Human Rights of Persons with Disabilities: Contemporary Developments

Every human being is entitled to be treated with dignity, decency, equality and freedom regardless of the fact that we are born differently, grow differently, and are different in our mental makeup, thought processes and life-style. Negation of this would mean negation of human rights. But unfortunately, persons with disabilities experience and encounter discrimination due to their disabilities. There is no acceptance for them in the mainstream, and are considered to have less functional bodies or dependents. They face social, cultural, and attitude barriers that impede their full participation in society and the exercise of their rights and opportunities. There was no international treaty covering specifically the human rights issues of persons with disabilities prior to the drafting of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). In its role as the first human rights treaty of the 21st century that addresses the rights of persons with disabilities, the UNCRPD ushers in a new era of international human rights law and practice. Yet studies commissioned by the various organizations showed that attention towards this issue at international level had generated only a limited effect at national level.