329311
Fundamental constitutional rights and policy approaches for persons with disabilities in 193 UN Member States
Monday, November 2, 2015
: 2:30 p.m. - 2:50 p.m.
Isabel Latz, M.Phil.,
Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
Amy Raub, M.S.,
Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
Aleta Sprague, J.D.,
Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
Social determinants, including education, employment, access to health care and equal rights are fundamental to the health and well-being of individuals with disabilities. The global community formally recognized the importance of advancing human rights for persons with disabilities in 2006 by adopting the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Subsequently, 151 countries that have ratified the CRPD as of January 2015, agreed to guarantee full enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms to persons with disabilities. Constitutions enshrine the rights of citizens, lay the foundation for countries’ laws and policies, and provide grounds for challenging discriminatory legislation through litigation. Drawing on newly available global data from 193 UN member states, the WORLD Policy Analysis Center at the University of California, Los Angeles examined the extent to which national constitutions as of May 2014 guarantee equal rights for persons with disabilities and rights across civil, economic, social and political spheres. Further, this study assesses the existence of national policies in areas critical to adults and children with disabilities, including provision of inclusive education to children with disabilities and financial assistance to families with disabled children. These findings will inform discussion of the role of constitutions and other legal and policy approaches in promoting the rights of persons with disabilities in practice worldwide. To our knowledge, this study provides the first detailed global assessment of ways in which constitutions guarantee fundamental rights to persons with disabilities and nations support children and adults with disabilities through relevant social policies.
Learning Areas:
Diversity and culture
Public health or related laws, regulations, standards, or guidelines
Public health or related public policy
Learning Objectives:
Identify the extent to which constitutions of all UN member states address fundamental rights of persons with disabilities in line with provisions of the UN CRPD.
Compare the existence of relevant social policies for adults and children with disabilities, including states’ provision of inclusive education and income support to families with disabled children.
Discuss the relevance of constitutional provisions for advancing equal rights of persons with disabilities in the context of other legal and policy approaches.
Keyword(s): Disabilities, Human Rights
Presenting author's disclosure statement:Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a primary investigator of a study on constitutional rights of persons with disabilities in 193 countries that was conducted with co-authors of this submission. I have worked as a policy analyst at the WORLD Policy Analysis Center since June 2012 and have gained strong expertise in the data collection, coding and dissemination of findings on laws and policies relevant for this study. My background and research expertise is in health sciences and epidemiology.
Any relevant financial relationships? No
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines,
and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed
in my presentation.
