’ Nothing about us without us’ was the slogan often repeated during the negotiations of the Ad Hoc Committee that worked towards the CRPD. The slogan has its basis in the point of view that persons with disabilities themselves need to be included in processes involving them with the aim of avoiding dependence, control and paternalism of society. The slogan brings explicit the well founded fear that the needs of this group of people neither can nor will be taken note of if persons with disabilities are not included in decision-making.
The UN CRPD lays a solid platform for this obligation, starting from the General Principles in Article 3 (c) which pinpoints full and effective participation and inclusion of persons with disabilities in society and from General Obligations in Article 4 (1), which mandates the State Parties to closely consult with and actively involve persons with disabilities through their representative organizations, and ending in the duty to include organizations of persons with disabilities in some of the specific areas, such as international co-operation (Article 32) and National implementation and monitoring of the UN CRPD (Article 33). In the specific context of Article 33 of the CRPD, the mandate to include organizations of persons with disabilities is very strong.
As a conclusion; there is a normative mandate to include organizations of persons with disabilities in all the bodies that will be maintained or established in the context of Article 33 of the CRPD. Many governments are planning how to make the CRPD part of their legal systems. The level of participation of persons with disabilities in the planning processes and in the planned organizational models is varying between states. The topic is extremely relevant especially in the development context, as it is crucial that persons with disabilities are included everywhere to enable the inclusion of global disability rights issues in the agendas of government bodies working with the CRPD.
There are already 109 ratifications of the CRPD and even more, 153, signatures to the CRPD, so there are so many different models!
‘Nothing about us without us’!
Representation of the Research Team Members
Elina Pirjatanniemi, LL. D., Professor of Constitutional and International Law, Director of the Institute for Human Rights, Åbo Akademi University. Project Leader (Turku, Finland, elina.pirjatanniemi (at) abo.fi)
Martin Scheinin, Dr. Iuris, Professor of Public International Law, European University Institute, Law Department. Project Leader (Florence, Italy, martin.scheinin (at) eui.eu)
Hisayo Katsui, PhD, Senior Researcher: I am a Japanese researcher interested in disability, civil society, human rights and development. The ultimate goal of my research is to contribute to the
equality and equal opportunity of disabled people particularly in the South.
(Helsinki, Finland, katsui (at) mappi.helsinki.fi)
Please visit Hisayo's own web site
Jukka Kumpuvuori, LL. M., Researcher, Doctoral Candidate: I am Finnish researcher and a disability activist. I have a strong interest in the academic field of human right and disability and I have prepared quite several reports in this fields. I am also active in the DPO-world both nationally and internationally and I also have a strong interest in the development cooperation that relates to disabled persons. I am my self a wheelchair user. Everything that relates to human rights and disability...I'm there!
(Turku, Finland, jukka.kumpuvuori (at) abo.fi)
Edson Ngirabakunzi, MA, Researcher, Doctoral Candidate: I am a Ugandan disability activist with high level interest in disability and development issues. I have advocated for the rights of persons with disabilities in Uganda at national and local levels. This has been to ensure that disability needs and concerns become part of the development process in Uganda. I have been in the disability movement for the last 8 years as a key player. I have keen and strong interest in seeing how legislations take care and multiplier effect in the lives of disabled persons. I have participated in policy reviews and evaluations at ministerial levels. I have participated in a number of strategic meetings with line ministries and district local governments raising disability as key issue of concern in the development process. It is my firm conviction that once policies and programmes targeting disabled persons are judiciously followed and implemented then they would greatly contribute to making world a better place to live in and therefore humanity would boast of development for all.
(Kampala, Uganda, ngirabakunziedson (at) yahoo.com)