Janet E Lord | Harvard University (original) (raw)
Papers by Janet E Lord
Creating Disability Inclusive ID Systems/World Bank, 2020
Access to identification is a vital priority. In developing countries, persons with disabilities ... more Access to identification is a vital priority. In developing countries, persons with disabilities are among those most likely to face barriers in accessing government services such as health and rehabilitation, public transportation, education, voting, financial services, and economic opportunities. A robust, government-recognized ID can
facilitate persons with disabilities living independently in the community and participating in social and economic activities. Yet, persons with disabilities, and especially those who live in rural communities, are more likely to lack access to identification and face additional barriers to access and use of IDs.
International Review of the Red Cross, 2022
Academics rarely raise the need to consider persons with disabilities when preventing, investigat... more Academics rarely raise the need to consider persons with disabilities when preventing, investigating and prosecuting international humanitarian law (IHL) violations. Worse still, no actual attempts have been made to include a disability perspective into practical guidance and monitoring mechanisms. This article addresses that void by laying out how existing yet unutilized IHL obligations can be leveraged to repress and suppress disability-based IHL violations. In doing so, the article will detail how fact-finding approaches, criminal investigative processes and reporting methods for IHL violations can be inclusive of persons with disabilities and thus more appropriately address the endemic under-representation of a disability perspective in the planning and execution of military operations during armed conflict and the specific crimes they thereby suffer. Additionally, this article will articulate concrete changes that should be made to international criminal law procedures for prosecuting war crimes to provide recognition and accountability for disability-based IHL violations, as has been done for violations against women and children. Finally, this article will diagnose the state of the law to address any legal challenges or hurdles that may hamper the inclusion of a disability perspective in fulfilling the IHL obligation to reduce and address violations of humanitarian law.
International Review of the Red Cross, 2022
The adoption of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) represents an im... more The adoption of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) represents an important and (potentially) progressive development in the protection framework under international humanitarian law (IHL). Article 11 of the CRPD specifically obliges States to protect persons with disabilities from harm in situations of risk, including armed conflict, consistent with IHL and human rights law. The CRPD framework signals the need to address the traditional framing of disability under IHL and to draw from human rights concepts in the CRPD in order to inform the protection accorded to persons with disabilities in armed conflict. This article is divided into four main parts: the first three address three main lines of inquiry, while the fourth is forward-looking. The first part analyzes the framing and construction of disability in IHL and the implications of such framing for the protection of persons with disabilities. The second part analyzes fundamental IHL rules in an effort to demonstrate how the framing of disability and the protection framework of the CRPD can be used in the application of IHL. The third part identifies some specific problem areas ripe for further disability scoping and * The author is grateful for the thoughtful comments generously provided by Bruno Demeyere, Jillian Rafferty and Michael Ashley Stein. The advice, opinions and statements contained in this article are those of the author/s and do not necessarily reflect the views of the ICRC. The ICRC does not necessarily represent or endorse the accuracy or reliability of any advice, opinion, statement or other information provided in this article.
Virginia Journal of International Law, 2021
in ASPECTS OF DISABILITY LAW IN AFRICA 31 (Tobias Van Reenen & Ilze Grobbelaar-de Plessis eds., 2... more in ASPECTS OF DISABILITY LAW IN AFRICA 31 (Tobias Van Reenen & Ilze Grobbelaar-de Plessis eds., 2011) (analyzing refugee protection in the African context in the light of recent developments in international disability law); Andreas Dimopoulos, An Enabling Interpretation of the Refugee Convention: Determination of Refugee Status in Light of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, in HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE REFUGEE DEFINITION: COMPARATIVE LEGAL PRACTICE AND THEORY 253 (Bruce Burson & David James Cantor eds., 2016) (assessing CRPD's implications for refugee law). 11Among other initiatives is the U.N. Global Compact for Migration and the Global Compact for Refugees put forward by the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.
Disability, Human Rights and the Limits of Humanitarianism, 2016
This is a book chapter addressing the intersection between human rights and humanitarian law with... more This is a book chapter addressing the intersection between human rights and humanitarian law within the specific context of disability. Michael Gill & Cathy J. Schlund-Vials, eds., Disability, Human Rights and the Limits of Humanitarianism (Routledge, 2014).
