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SDG-CRPD Resource Package

OFFICE OF THE HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES (OHCHR)
December 2020

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OHCHR developed a package of resources to support realizing the Sustainable Development Goals for persons with disabilities. These include resources on policymaking (Policy Guidelines for Inclusive SDGs; Training Materials and Videos) and resources on monitoring (Human Rights Indicators on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and a Data Sources Guidance).

 

SDGs:

The Policy Guidelines on inclusive Sustainable Development Goals set out the main actions that should be used to develop policies to achieve the goals for persons with disabilities. Training Materials complementing the guidelines include tools to develop in-person and online trainings. The videos mirror the guidelines and can be used for training and awareness-raising activities.

 

There are Policy Guidelines, Training Materials and Videos for SDG goals 10, 16, 17, 1, 3, 4, 5, 8 and 11. There are thematic briefs for SDG goals 2, 6, 13, 8, 11, 9 and 17.

 

CRPD:

Presented article by article, the indicators are key to facilitating understanding and implementation of the Convention’s provisions. They provide guidance on actions to measure implementation of the CRPD and to track progress over time. Data sources guidance mirrors the human rights indicators and provides examples of different sources of data to inform the outcome indicators.

 

There are indicators and data sources guidance for articles: 1-4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 17, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33.

Legal remedies through litigation for the rights of disabled people

DISABILITY RIGHTS DEFENDERS
EUROPEAN NETWORK ON INDEPENDENT LIVING
ARTICLE 19 AS A TOOL
November 2020

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Even though most countries have ratified the CRPD, the rights of disabled people get violated daily all over the world. In almost every country there are national laws and international agreements which should assure the same rights for disabled people. The main problem is that the laws are widely unenforced, that is why remedies are needed. There is a need for deeper discussions on tools for strategic litigation, including effectiveness of legal and injunctive remedies, different forms of compensation for violations of human rights and procedural strategies for impact, as important tools to fight against violations of disability rights. Thereby, every law system and country has different ways and possibilities to redress violations. In this webinar we want to look at the need for better remedies, access to justice and strategic litigation. We learn from the experience of international experts with strategic litigation and remedies and discuss what kind of changes we would like to see in the remedies available or what kind of new remedies are needed. How can we establish an exchange of international experience and cooperation between organizations in the work towards better remedies?

 

The following speakers shared their expertise:

Paul Lappalainen, Swedish/US lawyer, European Equality Law Network: Access to justice / Access to remedies
Mari Siilsalu, lawyer at Article 19 as a tool, Independent Living Institute: Survey on legal remedies
Ann Campbell, Co Executive Director at Validity Foundation: Looking beyond compensation: innovative remedies for women with disabilities
Stellan Gärde, Swedish lawyer and author: A human right - The right to legal aid
Timothy Hodgson, legal advisor at ICJ, lecturer at University of Pretoria: Economic and social rights litigation

 

The webinar was moderated by Ola Linder, Swedish lawyer and project leader of Article 19 as a tool. 

Crimes against humanity: Decades of violence and abuse in Mexican institutions for children and adults with disabilities

AHERN, Laurie
BRIZUELA, Lisbet
MILLAN, Ivonne
RODRIGUEZ, Priscila
ROSENTHAL, Eric
October 2020

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In this report, Disability Rights International (DRI) has thoroughly documented and detailed human rights violations against people with disabilities - a culmination of the 20 years of work that DRI has carried out in Mexico. DRI’s investigations cover a wide range of institutions including orphanages, psychiatric hospitals, institutions for people with disabilities and for homeless people, among others. The documentation of such a large number of institutions provides an overview of a scale of violations of the rights of persons with disabilities in Mexico  

International Principles and Guidelines on access to justice for persons with disabilities

SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON THE RIGHTS OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES
COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES
SPECIAL ENVOY OF THE SECRETARY GENERAL ON DISABILITY AND ACCESSIBILITY
August 2020

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The International Principles and Guidelines on access to Justice for persons with disabilities are a practical tool to support States in designing and implementing justice systems that provide equal access to justice for persons with disabilities, in line with international human rights standards. They are a result of consultations and collaboration with disability rights experts, organizations of people with disabilities, States, academics, and other practitioners.

