Resources search

Study on the situation of indigenous persons with disabilities, with a particular focus on challenges faced with regard to the full enjoyment of human rights and inclusion in development

UNITED NATIONS
February 2013

Expand view

"The study reviews the situation of indigenous persons with disabilities in the enjoyment of their human rights. It looks at the main relevant legal standards - the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples - and how those standards interact to protect relevant rights. The study examines some areas in which, according to indigenous persons with disabilities, there is discrimination in the enjoyment of rights, such as political participation, access to justice, education, language and culture, and issues specific to indigenous women and children with disabilities. It is concluded that more attention should be paid to the rights of indigenous persons with disabilities"
E/C.19/2013/6

Fulfilling potential : building a deeper understanding of disability in the UK today

OFFICE FOR DISABILITY ISSUES (ODI)
February 2013

Expand view

"The aims of this report are: to provide an analysis of the current evidence on disability in the UK to inform the development of the next stage of work on Fulfilling Potential - the development of actions, outcomes and indicators; to inform public understanding and prompt debate about disability and the issues faced by disabled people; to raise awareness, drive a change in attitudes and support an increase in commitment to improving the lives of disabled people in the UK today. The main document is structured in two parts: Part 1 provides analysis of the number of disabled people in the UK as well as looking at the way disability develops over the life course and at the fluctuating nature of disability. Part 2 focuses on the lives of disabled people by looking at trends in outcomes and barriers to taking part in different areas of life"
Note: The main report is available for PDF, RTF and easy-to-read
Note: A technical appendix is provided as well as a summary version in PDF, RTF and video in BSL with audio voice-over and subtitles

Human Rights, Social Inclusion and Health Equity in International Donors' Policies

Eide, A H
Amin, M
MacLachlan, M
Mannan, H
Schneider, M
2013

Expand view

Background: Health policies have the potential to be important instruments in achieving equity in health. A framework – EquiFrame - for assessing the extent to which health policies promote equity was used to perform an equity audit of the health policies of three international aid organizations.

 

Objective: To assess the extent to which social inclusion and human rights feature in the health policies of DFID (UK), Irish Aid, and NORAD (Norway).

 

Method: EquiFrame provides a tool for analyzing equity and quality of health policies with regards to social inclusion and human rights. Each health policy was analyzed with regards to the frequency and content of a predefined set ofVulnerable Groups and Core Concepts.

 

Results: The three policies vary but are all relatively weak with regards to social inclusion and human rights issues as defined in EquiFrame. The needs and rights of vulnerable groups for adequate health services are largely not addressed.

 

Conclusion: In order to enhance a social inclusion and human rights perspective that will promote equity in health through more equitable health policies, it is suggested that EquiFrame can be used to guide the revision and development of the health policies of international organizations, aid agencies and bilateral donors in the future.

 

Limitations: Analyses are limited to “policy on the books” and does not measure how effectively vulnerable groups are included in mainstream health policy work.

Violence and abuse towards persons with disabilities : international workshop report

DEEPAK, Sunil
et al
2013

Expand view

This second part of a community-based rehabilitation workshop report focuses on issues of violence, abuse and sexual abuse towards persons with disabilities. This report presents the information exchanged through formal presentations, personal testimonies, film clips, sharing of experiences and discussions around the workshop theme. The report highlights the main findings and presents five key recommendations
"Going beyond the taboo areas in CBR" workshop, part 2
Agra, India
30 November 2012

The key informant child disability project in Bangladesh and Pakistan

MACTAGGART, Islay
MURTHY, GVS
2013

Expand view

The Key Informant Method (KIM) has previously been tested by CBM, LSHTM and others, and found to be a valid method for the identification of children with severe visual impairment and blindness in Bangladesh, using community volunteers in the place of a door-to-door survey. This report outlines a study that set out to expand this and test whether voluntary, community-level Key Informants (KIs) could be trained to effectively identify children with moderate or severe physical impairments, sensory impairments (visual and hearing) or epilepsy in Bangadesh and Pakistan, and if so whether this process could be used to assess prevalence and plan appropriate referral services for children meeting these criteria

Barriers everywhere : accessibility for people with disabilities in Russia

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH (HRW)
2013

Expand view

"This report is based on 123 interviews with people with disabilities and their families in 6 cities across Russia. It documents the everyday hurdles people with disabilities meet when going to government offices, shops, healthcare centers, and places of employment, and accessing public transportation"
Note: an easy-read version and two short films are available from the link provided

