3A. International Level

Table of Contents

  1. Universal Declaration of Human Rights
  2. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
  3. Treaty of Marrakesh

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Source: Body of Knowledge

First, we learn about three approaches to addressing the rights of Disabled people through legislation.

We take a walk through history, through three documents that mirror these three approaches.

It's 1948 and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is passed. Disabled people are not one of the groups protected in this document.

The UDHR proclaims civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights to be for all peoples and provides the basis for other international standards, notably the 2006 Convention.

It's 1975 and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Disabled Persons is passed. As a declaration (as opposed to a Convention), it can only provide recommendations.

While the Declaration asserts the need for Disabled people to be protected against discriminatory treatment and promotes their integration into all facets of society, it accepts that not all countries can presently afford to devote resources beyond 'limited efforts' to achieve this vision.

It's 2006 and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities finally provides a legally beinding convention.

Source: Universal Declaration of Human Rights

The Document

More tiny little details about the document itself:

Now it does feel silly to memorize all 30 points of this article. So I'm going to narrow it down to just the super relevant things.

UDHR Articles 1-2

I present an abbreviated form of these articles here:

Article 2 explicitly lists a whole bunch of categories that cam't be used as basis for discimination. Disability status is not listed as part of these, though it is implied that the UDHR is not restricted to the categories that it does name.

The first two articles are the basis for which all the other articles follow; the assertion of inalienable human rights as a new rule of law in the natural order is nothing to scoff at.

UDHR Articles 3-30

Simultaneously, we should look to see what kind of themes and priorities are reflected across the other 27 articles.

One prevalent theme is 'everybody has the right to not get mistreated' worded in many different ways: freedom from torture, get a fair trial, be able to get out of bad situations.

Another theme evolves around 'basic everyday needs and activity' which include living conditions, work, rest, education, social living, family, and free expression.

Another theme concerns the governance of the nation and international order. On the national level, this addresses things like peaceful assembly, labour unions, participating in government, equal laws. On the global level, it calls for international collaboration to ensure everyone gets access to these rights.

Source: Human Rights of People with Disabilities

This webpage is attributed to the Office of the High Commissioner and describes what work the UN has done and continues to do to address the human rights of Disabled people.

Overview

The Office facilitates engagement with this issue at the intergovernmental level and also recruits dialoguing partners from representative organisations of Disabled people.

The Office promotes awareness, and also ensures Disabled people are seen and considered in greater projects across the whole United Nations apparatus, including with the Sustainable Development Goals. They name the UN Disability Inclusion Strategy as a particular example of this.

About the Human Rights of Disabled People

In this section, we see main points from the Body of Knowledge reflected back at us. The CRPD, 2006 for adoption, 2008 when it came into force, took up the social model and took to articulate the UDHR promise in explicit and pragmatic terms within the disability context.

But we also see some new and exciting points. The Office acknowledges that disability status interacts with other facets of identity and cirumstances in further disabling ways, especially in developing countries. In addition to this, they describe the CRPD as being more capable of dealing with these more complex cases of discrimination; Disabled women and children are explicitly addressed within the wording of the CRPD. We end with this very poignant quote,

[R]eaching the furthest behind first is the key to leaving no one behind.

This is a very common sentiment within the larger conversation of Disability Studies, especially Disability Justice activism led by queer and trans Disabled BIPOC.

This small article also might be the first time that we see some material realities of Disabled people acknowledged. Disabled people commonly are confined to institutions, are barred from voting, are unable to have their own property, are forcefully segregated from the mainstream at various levels of society (including within the justice system, don't get me started!) among other things.

I feel like the whole curriculum would have been better if we started the talk about disability with this, with the history. Not to paint a deficit ideology portrait of disability in general, but true accessibility will never be met as long as basic needs are not met and material conditions don't change. As Certified Accessibility Professionals, shouldn't this be something that we should know?

Source: Declaration on the Rights of Disabled Persons

This is the full text of the Declaration. It's shorter than I had anticipated, and way more interesting than I had anticipated. Here are points I note in reading it.

They cite a bunch of predecessing declarations, including the Declaration on the Rights of Mentally R******d Persons which feels like it comes out of nowhere. What IS that? Passed in 1971, it echoes a lot of the attitudes towards people with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities and the type of care that should be organized for them up to nearly the present day. It falls to the wayside, just as the DRDP falls to the wayside, because the CRPD is just so much stronger as an instrument of policy making.

Moving on, we see the little exception that developing countries "can devote only limited efforts" and can therefore be excused from a lot of these things.

