World Blind Union
Manifesto for a United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with
Disabilities
'Equal Rights and Full inclusion as World Citizens'
1. Definition
The World Blind Union (WBU) represents 180 million blind and partially
sighted persons from some 600 different organisations in 158 countries
and is a non-political, non-religious, non-governmental and
non-profit-making organisation. WBU is divided into 6 regions, each with
its own constitution and has a consultative status within the UN and its
Agencies. The WBU also works in close collaboration with the
International Disability Alliance (IDA).
The broad aims of the WBU are :
- To fight for the human rights of blind, partially sighted and
deafblind persons throughout the world
- To fight all discrimination against blind and partially sighted
people
- To advance the well-being and further the rights of blind and
partially sighted people all over the world, particularly in
developing countries
- Promote the prevention and treatment of blindness.
We at WBU welcome the establishment of a process for developing a
comprehensive and integral international Convention on the Protection
and Promotion of the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities. We
call on governments, working within the context of this process, to
consider this Manifesto as the World Blind Union's list of priorities
for a Convention.
This Manifesto was arrived at through a worldwide process of
consultation within the World Blind Union and its Regional Member
Organisations and co-ordinated by the WBU Working Group on Relations
with the United Nations and its Agencies.
For the purpose of this manifesto, every reference to "blind and
partially sighted people" should be taken to include: women and
girls, those people who are deafblind as well as those who have other
disabilities in addition to visual impairment.
2. Definition
Taking inspiration from the broad definition of disability introduced by
the Mexican government's delegation in its proposal to the Ad Hoc
Committee, the World Blind Union proposes the following definition :
" A physical, psychiatric, intellectual, or sensory impairment,
(whether permanent or temporary, provided that it lasts for a
significant period of time), that limits the capacity to perform one or
more essential activities of daily life, and which can be caused or
aggravated by the economic and social environment. "
3. Role of a Convention
The World Blind Union acknowledges that some international agencies and
bodies, such as the UN and the European Union, as well as some national
governments, have recognised and acted to address some of the
inequalities, discrimination and exclusion experienced by all blind,
partially sighted and deafblind people, as well as other groups of
disabled people. However, these measures have failed to guarantee to
blind and partially sighted people the same universal rights and
freedoms, including the right to life, as other world citizens that are
enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
A Convention to protect the rights of blind and partially sighted people
should therefore :
- Extend the rights contained in the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights to all disabled people
- Build on the foundation of the United Nations Standard Rules for
the Equalisation of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities
- Incorporate disabled people's rights in all other UN Conventions
- Define the scope of the human rights that all disabled people can
expect to have, rights which should be given fully and without
restriction regardless of disability, race, colour, gender, age,
sexual orientation, language, religious belief, political opinion,
national or social origin, financial status, birth, caste or other
status
- Be sensitive to the diverse needs and abilities of disabled people
- Have the strength and clarity to provide a standard against which
all disabled people can evaluate their status as included members of
their societies and which individual disabled people can use to
determine whether their rights are being violated
- Be suitable for incorporation into Member States' constitutions
and legislation
- Contain rights which are individually or collectively enforceable
in the courts of the signatory states and within the UN system
itself.
- Provide a framework for a monitoring tool to evaluate Member
States' human rights performance
- Require the appropriate UN agencies to monitor the signatory
States' performance in providing human rights for disabled people
and to report to the UN regularly on the results of this monitoring.
4. Fundamental Principles to be Included in the Convention
We at the World Blind Union urge governments, working within the context
of the process to develop a Convention on the rights of people with
disabilities, to ensure that the following fundamental principles are
incorporated into the Convention. This will ensure that the world's
blind, partially sighted and deafblind people, and other groups of
disabled people have :
- The basic right to full inclusion as equal citizens in society
- The autonomy for blind and partially sighted people to lead full
and independent lives and achieve their full economic, social,
cultural, civil and political potential.
4.1 Right to Full Participation
This includes :
- The right to stand as candidates in elections
- The right to join political parties and social organisations
- The right to work as paid officials in public administration
- The right to participate in all aspects of the life of the
community on a basis of equality with other citizens.