At the heart of the World Bank Group education strategy 2020: learning for all is the recognition... more At the heart of the World Bank Group education strategy 2020: learning for all is the recognition that a holistic, multidimensional approach is essential to achieve education for all. Student-centered learning is a precondition for achieving inclusion and equity for all students, especially those who are disadvantaged in society. This paper focuses on three groups who experience deeply entrenched disadvantages, inequity, exclusion, and discrimination in education: persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples, and sexual and gender minorities. Inclusion and equity in education at all levels recognize the responsibility of the school system and individual teachers and school leaders to create a learning environment that facilitates all students. Inclusion and equity also require an enabling law and policy environment that support inclusion and nondiscrimination in education and in all spheres of life. Making education inclusive and equitable requires recognizing: (a) that many differ...
Hague Yearbook of International Law / Annuaire de La Haye de Droit International, Vol. 27 (2014), 2016
law schools. His path-breaking scholarship has been published globally by leading journals and pr... more law schools. His path-breaking scholarship has been published globally by leading journals and presses, and he is the recipient of fellowships and awards from the American Council of Learned Societies, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the National Institute on Disability Rehabilitation and Research, among others. An internationally recognized expert on disability law and policy, Stein participated in the drafting of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, works with disabled peoples organizations around the world, actively consults with governments on their disability laws and policies, advises a number of UN bodies and national human rights institutions, and has brought landmark litigation. Stein has received numerous awards for his work, including the inaugural Morton E. Ruderman Prize for Inclusion, the inaugural Henry Viscardi Achievement Award, and the ABA Paul G. Hearne Award, and was appointed by President Obama to the United States Holocaust Council.
Social Inclusion, 2018
Inclusive higher education is elusive for students with disabilities, especially in developing co... more Inclusive higher education is elusive for students with disabilities, especially in developing countries. The adoption and rapid ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) provides, if applied as its drafters intended, a “whole of institution” framework for its realization (CRPD Committee, 2016). Myriad legal, attitudinal, physical, and communication-based barriers limit or exclude participation. The individual impact of such discrimination is clear and carries lifelong consequences. Equally endemic are the broad societal and pedagogical effects of this exclusion. To illustrate: preventing persons with disabilities from Teacher Education courses impacts inclusive education in primary and secondary education; barring people with disabilities from academic programs in the sciences stifles innovation in assistive technology, health, and rehabilitation; and limiting access to studying the humanities hampers the emergence of disability studies as a r...
Journal of Human Rights Practice, 2014
Historically and contemporaneously, persons with disabilities have been excluded from exercising ... more Historically and contemporaneously, persons with disabilities have been excluded from exercising their human rights, including the right to political participation. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities responds to this circum stance and provides a holistic solution. Article 29 addresses the design and imple mentation of an electoral process that is non-discriminatory, while also requiring states to provide voters with disability-related accommodations and other facilitative measures to enable their equal right to vote. Yet to date, what little attention has been paid to the voting rights of disabled persons has focused on the validity and scope of exclusions, and neither courts nor legislators have turned to the positive side of the ledger, namely, how to enable individuals with disabilities to exercise their franchise. Emerging practices around the globe nonetheless bear out that persons with disabilities can be successfully incorporated in all phases of an electoral process. Further, they can perform a variety of roles beyond exercising the franchise-as voter educators, election commissioners, observers, monitors and committee members, and as candidates. The article reflects evolving state policies and practices by disabled people's organizations, and draws on our experience working in this field to provide guidance for disability inclusion throughout the ongoing process of pre electoral, electoral and post-electoral phases that comprise the electoral cycle.
Legal Innovation and Empowerment for Development, 2012
The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), 1 the first legally binding int... more The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), 1 the first legally binding international human rights treaty to address the rights and fundamental freedoms of one billion persons, provides a framework for legal empowerment and innovation that challenges traditional conceptualizations of justice-oriented development intervention. The CRPD implicitly renounces the orthodox view that top-down justice sector and rule of law initiatives should be the primary target of law and development efforts. Although the CRPD does not discount—in fact, it explicitly requires—the reform of legal systems, justice sectors, and institutions in meeting its obligations, it goes well beyond the traditional focus on development donors to embrace an empowerment model that implicates non-formal and decentralized justice and administrative systems and processes, local communities in development, and the duties of private as well as public actors in fostering inclusion. The legal empowerment framework set forth in the CRPD has significant implications not only for bridging rights and development in the context of disability, but also more broadly for other marginalized groups living in poverty. The UN General Assembly adopted the CRPD, along with its Optional Protocol, 2 by general consensus and the instruments were opened for signature by states parties on March 30, 2007. 3 It attained the requisite 20
Human Rights Quarterly, 2010
The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply t... more The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.