 

The document outlines 10 principles of access to justice for people with disabilities

Transformative equality: Court accommodations for South African citizens with severe communication disabilities

WHITE, Robyn M
BORNMAN, Juan
JOHNSON, Ensa
TEWSON, Karen
NIEKERK, Joan van
April 2020

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Background: Persons with disabilities are generally at greater risk of experiencing violence than their peers without a disability. Within the sphere of disability, individuals with severe communication disabilities are particularly vulnerable and have an increased risk of being a victim of abuse or violence and typically turn to their country’s criminal justice system to seek justice. Unfortunately, victims with disabilities are often denied fair and equal treatment before the court. Transformative equality should be pursued when identifying accommodations in court for persons with communication disabilities, as the aim should be to enable such individuals to participate equally in court, without barriers and discrimination.

 

Objectives: This research aimed to identify court accommodations recommended by legal experts, which could assist individuals with severe communication disabilities in the South African court.

 

Method: A qualitative design was used to conduct a discussion with a panel of legal experts.

 

Results: Using Article 13 (Access to Justice) of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) as a human rights framework, four themes were identified: equality, accommodations, participation and training of professionals.

 

Conclusion: Foreign and national law clearly prohibits discrimination against persons with communication disabilities because of their disability and state that they should be given fair and equal access to the court system. For transformative equality to be achieved, certain rules and laws need to be changed to include specific accommodations for persons with communication disabilities so that they may be enabled to participate effectively in court in the criminal justice system.

 

 

 

African Journal of Disability, Vol 9, 2020

Harmful cultural beliefs and practices, stigma and discrimination towards women and girls with disabilities: a toolkit for change

UNESCO OFFICE HARARE
UNITED NATIONS PARTNERSHIP TO PROMOTE THE RIGHTS OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES
2020

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This toolkit serves to highlight the intersection between gender, culture and disability. Following the completion of a study titled Advancing the rights of women and girls with disabilities in Zimbabwe, a review of the interface of culture, gender and disability in Zimbabwe, it was evident that there were cultural and social issues not being adequately addressed in communities. 

This toolkit was formulated based on the study findings, dialogue with key disability stakeholders and principles of the CRPD.

The following is a list of the key articles from the CRPD that form the base of this toolkit:

  • Article 3: General principles (8 in total)
  • Article 6: Women with disabilities
  • Article 8: Awareness raising
  • Article 13: Access to justice
  • Article 23: Respect for home and the family
  • Article 25: Health

This toolkit strives to empower the trainer and the trainee(s) on the virtues encapsulated in the CRPD by localizing the concepts at community level in Zimbabwe.

Zero Project Report 2019: Independent living and political participation

FEMBEK, Michael
January 2019

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The Zero Project Report 2019 focuses on Article 19 (Living independently and being included in the community) and Article 29 (Participation in political and public life) of the UN CPRD, as well as related topics such as Article 12 (Equal recognition before the law) and Article 13 (Access to justice)

For 2019 the Zero Project selected 66 Innovative Practices and 10 Innovative Policies from 41 countries that positively impact the rights of persons with disabilities in their ability to live more independently and to take part in political life

 

This Report is composed of five main sections, summarizing the annual research, followed by an Annex:

• Executive Summary, including background information on this year’s research topic and the Zero Project methodology

• Innovative Polices and Practices: Fact Sheets and Life Stories

• Description of the Zero Project–Impact Transfer programme

• Description of EU-grant-funded TOPHOUSE projects

• A summary of this Report in easy language

• An Annex listing all Zero Project network members active in 2018–2019

The Zero Project Report is also available on the Zero Project Website in an accessible pdf format.

 

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