UN CRPD

While the largely medical evidence base put out through the 1990s- totalling up to the "global mental health" agendas- suggests only medical cures for psychosocial impact of social inequalities, disadvantage and exclusion, there is a tiny glimmer of thinking, that the medical researchers are considering whether social empowerment is a ‘cure’ too, for mental health problems.  However, such literature has not considered the positive impact, on psychosocial distress and disturbance, through use of empowerment initiatives.  For example, researchers while identifying poverty alleviation as a likely measure to prevent psychosocial distress; however, conclude with an argument for "scaling up for mental health services", claiming inconclusive evidence.  Over the decade, in research formulations, using a reductionistic view about development programs, arguments for the economic "cost" of "mental disorder" has outweighed interest on the impact of poverty, and other social determinants, on mental health; and its reverse effects.

This article will provide a brief historical background to mental health law in order to gain a greater sense of the significance of international human rights law to civil commitment legislation today. Historical context will help to identify the purpose and objectives of mental health law, which in turn assist in weighing into the major debates currently underway. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability (CRPD), in particular, has brought major changes to the way mental health law is understood, including strengthening longstanding critiques, and adding novel critical perspectives. Three 'eras' of mental health law are examined: the pre-modern origins of mental health law and 19th century regulation; the 'medicalising' shift of the 20th century; and deinstitutionalisation and 'rights-based legalism'. These distinct periods of thought will help to critically assess what appears to be a new reform era in which international human rights law will set a new agenda for transforming or even abolishing mental health law as it currently stands.

En septiembre de 2018, se reformó el Código Civil peruano para reconocer la capacidad jurídica de las personas con discapacidad. En atención a esta modificatoria, el artículo presenta una revisión general de las principales características de esta modificatoria, a la luz del modelo social de la discapacidad y la Convención sobre los Derechos de las Personas con Discapacidad. El artículo, además, identifica los pasos previos, a nivel legislativo y jurisprudencial, que permitieron a la modificación normativa se materialice, así como los retos aún pendientes para implementar un sistema de apoyo en la toma de decisiones, como son los alcances de la las salvaguardias, la responsabilidad civil y la reconfiguración de la voluntad.

This report focuses on the progress in deinstitutionalisation and community living in the Czech Republic. Particular attention is given to ways how EU funding is utilised in the process and what are the challenges in implementation of UN CRPD artical 19 in the country. The results suggest that deinstitutionalisation is still seen as "a project" and is, in general, only happening when EU Funds are available. Programmes related to deinstitutionalisation are largely subsidised by the EU funds. Although the EU funding supports the reform, the measures at the national level which would initiate the required systemic change are currently incomplete. The infrastructure for a system of financing independent from EU project funding is still not available

Supported decision-making replaces clinical/medicalized service framework as overall approach to mental health crisis; non-discriminatory violence prevention and non-discriminatory conflict resolution replace the conjoint medicalized repressive power delegated by the state to psychiatry; practical support, defense and advocacy to maintain safety and well-being according to one’s own perspective, will and preferences replaces medicalized repressive coercive paternalism delegated by the state to psychiatry. Medicalization of repression dehumanizes people experiencing distress and weaponizes ‘treatment’ as torture, for which reparations are due along with comprehensive human rights guarantees based on formal and substantive equality.

This version may be supplemented later with footnotes, particularly to CRPD jurisprudence and related materials.

This situational analysis (SITAN) addresses the question: “what is the current situation for persons with disabilities in Nigeria?”. It has been prepared for the Disability Inclusive Development programme (which works on access to education, jobs, healthcare, and reduced stigma and discrimination for persons with disabilities in Bangladesh, Jordan, Kenya, Nepal, Nigeria, and Tanzania), to better understand the current context, including COVID-19, and available evidence in Nigeria. It will be helpful for anyone interested in disability inclusion in Nigeria, especially in relation to stigma, employment, education, health, and humanitarian issues.

