OPINION:Yesterday was a day of global celebration of the rights of persons with disabilities . . . not that you'd have noticed, writes GERARD QUINN.
SATURDAY, MAY 3rd, 2007 marked the introduction of the new United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. A global celebration of the event took place yesterday. But, in truth, there was little to celebrate.
The UN estimates that 90 per cent of children with disabilities in developing countries do not attend school and that the global literacy rate for adults with disabilities is as low as 3 per cent. It also estimates that persons with disabilities are more likely to be victims of violence or rape and are much less likely to obtain police intervention, legal protection or preventative care.
Ireland has yet to ratify this convention. It is apparently waiting until legislation dealing with our outdated laws on incapacity is enacted.
This reforming legislation is important and it is worthwhile taking time and care to get it right. It is hoped that Ireland will be in a position to ratify the UN convention by the end of this year at the latest.
The convention contains many elegant words, all aimed at enhancing the dignity of persons with disabilities. It imposes stringent obligations on states.
However, results for persons with disabilities are what matter now. Anything less would invite cynicism concerning both the general usefulness of international law as well as the goodwill of the states that negotiated it. The convention is insistent on having a core "focal point" on disability. A "lifecycle approach" to disability demands a movement away from "silos" within government. Ireland would appear to meet this requirement through the creation of the Office on Disability under one minister. This is greatly to be welcomed and puts Ireland clearly to the fore in this regard.
The convention is also rightly insistent that the monitoring of compliance should be done at the international and national level. A new UN committee on the rights of persons with disabilities will be elected soon by states which have ratified the convention. Because it has not yet been ratified, Ireland cannot take part in the first round of elections to this committee.
A national mechanism should be designed by governments to "promote, protect and monitor" the convention and its rights. This will prove more important than international monitoring since domestic institutions are much closer to the reality on the ground.
Such a monitoring institution - or combination of institutions - will have to be independent from government.
Ireland is fortunate to have a number of such bodies and hard decisions will have to be taken by the Government on how to get the best impact from the mix of institutions available.
Both governments and national monitoring institutions are obliged to work closely with civil society groups. The positive interaction of the Government, monitoring agencies and civil society will be key to keeping a positive momentum for reform.
Will the convention make a difference? Probably not in the immediate term in the poorest of countries, where law reform alone will not bring about change.
A little-noticed provision in the convention requires states to effectively proof their development aid programme from a disability point of view.
There are some welcome signs that Irish Aid is ready to step up to the plate on this. We certainly have an opportunity to pioneer the integration of development aid and disability. Ireland's National Disability Strategy points the country in the right direction. It is clear that there is a resonance of the values of the convention with the thrust of Irish policy.
The main challenge at home is implementation and especially in re-engineering services to meet individual needs. Every person with a disability is different and Ireland has begun an experiment to create a "developmental welfare state" which tracks the human lifecycle and genuinely equips people for a life of choice and independence. The convention can help to keep this process moving forward.
The convention requires the setting up of a conference to embed a sort of policy collaboration in which states can learn from one another. This could be a great source of insight in helping the Irish reform process to find solutions.
Once the legal capacity legislation is enacted Ireland should immediately ratify to reinforce the direction of its current strategy, to embed a dynamic for change and to play its part in contributing to solutions around the world, and especially in developing countries, where most people with disabilities live.
Gerard Quinn is Professor of Law and Director of the Centre for Disability Law Policy, NUI Galway, and Member of the Irish Human Rights Commission