Accessible elections for persons with disabilities in five Southeast Asian countries

THE CENTER FOR ELECTION ACCESS OF CITIZENS WITH DISABILITIES (PPUA Penca)
GENERAL ELECTION NETWORK FOR DISABILITY ACCESS (AGENDA)
2013

Expand view

This report is the first systematic attempt to gather data on election access from Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, the Philippines and Vietnam. The report reviews, for persons with disabilities, existing legal frameworks, challenges and barriers in exercising political rights and participation; best practices and innovations; and examples of how disabled persons organisations have been involved in electoral issues

Project : ¨Right to Choose¨|Manual for best practices and lessons learned|Inclusion of people with disabilities in the electoral and political processes of the Dominican Republic, 2012-2013

IBERO-AMERICAN NETWORK OF ORGANIZATIONS OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC (LA RED)
INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATIOIN FOR ELECTORAL SYSTEMS (IFES)
Eds
2013

Expand view

This manual presents the best practices and lessons learned from the "Right to Choose: Inclusion of People with Disabilities in the Electoral and Political Processes of the Dominican Republic" project. The project sought to motivate key public officials to create and strengthen conditions for political participation of people with disabilities in the Dominican Republic

Core Concepts of Human Rights and Inclusion of Vulnerable Groups in the Namibian Policy on Orthopaedic Technical Services

VANROOY, G
AMADHILA, E
MANNAN, H
MCVEIGH, J
MACLACHLAN, M
AMIN, M
2012

Expand view

Purpose: Despite a highly progressive legislation and clear governmental commitment, living conditions among persons with disabilities in Namibia are systematically lower than among persons without disabilities. This implies that persons with disabilities are denied equal opportunities to participate and contribute to society, and consequently are denied their human rights.

 

Methods: EquiFrame, an innovative policy analysis framework, was used to analyse Namibian Policy on Orthopaedic Technical Services. EquiFrame evaluates the degree of stated commitment of an existing health policy to 21 Core Concepts of human rights and to 12 Vulnerable Groups, guided by the ethos of universal, equitable and accessible health services.

 

Results: A number of Core Concepts of human rights and Vulnerable Groups were found to be absent in the Namibian Policy on Orthopaedic Technical Services, and its Overall Summary Ranking was assessed as Moderate.

 

Conclusion and Implications: The Namibian health sector faces significant challenges in addressing inequities with respect to its policy on Orthopaedic Technical Services. If policy content, or policy ‘on the books’, is not inclusive of vulnerable groups and observant of core concepts of human rights, then health practices are also unlikely to do so. This paper illustrates that EquiFrame can provide the strategic guidance for the reform of Namibian Orthopaedic Technical Services policy, leading to universal and equitable access to healthcare.

Incheon strategy to "make the right real" for the persons with disabilities in Asia and the Pacific

UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMISSION FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (ESCAP)
November 2012

Expand view

"This report presents information about 'The Incheon Strategy' which provides the Asian and Pacific region, and the world, with the first set of regionally agreed disability-inclusive development goals. Developed over more than two years of consultations with governments and civil society stakeholders, the Incheon Strategy comprises 10 goals, 27 targets and 62 indicators. The Incheon Strategy builds on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Biwako Millennium Framework for Action and Biwako Plus Five towards an Inclusive, Barrier-free and Rights-based Society for Persons with Disabilities in Asia and the Pacific. The Incheon Strategy will enable the Asian and Pacific region to track progress towards improving the quality of life, and the fulfillment of the rights, of the region’s 650 million persons with disabilities, most of whom live in poverty"
ST/ESCAP/2648

Benefits stigma in Britain

BAUMBERG, Ben
et al
November 2012

Expand view

This report presents the results of a research study assessing the impact of stigma and other social influences on applying for benefits in the UK

Mapping exclusion

KOZMA, Agnes
PETRI, Gabor
November 2012

Expand view

This is a comprehensive report on the state of deinstitutionalization from institution-based services towards community-based services in the mental health field in Europe. The report consists of a comparative analysis of trends and policy changes in Europe based on a survey, and 32 country reports are presented in the annex covering issues crucial in the context of community care, such as data about institutional and community-based services, national mental health and deinstitutionalization strategies, information on guardianship and involuntary admission policies
Note: The report is in English, summaries are available in Dutch, French, Hungarian, Polish, Spanish, Romanian and Swedish