This situational analysis (SITAN) addresses the question: “what is the current situation for persons with disabilities in Bangladesh?”. It has been prepared for the Disability Inclusive Development programme (which works on access to education, jobs, healthcare, and reduced stigma and discrimination for persons with disabilities in Bangladesh, Jordan, Kenya, Nepal, Nigeria, and Tanzania), to better understand the current context, including COVID-19, and available evidence in Bangladesh. It will be helpful for anyone interested in disability inclusion in Bangladesh, especially in relation to stigma, employment, education, health, and humanitarian issues.

Article 21 of the Rome Statute requires the International Criminal Court to apply the "applicable law," which includes "where appropriate, applicable treaties and the principles and rules of international law."

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is a near-universally ratified treaty which establishes the global standard for disability non-discrimination as both a principle and a set of specific norms relevant to all areas of substantive human rights law. The CRPD is relevant in this matter because the issues include whether Mr. Ongwen should be relieved of criminal responsibility because of "mental disease or defect."

The committee of experts that monitors compliance with the treaty has asserted that declarations of incapacity to be found criminally responsible are contrary to the CRPD "since [they] deprive[] the person of his or her right to due process and safeguards that are applicable to every defendant."

Disability non-discrimination norms and principles require and allow courts and societies to conceptualize an alternative approach whereby the rules applicable to criminal responsibility are framed and applied so as to take account of the lived reality of persons with disabilities, including those who are experiencing temporary forms of disability, on an equal basis with others.

Amici suggest an approach in which the existence of distress or unusual perceptions does not result in a separate analysis of a defendant's capacity to appreciate the unlawfulness or nature of his or her conduct, or capacity to control his or her conduct to conform to the requirements of law. Instead, the evidence of distress or unusual perceptions would be examined wherever it may be raised to negate the mental element of a crime or to establish the mental element of a partial or complete defense.

Applying this framework to this case resets the questions at stake: Did the defendant's state of mind at the time of committing the acts amount to mens rea as defined in Article 30 of the Statue, taking into account any distress or unusual perceptions he experienced at the time? Was any communication made to him that he understood to be a threat, taking into account such distress or unusual perceptions, and were his actions to avoid such threat reasonable in light of the circumstances as he understood them? A finding of culpability would not, then, hinge on whether or not a "mental illness" could be deduced in one way or another or on a finding of incapacity that places an individual outside the mutual obligations owed to other members of the community.

This article discusses the relationships between three concepts that are key for contemporary disability policies: social model of disability, independent living, and care. The first part explores the impact of the social model and independent living on the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, as well as the conflict between the social model and independent living, on the one hand, and the idea of ‘care’, on the other. This conflict is addressed by making recourse to studies of the ‘ethics of care’ and by introducing a distinction between ‘paternalist care’ and ‘egalitarian care’. In the second part of the article, these concepts are used in an analysis of contemporary Bulgarian disability policies. This includes a critique of the barriers to the independent living faced by disabled people in Bulgaria, and more specifically, of the continuing institutionalization of disabled Bulgarians, the lack of adequate personal assistance, the difficulties with providing access to inclusive education for disabled children, and the medical assessment of disability. The conclusion emphasizes that the approach of ‘paternalist care’ still dominates in Bulgarian disability policies. This significantly complicates the attempts to apply the ‘ethics of care’ in the Bulgarian context in a way that affirms disabled people’s rights.

Raporti i hulumtimit shqyrton çështje të ndryshme, të cilat vënë në dukje situatën e dhunës ndaj grave dhe vajzave me aftësi të kufizuara në vend. Ai gjithashtu jep një pasqyrë gjithëpërfshirëse të kornizës kombëtare dhe ndërkombëtare për mbrojtjen e të drejtave të grave dhe vajzave me aftësi të kufizuara, si dhe ofron një pasqyrim të perceptimit dhe përvojës së tyre personale me dhunën dhe diskriminimin. Raporti synon të tregojë problemet me të cilat përballen gratë dhe vajzat me aftësi të kufizuara, si dhe të ofrojë rekomandime specifike se si t'i kapërcejnë ato.

