilities have the same rights as any child, their opinion counts, listen to your children.

Championing for the Rights of Children with Disabilities.
Henry Nyombi’s childhood was dramatically altered by a car accident, which left him paralyzed from the waist down. His paralysis changed his once popular status on campus, he said, “Because of cultural beliefs, I lost all of my friends … people truly believed that I was punished by the gods and did not want my misfortune to befall them.” He was unable to return to school, which refused to make accommodations for him.
Rather than lose hope, he was determined to become a champion for children with disabilities.

This is written in Article 3 of the CRPD in the following way:

Article 3
General principles

The principles of the present Convention shall be:

(a) Respect for inherent dignity, individual autonomy including the freedom to make one’s own choices, and independence of persons;

(b) Non-discrimination;

(c) Full and effective participation and inclusion in society;

(d) Respect for difference and acceptance of persons with disabilities as part of human diversity and humanity;

(e) Equality of opportunity;

(f) Accessibility;

(g) Equality between men and women;

(h) Respect for the evolving capacities of children with disabilities and respect for the right of children with disabilities to preserve their identities.