Disability, livelihood and poverty in Asia and the Pacific - An executive summary of research findings

UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMISSION FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (ESCAP) SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT DIVISION
November 2012

Expand view

This publication on Disability, Livelihood and Poverty in Asia and the Pacific is an executive summary that draws from a wider body of primary and secondary research undertaken by the ESCAP research team. It considers both the quantitative and qualitative dimensions which shape the livelihood experiences of persons with disabilities. The primary research is derived from collaboration between ESCAP and its national research partners: disabled people’s organizations (DPOs) and organizations for the empowerment of persons with disabilities. The research included a survey with 1768 respondents (people with disabilities) in eight countires (Fiji, India, Japan, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Philippines, Republic of Korea and Thailand

Sterilisation and intellectually disabled people in New Zealand—still on the agenda?

HAMILTON, C
2012

Expand view

Support through care and protection within a medical framework, rather than through the idea of independence within the least restrictive environment, continues to guide service provision for intellectually disabled people in the sexuality area. Past practices have included use of involuntary sterilisation. This article outlines the outcome of a search for information undertaken because of concerns that use of sterilisation-related procedures may remain embedded in contemporary approaches to sexuality support management. Verified instances of hysterectomy carried out between 1991 and 2001 were uncovered. Documents tabled at a Parliamentary Select Committee in 2003 expressing concerns about use in relation to young disabled girls were also found. Requests for sterilisation-related procedures exemplify how the right of all vulnerable citizens to full bodily integrity is currently adjudicated in New Zealand. It is suggested that further research is needed to pinpoint and address the underlying social customs through which requests for such procedures are negotiated and resolved.

Political participation for everyone : disabled people’s rights and the political process

HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
October 2012

Expand view

This report deals with the issue of the right to political participation which includes voting procedures, voting by secret ballot, access to political information and participation in political parties in New Zealand. The issues of information accessibility and built environment accessibility are addressed in separate reports. This report covers the following: the Commission’s experience and research; the relevant international standards and domestic legislation; international good practice; and ideas to improve political participation in New Zealand
Book 3 of 3

CRPD advocacy by the world network of users and survivors of psychiatry : the emergence of a user/survivor perspective in human rights

MINKOVITZ, Tina
August 2012

Expand view

"Human rights law evolves through processes of social eruption, in which social movements agitate for the recognition of injustices as legal wrongs, and in which sectors of the population that have been oppressed rise up to assert themselves as protagonists who change the landscape of law along with the social, economic and cultural relationships in which law is grounded. The involvement of users and survivors of psychiatry in the CRPD drafting and negotiations, as an integral part of the community of people with disabilities, set the stage for a dramatic (r)evolution in human rights law. This paper explores the genesis of key provisions in the CRPD on legal capacity, liberty, and freedom from forced interventions, and their early interpretation and application"

A global review : UNDP support to institutional and legislative systems for disaster risk management

UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME (UNDP)
2012

Expand view

This review reflects the results of a global analysis undertaken by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) which examined the UNDP’s role in strengthening institutional and legislative systems for disaster risk management.  The report identifies important factors, both enabling and constraining factors, for disaster risk management in establishing institutional and legislative systems in 19 different countries. It also identifies lessons learned and ways to improved UNDP’s assistance and implementation strategies for the establishment of more effective and sustainable systems in the future

Devaluing people with disabilities : medical procedures that violate civil rights

CARLSON, David
SMITH, Cindy
WILKER, Nachama
et al
May 2012

Expand view

"The report puts individuals with disabilities at the center of this discourse. It reviews the facts of Ashley X, as a case study for a larger discussion and presents a continuum of common experiences and treatment of individuals with disabilities within a context of medical decision making. The report explores the potential and actual conflict of interest that medical decision making may present between a parent and his or her child. It describes the vital role that the legal system has in ensuring that the civil and human rights of individuals with disabilities are protected. The report discusses how the deprivation of these rights is harm within and of itself and that all individuals have substantive rights regardless of the severity of their disability"

Pages

E-bulletin