La tutela del diritto allo studio delle persone disabili, a seguito dell’adozione della Convenzione delle Nazioni Unite sui
diritti delle persone con disabilità, ha subito notevoli modifiche ed innovazioni, soprattutto in relazione
all’implementazione del principio di non discriminazione nell’ambito degli ordinamenti interni dei singoli Stati.
Lo scritto si propone l’obiettivo di individuare il quadro giuridico di riferimento a livello nazionale ed internazionale del
diritto allo studio delle persone con disabilità e di analizzare la recente giurisprudenza nazionale che si è espressa in
relazione alla reale attuazione ed azionabilità del diritto in questione. Il Modello sociale della Disabilità è usato come
chiave di lettura delle norme.

The protection of the right to education of disabled people has been highly strengthened after the adoption of the Con-
vention on the Rights of persons with disabilities. It affected the implementation of the non-discrimination principle in
domestic legislation of single Sates Parties.
This paper describes the national and international legal framework of the right to education of disabled people and analises domestic cases looking at the implementation and the justiciability of this right. The Social model of Disability is
used as logical framework to conduct legal interpretation.

I draw on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities as a human rights model of disability to analyze how the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is meeting its obligations toward disabled people in higher education and employment. This paper argues that institutions in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi adopted a paternalistic and reactive approach to address the rights of disabled people. Drawing on the experiences of disabled people in the UAE and evidence from interviews conducted from 2016 to 2018, the analysis identifies several key challenges to inclusion that stem from a weak enforcement and accountability framework, which results in a lack of accessibility measures and supports in university and workplace settings. The paper recommends interventions that would create an institutional environment where disabled people are treated as rights holders and given equal and equitable access to higher education and employment.

The defence of insanity has long provided a means by which persons with a psychosocial disability can be detained in a designated facility, for the purpose of receiving medical treatment. As such, the operation of the insanity defence results in the removal of the right to liberty and the right to consent to treatment, for potentially an indefinite period of time. The defence has been subject to criticism for many decades, but it is now time to take stock of its relevance, especially in light of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. This paper will critically examine the application of the insanity defence in Ireland and investigate its future considering Ireland's expected ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Ableism is a powerful social force that causes persons with disabilities to suffer exclusion.
The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) is based on the human rights
principles of equality and freedom for all people. This Convention contains two human rights
instruments: the principle of accessibility and the means of reasonable accommodation, which can be
used to protect the human rights of disabled persons. The extent to which they are used depends
on whether the state implements the Convention adequately and whether companies accept their
responsibility with respect to employing disabled persons and making workplaces available and
designing them appropriately. Civil society can demand the adequate implementation of the human
rights asserted in the CRPD and, thus, in national legislation, as well. A crucial point here is that only
a state that has ratified the Convention is obliged to implement the Convention. Civil society has
no obligation to do this, but has the right to participate in the implementation process (Art. 4 and
Art. 33 CRPD). The Convention can play its part for disabled persons participating in the labor market
without discrimination. If it is not implemented or not heeded sufficiently, the state must push this
and put more effort into its implementation. If the state does not do this, this violates human rights
and has direct consequences for the living conditions of disabled persons. The powerful ideological
force of ableism then remains dominant and hampers or prevents the participation of persons with
disabilities in the labor market and, thus, in society as a whole.

To provide a valid consent to – or refusal of – medical intervention, a patient must be legally capable to decide. This dissertation evaluates and compares when the assessment of mental abilities to refuse – or consent to – somatic medical intervention is required in England, Russia and Sweden, and what criteria must be applied to assess the ability to decide about somatic medical interventions in these legal orders. Two standards are used for evaluation and comparison. These standards are consistency with scientific knowledge of the decision-making process, and compliance with the United Nations and the Council of Europe human rights law requirements. The evaluation and comparison of the national legal orders seek to highlight the solutions and the potential difficulties that the domestic legal systems face when they attempt to realise the two standards.