4.2 Right of blind and partially sighted people to take control of
their own lives
This includes :
- The right to choose whether to marry, to form relationships or to
raise a family
- The right to own property
- The right to run a business
- The right and the facilities for blind and partially sighted
people to control their own financial affairs and operate a bank
account in their own name (notes and coins should be designed so
that they are easy to distinguish for people with a visual
impairment)
- The provision of personal support to enable blind and partially
sighted people to lead independent lives
- The right to self determination
- The right to self-representation
4.3 Right to Dignity, Tolerance and Inclusion
This includes :
- The right to accurate portrayal by the media of the circumstances
of people with disabilities, as well as of their rights as equal and
participating citizens of communities and families
- The obligation for the general public to receive awareness
training on the rights of persons with disabilities under the law
and specifically on the needs and concerns of blind and partially
sighted people
- The obligation for employers to organise systematic training for
their staff on the rights established through this UN Convention
4.4 Right to Life
This includes :
- The prohibition of compulsory abortion at the instance of the
State, based on the pre-natal diagnosis of a disability.
5. Specific Rights to be Included in the Convention
We at the World Blind Union urge governments, working within the context
of the process to develop a Convention on the rights of people with
disabilities, to ensure that the following specific rights are
incorporated into the Convention. This will ensure that the world's
blind, partially sighted and deafblind people, and other groups of
disabled people have :
- The basic right to full inclusion as equal citizens in society
- The autonomy for blind and partially sighted people to lead full
and independent lives and achieve their full economic, social,
cultural, civil and political potential.
5.1 Right to Universal Suffrage
This includes :
- The right and the facilities to vote in secret in all public
elections
- The right to the provision of the necessary instruments and
technologies to enable blind, partially sighted and deafblind people
to cast their vote independently and in secret
- The right to a postal ballot in cases where restricted mobility
makes it difficult to get to a polling station
- The right to the provision of accessible information about
political parties' and candidates' manifestos
5.2 Right to Freedom of Association and to Form Organisations to
Represent the Specific Interests of blind and partially sighted people
This includes :
- The right to meet with others
- The right to form independent organisations to represent the
individual and collective interests of blind and partially sighted
people to governments and their administrations
- The right for representative organisations of blind and partially
sighted people to be consulted by governments on all legislation,
policies and strategies and to sit on any relevant government bodies
5.3 Right to Judicial Equality and Protection
This includes :
- The right to protection from all violence, torture, inhumane or
degrading treatment or punishment at the hands of the law or
institutions of the state. Blind and partially sighted people, and
people with disabilities in general, are especially vulnerable to
such abuse
- The right to the same legal protection for disabled children, old
people, refugees, asylum seekers, and other displaced, nomadic,
indigenous or transient people as that given to other citizens
without disabilities
- The right to the provision of legal documents in a format
accessible to blind and partially sighted people such as Braille,
audio, large print and electronic text) in a timely manner and
without any additional cost
- The right to legal proceedings and treatment in prison, free from
all forms of discrimination
- The right to victims' protection and compensation that is
sensitive to the special circumstances arising from being blind or
partially sighted
- The right to the opportunity to be a practising lawyer, judge or
juror and to be given any assistance that may be necessary to enable
these tasks to be performed
- The right to be called as a witness and to give evidence
- The obligation for all public officials responsible for law
enforcement and administration, including police, prison and court
officials, to attend disability equality training that incorporates
appreciation of the rights contained in the UN Convention
5.4 Right to Information and Communication
This includes :
- The right to the provision, in a timely manner and without
additional cost, of all information in the public domain in formats
that are accessible to blind and partially sighted people, such as
Braille, audio, large print and electronic text, regardless of any
copyright laws. This is to include all correspondence and
information from public services, such as hospitals, public
utilities and government departments, as well as those providing an
essential service such as banks
- The right to literacy through free instruction in methods of
reading by touch such as Braille, and in methods of communication
for deafblind people
- The right to interpretation services for deafblind people at no
extra cost
- The right to free postage of Braille or audio material for the
blind
- The right to the provision of adapted equipment and access
software to enable blind and partially sighted people to access the
Internet and other information whether it is electronically stored
or not
5.5 Right of Access to the Built Environment and Public Transport
This includes :
- Recognition in legislation that the white cane is a symbol which
indicates that the carrier is blind or partially sighted, and the
red and white striped cane which indicates that the carrier is
deafblind
- The right to accessible pedestrian environments, public buildings
and facilities for public use that are designed and maintained to
enable blind and partially sighted people to move around safely and
independently
- The right to fully accessible public transport vehicles, stations,
stops and services, and to audible announcements to include stops,
destination and route number
- The right to free access to all public places, public buildings
and public transport for guides of blind and partially sighted
people and assistance dogs
5.6 Right to Education
This includes :
- The right to an education of equal quality that furthers the
integral development, independence, and participation of blind and
partially sighted people in society. This may be achieved :
- either, ideally, by an education alongside non disabled