With the caveats and background done, we jump into the declaration itself, which starts off with a fascinating definition of disability. I am drawn to this one. It's a function-based definition where the bar to clear is 'ensuring for oneself the necessities of a normal individual (or social) life' but it's supported by some classic medical-model based, 'as a result of dificiency in physical or mental capabilities.'

The document doesn't contain the word 'accessibility.' It's slightly present within the phrase 'measures designed to enable them to become as self-reliant as possible,' but it never really addresses the idea of inaccessibility, or the environment being the problem somehow. Instead, assitive technology and interventions on the individual or 'treatment' is the thing that is promised to all Disabled people, which is slightly insidious. It's all under the guise that the rehabilitation is always the right move and the right goal. This simply does not give autonomy to the Disabled person, and it leaves the Disabled people who never get better, either because they can't get better or don't want to get better, out in the dust.

I think in reading this, it really drives home the fact that there has been significant progress in society's attitude. It's still bad, but it used to be much, much worse. And many people who were raised in eras where the social model was not at all present might still continue to have really outdated beliefs.

Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Source: Body of Knowledge

This is the most important document to know about, because in signing onto the CRPD, states parties must actually implement it.

The language is a bit dense here, so I'll paraphrase from the Body of Knowledge in the style of question-and-answer.

Through what model does the UNCRPD approach people with disabilities?
The UNCRPD follows the movement to shift towards the social model of disability and away from the medical and charity models of disability, as has historically been the case in policy-making.
Broadly speaking, what does the UNCRPD do?
Reaffirming that Disabled people are a category of people with protected rights and freedoms, it makes explicit that extra steps need to be taken in order for Disabled people to enjoy these rights and freedoms. In discussing these extra steps, the UNCRPD talks about how Disabled people need accomodations and how Disabled people may have their rights violated. Fundamentally, the UNCRPD is focused on implementation.
What support does the UNCRPD have?
The UNCRP has very broad support. Over 180 countries/regional unions have ratified it, meaning they have committed to implementing internal policies to achieve the UNCRP's mandate. The UNCRP has been signed by over 160 countries/regional unions (there is overlap between these two groups). The EU is very supportive of the UNCRPD; it signed and ratified as itself, and then all EU member states ratified it individually.
What are ratified states obligated to do?
They are obligated to establish a framework to Promote, Protect, and Monitor the implementation of the CRPD.
What monitors the ratified states parties?
The Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities conducts regular reviews. Non-government bodies can submit to compilation called a 'List of Issues.' When state parties report back, they have to respond to the List of Issues. (The BoK is kind vague about the process here, and I'm having trouble finding resources concerning this).
What does the UNCRPD say about accessibility?
A lot. Accessibility the fifth principle listed in Article 3: General Principles, and the entirety of Article 9 is dedicated to hashing out the nitty-gritty.

The authors of the BoK then proceed to lay out the full text Article 9. The spirit of Article 9 basically is as follows: State parties should endeavor to so that all environments that are accessible to the public, whether they are publically or privately funded, whether they are urban or rural, whether they are physical or digital, are also accessible to people with disabilities. They should provide minimum standards and training to get to this point. Additionally, Disabled people should have access to assistive technology and live support (guides, interpreters) that can facilitate access to information, including digital information. Also, in the physical world, Braille signage and plain language signage should be available always.

Source: Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Most of the information here is buried further into the website, so let's review a couple of pages individually.

1. CRPD Frequently Asked Questions

Do Disabled people have special human rights?
Every human has the same human rights. The CRPD endeavors to ensure Disabled people actually get the same rights as everyone else.
What is the Optional Protocol?
Allows individuals who feel a breach of their rights has happened a mechanism to petition. Also, gives the Committee authority to do inquiries for large systemic violations.
What other international standards are there?
The Declaration, of course. But there's also the World Programme of Action Concerning Disabled Persons, the Principles for the Protection of Persons with Mental Illness and the Improvement of Health Care, and Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities. All of these are older and none are legally binding. Also the one about mental health has some Problematic Elements.
Okay but what about international standards that are actually legally binding?
There are a bunch of conventions, but many don't name disability status explicitly. Uniquely, the Convention on the Rights of the Child does name it. Regardless, these other conventions apply to all humans, and if you are operating under the assumption that Disabled people are human, well they're entitled to all the rights and protections of those conventions too.
What sets apart the CRPD from these other conventions?
It goes way more into depth and the specifics than previous conventions have gone into. It's the first convention adopted after 2000, and it integrates a social development perspective, recognizing the importance of international cooperation in supporting national implementation efforts.
What are the principles of the convention?
Mnemonic: DACAGON. Diversity, Accessibility, Children's rights, Autonomy, Gender equality, Opportunity equality, Non-discrimination
How does the CRPD define disability and qualify Disabled people?
The CRPD breaks slightly from the definition we saw in the DRPD, as it takes primarily from the biopsychosocial model of disability. Disability, in the view of the CRPD, results from the interaction between impairements and barriers. Article 1 suggests these impairments are 'long-term,' but they've pulled some legal wording wizardry to ensure that isn't some kind of qualifier.