The analysis in the thesis indicates that the United Nations and the Council of Europe treaty bodies have chosen different approaches as to permissibility of capacity assessment procedures. It is argued that after adoption of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), the capacity assessments of adults should not be allowed in healthcare.

A number of common problems within the selected legal systems are identified and analysed in the thesis. The question of when capacity assessments must start has not yet received much attention at national levels, which results in an absence of foreseeability and a possibility for discriminating against patients on the grounds of disability or health. The thesis highlights the fact that the national law requirements to draw a distinction between mental and somatic disorders/care are particularly problematic, and may lead to arbitrariness. The questions as to the legal classification of capacity assessment procedures (whether they are medical interventions or the collection of personal data), and accordingly, the legal status of refusal or absence of consent are also poorly foreseeable, which may lead to a violation of the patient’s right to privacy.

The analysis shows that the criteria for capacity assessments are regulated in a manner that inevitably leads to arbitrariness when deciding whether a patient can make healthcare decisions. It was shown that the criteria are interpreted differently by various actors, and no agreement as to the required level of performance is reached. It is also argued that capacity assessments rarely allow for achieving the goal of checking whether or not a patient can choose what to do with his or her own body.

This article explores the experience of people with psychosocial disabilities with independent living and community inclusion in war-affected settings. While the UN CRPD obliges states to protect the rights of persons with psychosocial disabilities to community living (Article 19) in contexts of war (Article 11), information is lacking about people's lived experience. We reviewed studies published between 1980 and 2020, exploring concepts central to the CRPD's Article 19. Sixteen articles met the inclusion criteria. Findings indicate that support for persons with psychosocial disabilities is lacking while also being insufficiently described; little information is available about types of mental health and psychosocial support services; and data are almost absent about access to community services available for the general population. To ensure independent living and community integration in contexts of war, we emphasize the need for comprehensive and intersectional approaches that are locally relevant, participatory, and based on human rights.

This chapter examines Article 30 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). The article covers many, sometimes disparate, issues, although the underlying entitlements are accessibility and availability. One of the cornerstones of Article 30 is access to culture, one of the least studied human rights and its content remains contested. Culture is subject to several limitations, such as censorship, freedom of expression constraints, sensitivities towards religions, and hate speech. Do these limitations apply to the right of access to culture of disabled persons in the same way as they do to their non-disabled counterparts? Paragraph 3 is perhaps the most contentious of all. It suggests that existing intellectual property laws should be construed in such a way as to avoid imposing any unreasonable or discriminatory barriers against persons with disabilities to the enjoyment of their right of access to cultural materials.

Водичот за соодветно приспособување дава систематски и аналитички преглед на правниот институт за соодветно приспособување за лицата со попреченост. Публикацијата се заснова на разгледување на постојните дефиниции и правните толкувања утврдени во Конвенцијата за правата на лицата со попреченост, како и во постојното домашно право, меѓународната и националната судска пракса, на судовите и различните тела за човекови права, но и во академската и сивата литература. Особено се образложени видовите на соодветно приспособување кои се однесуваат на потребите на жените и девојчињата со попреченост.

The Analysis explores the direct impact that the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and existent constitutional and legal provisions have on the political participation of persons with disabilities in the country; the state of affairs; and also provides suggestions and recommendations for further discussion and review by the political and academic community, as well as the community of persons with disabilities.

Sri Lanka has had a Rights-based National Policy on Disability since 2003. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) was ratified in 2016. To implement these a National Action Plan on Disability was approved in 2014 and two National Human Rights Action Plans (2011 2015 and 2016 2020) have included disability. Yet no meaningful steps have been taken to date to alleviate disadvantage and distress and improve the quality of life of persons with disabilities in the country through the achievement of their Rights.
This publication is meant to be used by law makers, administrators and other senior decision makers to assist them in deciding on appropriate rights-based policies and how these may be implemented. It informs persons with disabilities and all interested parties about the current status of the ongoing Dialogue on Disability Rights. In so doing it aims to further enhance continuing discourse, discussion, debate and consensus leading to action that will draw closer the realization of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Sri Lanka.
(Available online in Sinhala, Tamil and English)