children and young people, with the resources needed to enable
blind and partially sighted children's full participation and
development
- or, if necessary to meet the individual's particular needs, by
special education alongside children and young people with
similar disabilities
- The right of equal access to tertiary and vocational education and
to be provided with the resources and support needed to enable blind
and partially sighted students to fully participate in such courses
- The right for blind and partially sighted people to be provided
with the equipment, technical assistance, specialist teaching and
learning materials that will enable them to access and participate
in curricular and extra-curricular activities alike
- The right to an education provided by teachers who have received
training relevant to both the specific needs of blind partially
sighted and deafblind people and which provides teachers with the
competence to teach communication skills such as Braille
- The right for blind and partially sighted people and their parents
to be given advice based on an assessment of their educational needs
and abilities that will enable an informed educational choice to be
made
- The right to participation in scholarships and provision of other
financial support specific to those with disabilities to ensure that
suitable education is provided regardless of the financial status of
the recipient
5.7 Right to Health Services
This includes :
- The right to equal access to all necessary health services
- The right to information about all available health services and
personal medical information in formats which are accessible to
blind and partially sighted people, such as Braille, large print,
audio and electronic text
- The obligation for all health service staff to be given training
on the specific needs of blind and partially sighted people
- The right to personally authorise treatments and procedures
5.8 Right to Rehabilitation
This includes :
- The right to be provided with rehabilitation services at the time
of sight loss, regardless of age, and the right to rehabilitation
and social services that are designed and delivered to meet the
independent and daily living needs arising from specific
disabilities
- The right for blind and partially sighted people to be provided
with the equipment that they need to alleviate the functional impact
of their disability, the training to use the equipment and support
to maintain its efficient operation, all without additional cost to
the blind or partially sighted individual
5.9 Right to Vocational Training and Employment
This includes :
- The right to take up employment
- The right to hold a professional job, for example as a teacher, a
social worker, or a psychologist provided that the individual hold
the necessary qualifications
- The right to a vocational assessment provided by qualified staff
- The right to vocational training for blind and partially sighted
people who wish and are able to work
- The right to vocational training provided in centres meeting the
specific needs of blind and partially sighted people, as well as in
community based vocational training facilities
- The right for blind and partially sighted people to be provided
with all equipment, accessible teaching materials and personal
support they require during their training
- The right to training in line with formally recognised
qualifications
- The right to assistance from qualified staff to help to find work
- The right to legal redress for blind and partially sighted people
when they experience discrimination in their recruitment, career
development, remuneration or promotion
- The right to financial support from governments to meet the cost
of the specialist equipment, adaptations to employers' equipment,
adaptations to the workplace, provision of information in accessible
formats such as Braille, large print, audio and electronic text, and
the cost of personal support that blind and partially sighted people
require in the workplace
5.10 Right to Culture and Leisure
This includes :
- The right to full access to all cultural, leisure and sporting
activities, facilities and equipment, including participation and
spectating
- The right to accessible television broadcasting, including audio
description of programmes, audio sub-titling of foreign language
programmes and other descriptive video services
- The right to access public library services, including provision
of books and information services in accessible formats, such as
Braille, audio, large print and electronic computer disks
5.11 Right to Financial Support
This includes :
- The right of equal access to all statutory benefits and pensions
- The right to the provision of allowances to all blind and
partially sighted people to compensate for any loss of income
incurred by those who are unable to work
- The right to the provision of allowances to all blind and
partially sighted people, regardless of their age, to compensate for
the additional costs arising from their disability
- The right to statutory allowances to provide for the financial and
material needs of carers (including parents and family members), and
the costs of employing assistants when blind and partially sighted
people are living in their own homes
- The right to statutory allowances which do not penalise blind and
partially sighted people should they take up employment
- The right of blind, partially sighted and deafblind people in paid
employment to receive allowances to compensate them for the
additional costs arising from their disabilities incurred in doing
their job
- The right to financial support to meet the costs of residential
and nursing care
5.12 Right to Insurance
This includes :
- The right to obtain insurance cover for health, life or any other
insurance protection at no additional cost
6. Implementing and Monitoring the Convention
The World Blind Union recognises there is substantial variation in the
rights status of disabled people in different countries. This variation
is due to economic, cultural and political factors. Inevitably the time
taken to implement a Convention to protect the rights of disabled people
will take longer in those countries where disabled people's rights are
less developed. We at the World Blind Union therefore recommend that a
process for implementing and monitoring the Convention be introduced
that takes account of the differing levels of rights development in UN
Member States. However, it will be essential to ensure that even though
some Member States will need longer to fully implement the Convention,
every State that is a signatory to the Convention should attain full
implementation within an agreed period of time. During this period there
must not be any regression in rights or any diminution in services.
