Convention of Rights 36: Postscript, no right is isolated

One of the most important concepts contained in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities (CRPD) is that none of the rights are isolated. The rights presented in the convention are all dependent on each other. In other words, all the human rights in the CRPD are indivisible, interdependent, and interrelated (see Preamble, (c)). Some of the Articles at the start of the Convention are fundamentally crosscutting and have an impact on other Articles. These Articles are sometimes called articles of general application. They are:

• Article 3, General principles
• Article 4, General obligations
• Article 5, Equality and non-discrimination
• Article 6, Women with disabilities
• Article 7, Children with disabilities
• Article 8, Awareness-raising
• Article 9, Accessibility

The workbook Human Rights: Yes! further illustrates the complex interactions of the rights in the CRPD. The examples presented here show how when an Article in the Convention not met it has a knock on effect causing other Articles not to be met; for example no access to education may mean that the right to health is not met because vital education was missed. Or an Article is not met because other interrelated rights have not been met; for example a school might be fully accessible for wheelchairs, but transport to school might not be accessible for wheelchairs meaning that the right to education is not being met. The few examples cited below will make this clear.

Article 9, The right to accessibility

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. 

Article 17, Right to personal integrity

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. 

Article 21, Freedom of expression

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.

Article 23, Respect for home and the family

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.

Article 24, The right to education

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.

Article 27, The right to work

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.