This situational analysis (SITAN) addresses the question: “what is the current situation in relation to formal sector employment for persons with disabilities in Bangladesh?”. It has been prepared for the Inclusion Works programme (which works on disability inclusive formal employment in Bangladesh, Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda), to better understand the current context and available evidence in Bangladesh, and will be helpful for anyone interested in disability inclusion, especially in relation to employment. It focuses on persons with disabilities, employers, policy, the disability movement, and partnerships.This situational analysis synthesises the most recent existing literature and evidence (drawing on government and non-government sources available online) about Bangladesh generally and on factors relating to persons with disabilities involvement in formal employment.

平等是當代民主社會的核心價值，如何推動障礙者的平等權，是當代社會
必須面對的挑戰。從 1980 年代開始，在障礙權利團體的反歧視與教育權倡議下，障礙學生的教育權逐漸由歧視、慈善與形式平等，走向實質平等。除一般考試之調整，亦有特殊管道如甄試及獨立招生來增加進入高等教育的機會。隨著過去 20 年高教的快速擴張，障礙學生進入大學的機會擴增，在學人數顯著增加。
藉由不同的平等模式分析，本文檢視臺灣障礙學生大學升學政策的發展歷程與侷限。我們認為，身心障礙學生升學大專校院甄試的制度在大學入學困難、系所直接歧視障礙者且缺乏考試調整的時代，的確發揮提供身心障礙學生更多念大學的機會的功能。然而，並不是所有系所都開放特殊名額，且開放的名額是以障礙類別錄取。本文認為應該以平等的結果，即障礙學生是否得到高品質的教育且融入大學生活，重新檢視甄試制度的效果。最後，本文主張《聯合國障礙者人權公約》的人權模式及合理調整的設計能夠挑戰現行障礙學生進入大學政策的侷限，公約所主張的融合平等，在實質平等的基礎上，能更細緻地處理平等權議題。

This situational analysis (SITAN) addresses the question: “what is the current situation in relation to formal sector employment for persons with disabilities in Nigeria?”. It has been prepared for the Inclusion Works programme (which works on disability inclusive formal employment in Bangladesh, Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda), to better understand the current context and available evidence in Nigeria, and will be helpful for anyone interested in disability inclusion, especially in relation to employment. It focuses on persons with disabilities, employers, policy, the disability movement, and partnerships.

Incorporating a social and critical model of disability with an eye to the important intersections of race, gender, income, and disability, we use the existing literature both on disability and on chronic disease and health within the African Nova Scotian community to argue that a human rights-based approach to disability, exemplified by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), provides the most promise for improving the lives of black Nova Scotians with disabilities.

“Therapeutic Groups in low income communities” is a unique intervention program aimed at providing psychosocial support services to the urban poor. The aims of the program is to improve the social capital and support systems available for people with psychosocial issues and disabilities in low income communities, especially for women;  to enable the recovery and wellbeing of persons with mental health issues and with high support needs; and to offer or refer persons with such needs to various healthcare, restorative and social services as needed and available in the community.  The project is intensive service delivery, based on the design developed and owned by the Bapu Trust. 

This is a report of an evaluation done of this program, by Dr. Sadhana Natu, Head, Psychology Department, Modern college, Pune.

On 3 December 2010, Argentina enacted the National Mental Health Law (NMHL), two years after ratifying the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). By allowing extrajudicial involuntary commitments for up to three days and legal capacity restrictions upon recommendation by an interdisciplinary team, the NMHL establishes thresholds for depriving persons with disabilities of their liberty and for restricting their exercise of legal capacity that are inconsistent with the CRPD. However, despite the NMHL's significant shortcomings, it has the potential to contribute both to increased autonomy for users of the mental health system and also to less restrictive legal capacity restrictions. The authors conclude that while the NMHL is inconsistent with the CRPD, it may still help promote a shift away from involuntary commitments and legal capacity restrictions if its implementation results in the dissemination of "better" practices that have emerged thus far.