"Progressivity" should be a key aspect of the implementation
of the Convention.
With this in mind, the World Blind Union proposes that a staged process
for the implementation of the Convention should be introduced. Every
Member State would work through each of the stages and participate in
the associated monitoring arrangements. However, some states would
attain full implementation earlier than those States that begin the
process with a less developed level of rights for disabled people.
A staged process could work as follows :
Stage 1
States accept a binding commitment, backed by national legislation, to
fully implement the Convention. This commitment will recognise that the
Convention constitutes an international standard for the establishment
of rights for disabled people in each UN Member State. This legislation
is to be enacted within two years of a country becoming a signatory to
the Convention, providing the necessary minimum number of signatories
has been met. WBU proposes that the number of signatory countries
required to activate the Convention should be 20.
Stage 2
Adoption of a monitoring process to establish current deficits in the
rights of disabled people, compared with the provisions of the
Convention. This stage to be completed within three years of the
completion of Stage 1. The monitoring is to be organised and undertaken
internally by the UNHCHR which should set up a secretariat dedicated to
this purpose. This secretariat should be served by a panel of advisers
in which international organisations of disabled people are represented.
Disabled people themselves must work in the monitoring agency and serve
on the advisory panel. The results of the monitoring process are to be
published.
Stage 3
States' governments are to discuss the results of the monitoring process
with the national organisations representing the interests of disabled
people, with the objective of preparing an agreed Plan of Action to
bring the rights of disabled people within the Member States up to the
standard of the Convention. Those rights considered by the organisations
of disabled people to be most important should be accorded a high
priority for implementation. The Plan of Action will identify the
resources required to implement the introduction of each right and the
time scale for full implementation.
Stage 4
Five years after the publication of the monitoring process, the
appropriate UN body as described in stage 2, will assess progress in
relation to the plan of action. Its findings will be published and made
available internationally. The body undertaking this work will use a
standard of assessment, based on the provisions of the UN Convention,
that will be applied to all signatory States. This process will
incorporate the views of the organisations of disabled people in the
Member States and be repeated every five years, so that continuous
progress can be evaluated.
Stage 5
When the result of the external monitoring is known, the Member States
will consult with their organisations of disabled people to review and
revise the Plan of Action. This consultation and review will be repeated
after each external assessment has been undertaken.
Stage 6
Once the monitoring established at stage 3 indicates that the Member
State has attained the rights standards of the Convention, it will be
required to present reports every 2 years, showing how it is upholding
the rights established in the Convention. This report will then be
analysed by the relevant UN body as described in stage 2. From this
stage, the procedure is thus similar to the one used in the Convention
on the Rights of the Child.
Disabled people, either as individuals or through their representative
organisations, will be given recourse to lodge complaints about alleged
infringements of their rights under the Convention. If settlement is not
reached to the satisfaction of both parties at a national level, there
will be an option to lodge complaints to the dedicated UNHCHR Convention
secretariat. As the final authority, it is the responsibility of this
secretariat to investigate these complaints.
7. Improving the Process leading to the Preparation of a UN
Convention
The World Blind Union considers that the following action should be
taken to ensure that disabled people throughout the world influence the
content of the Convention :
- World-wide consultation and debate with disabled people, through
representative organisations, to be supported by the UN
- A clearly defined mechanism for interaction between the UN Ad Hoc
Committee and the Disability NGOs to be established and utilised
- Member States to be encouraged to include representatives from
disability organisations in their delegations to the Ad Hoc
Committee meetings
8. Contacting the World Blind Union
1. President of the World Blind Union
Ms. Kicki NORDSTROM
c/o SRF Iris AB
S-122 88 Enskede (Sweden)
Tel : +46 8 39 92 55, +46 70 586 7526
Fax : +46 8 725 99 20
E-mail : kicki.nordstrom@iris.se
2. Chair of the World Blind Union Working Group on Co-operation with
the United Nations and its Agencies
Mr Colin Low, CBE
Chairman
Royal National Institute of the Blind
105 Judd Street
London WC1H 9NE (United Kingdom)
Tel : +44 20 7388 1266
Fax : +44 20 7383 0508
E-mail : colin.low@rnib.org.uk
World Blind Union Web Site : http://umc.once.es/home.cfm
February 2003
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