2. The Convention in Brief

Here it summarizes all relevant parts of the convention. Here's some things that stick out to me as pertaining to accessibility, inclusion, and to disability culture in general.

3. 10th Anniversary of the Convention

There's less here than I anticipated. They report 'remarkable progress' in the ten years since the implementation of the Convention, note that the UNCRPD has been the convention with the fastest rate of adoption, and that numerous sustainable development frameworks have used the CRPD and within their methods and guiding values.

These frameworks include the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, the World Humanitarian Summit and the New Urban Agenda.

Treaty of Marrakesh

Source: Body of Knowledge

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) administeries a body of international copyright treaties. For a long time, copyright limitations have prevented accessible formats of texts from being produced easily. The Marrakesh Treaty, adopted on June 27, 2013, provides a copyright exception in service of making the creation of such accessible formats more easy.

Source: The World Blind Union, The Treaty of Marrakesh Explained

The body of knowledge, in leaving many of these terms undefined, leaves the reader to just imagine what is allowed and disallowed in the treaty. But this document from the World Blind Union is clear and explicit.

This treaty provides a legal exception to copyright lawand allows for the creation, import and export of accessible transcriptions.

I just used the word 'transcription' there, because it is more precise than the word 'edition.' With an accessible edition, I imagine plain language formats alongside ASL translations, alongside other things. But that isn't what this covers.

Currently only some 1-7per cent of the world’s published books ever make it into accessible formats.

The treaty actually prohibits any transformation of the content of the work. Merely switch around the format; Braille, electronic, audio and large print.

Also, not everyone can get their hands on these accessible formats. Only Beneficiaries, defined as anyone who has trouble with regular printed formats, should receive these editions. The beneficiary population is mostly blind and low-vision folks, but the folks at the World Blind Union also mention dyslexia as a potential qualifying circumstance. According to them, people who physically can't turn normal pages for whatever reason also may qualify.

Source: WIPO, Summary of the Marrakesh Treaty

WIPO offers a legality-centered summary of the Marrakesh treaty. The treaty's full name is "Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled (MVT) (2013)." Here are tidbits from this document that helped clarify my understanding of this matter:

First of all, the treaty refers to the beneficiary persons as VIPs. This is why we saw this wording within the Body of Knowledge summary. WIPO's summary does not mention dyselxia as a potential condition that might be cause for print disability, but the wording is ambiguous enough here that dyslexia may still have a chance of qualifying. (Cross referencing this Librarian's guide to the Marrakesh treaty, developmental and learning abilities like dyslexia and autism, can in fact count as 'print disabilities.'

Secondly, authorized entites have various obligations to establish and follow practices for ensuring the system doesn't get mis-used. These are up to individual authorized entities, not up to states.

Thirdly, VIPS can make duplicates of accessible formats that were produces lawfully under the treaty. These are personal use copies, and they aren't allowed to redistribute them.

Fourth, the 'commercial exception' that the World Blind Union touches on is further expounded. The Marrakesh treaty allows signatories, within their implementation, to basically say, 'If an accessible format is available comercially, don't freaking do it, the copyright doesn't apply.' I'm sure this kind of case applies very much to the ePub format, which is increasing in popularity. BUT, if signatories add this clause in the policy, they have to basically contact the WIPO Director General, and then WIPO can get all up in that signatory nation's businesss.

Fifth, there is a constraint on exports-- you can only export an accessible copy made under the terms of the Marrakesh treaty to people within a country who has also signed the Treaty. This makes a good deal of logical sense. If country A has signed the treaty, and person A sneaks a copy to person B of country B, who has not signed the treaty, it would violate the laws and sovereignty of country B to declare that the Treaty of Marrakesh allowed you to do this. Similarly, if person B made their own accessible copy illegally and sent it to person A, that copy is still piracy.

Sixthly, members of WIPO or the European union are allowed to join the Marrakesh Treaty. You do NOt need to be a member of the United Nations, or any other international body besides the WIPO, to then join.

Finally, the Treaty needed 20 ratifying or accending members before it entered in the force. So despite being adopted in 2013, it has only actually been in force since 2016.