El Tratado de Marrakech es un hito histórico. No obstante, este tiene un alcance limitado respecto de lo dispuesto por la Convención sobre los Derechos de las Personas con Discapacidad, en particular en el artículo 30. El presente texto sostiene que el proceso de implementación del Tratado de Marrakech, que han iniciado o están por iniciar los diferentes estados que lo adhirieron o ratificaron, puede usarse como un vehículo para aprovechar las flexibilidades ofrecidas por dicho instrumento y para lograr un avance más contundente hacia la garantía de los derechos de las personas con discapacidad consagrados en la CDPD. El artículo revisa conceptos claves del Tratado de Marrakech como los beneficiarios, las obras cubiertas, ejemplares en formatos accesibles y entidades autorizadas, desde la perspectiva de la CDPD, y propone algunas acciones que los Estados en proceso de implementación pueden realizar para alcanzar este objetivo. A su vez, plantea otras medidas previstas en la CDPD que complementan o fortalecen la implementación del Tratado de Marrakech.

During emergency responses and situations, Deaf people are one of the more vulnerable groups to the effects of natural disasters in developing countries. They have communicational and cultural barriers due to lack of accessible information. They are often overlooked, neglected and forgotten in disaster relief and humanitarian response by the governmental and/or humanitarian relief organizations.

The United Nations has created the new international document, The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (U.N. CRPD). It provides the full range of rights for Deaf people and persons with disabilities, including during humanitarian emergencies in natural disaster situations. In addition, the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) and Swedish National Association of the Deaf (SDR) have presented the newly published report, Deaf People and Human Rights. It has incorporated research in human rights for Deaf people, and how their rights are being protected by
the U.N. Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

This research examines the above documents for the extent of their accessibility to services – an important aspect of human rights for Deaf people. It also includes interviews with two Deaf relief workers who traveled to Haiti and Chile during recent emergencies. The discussion focuses on the capability of developing nations and humanitarian relief organizations to respond to the needs of Deaf victims during times
of natural disasters. The research concludes with recommendations for how governments and NGOs should improve their services for Deaf people/victims during natural disasters.

In this paper I reflect on my 13 years of work in international human rights law related to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, on obstacles and co-optation, and on my growing and inescapable awareness of linkages with feminism.

“Dangerous liaisons”. Critical reflections on vulnerability, disability and law**: The attitude of the disability rights advocates towards vulnerability is extremely complex, given the ambiguity of this concept, which is used in the process of “othering”, as well as of in-cluding people with disabilities. In this essay, I will refer to some of the main contemporary debates concerning vulnerability widespread in the field of social-sciences, in order to verify their usefulness for the instances of persons with disabilities. To this aim, I will particularly consider the literature pertaining to feminist and disability studies, trying to highlight simi-larities and divergencies between them. In the second part, I will focus on the legal debate concerning vulnerability, evaluating to what extent it is helpful for the recognition of the full legal subjectivity of persons with disabilities.

In the matter of the request for an advisory opinion by the Council of Europe Committee on Bioethics under Article 29 of the Oviedo Convention (European Court of Human Rights)

Written submissions by the Center for the Human Rights of Users and Survivors of Psychiatry

Part I: Position of CRPD in international law and its relationship to Articles 7 and 27 of the Bioethics Convention

Part II: Content of CRPD Norm on Abolition of Involuntary Hospitalization and Treatment

The textbook is divided into three main parts, preceded by an introductory chapter that lays down the methodology and pedagogical approach of the book. The first part of the book examines the development of international standards on disability, focusing on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD or the UN Convention). The second part of the book analyses EU disability law and policy, paying attention to the role of the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) in protecting the rights of EU citizens with disabilities, and critically assessing the status and effects of the CRPD in the EU legal order. The third part of the textbook covers the role of regional systems, such as the CoE, and the Inter-American and African human rights systems, as well as other transnational regimes, in protecting and promoting the rights of people with disabilities.