Disability and Health Journal, 2012
The United States invests billions of taxpayer dollars each year into foreign assistance programs... more The United States invests billions of taxpayer dollars each year into foreign assistance programs that foster international diplomacy and development directed toward improving the quality of life for people around the world. These programs develop economies and combat poverty, promote democracy and governance, build new infrastructure, advance and protect human rights, among other development goals. The United States cannot effectively accomplish the goals of foreign assistance programs unless it undertakes measures to ensure that the programs are accessible to and inclusive of people with disabilities. The United States has been a leader in advancing the rights of people with disabilities and must continue to promote disability rights through its international development work. Overseas economic development will not be successful unless people with disabilities are included. Because of the significant number of people with disabilities in developing countries, if they are not included, the very economic growth the United States is trying to foster will be hindered. The goals of democracy and governance programs cannot be achieved without the inclusion of people with disabilities. In many countries, domestic law contains blatant discriminatory provisions for people with disabilities that undermine access to justice and full participation in society. The provisions that discriminate against people with disabilities include arbitrary exclusions in electoral codes, sweeping plenary guardianship laws with no due-process protections, discriminatory banking practices, and inaccessible court proceedings. National disability legal frameworks remain underdeveloped throughout the world.
American Journal of International Law
Persons with disabilities have historically been subjected to egregious human rights violations. ... more Persons with disabilities have historically been subjected to egregious human rights violations. Yet despite well-documented and widespread harms, one billion persons with disabilities remain largely neglected by the international laws, legal processes, and institutions that seek to redress those violations, including crimes against humanity (CAH). This article argues for the propriety of prosecuting egregious and systemic human rights violations against persons with disabilities as a CAH, and, in addition, asserts the necessity of ensuring the accessibility of international criminal process to those individuals. The UN Security Council's recent acknowledgement of the enhanced risk that persons with disabilities experience during armed conflict, the growing evidence of widespread human rights violations against them, and an ongoing effort to forge a UN convention on the prevention and punishment of CAH make these arguments especially timely.
International human rights law is an increasingly articulate legal regime that applies core human... more International human rights law is an increasingly articulate legal regime that applies core human rights principles to populations subject to historic disadvantage and to thematically focused areas. Since the adoption of the International Bill of Human Rights, the human rights system has evolved not only in content but also in institutional structures and mechanisms. Consequently, the human rights system has witnessed an increase in its attendant lawmaking potential. The adoption of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD or Convention) reflects this accretion. One of its core mandates is to channel and make applicable existing human rights obligations to the specific lived experiences of persons with disabilities. Indeed, the call for a disability-specific treaty arose largely due to the eliding—explicitly or programmatically—of disability rights from the scope and content of otherwise universal protection accorded to all persons under the international huma...
The Right to Inclusive Education in International Human Rights Law, 2019
Persons with disabilities have historically been subjected to egregious human rights violations. ... more Persons with disabilities have historically been subjected to egregious human rights violations. Yet despite well-documented and widespread harms, one billion persons with disabilities remain largely neglected by the international laws, legal processes, and institutions that seek to redress those violations, including crimes against humanity (CAH). This article argues for the propriety of prosecuting egregious and systemic human rights violations against persons with disabilities as a CAH, and, in addition, asserts the necessity of ensuring the accessibility of international criminal process to those individuals. The UN Security Council's recent acknowledgement of the enhanced risk that persons with disabilities experience during armed conflict, the growing evidence of widespread human rights violations against them, and an ongoing effort to forge a UN convention on the prevention and punishment of CAH make these arguments especially timely.
Creating Disability Inclusive ID Systems/World Bank, 2020
Access to identification is a vital priority. In developing countries, persons with disabilities ... more Access to identification is a vital priority. In developing countries, persons with disabilities are among those most likely to face barriers in accessing government services such as health and rehabilitation, public transportation, education, voting, financial services, and economic opportunities. A robust, government-recognized ID can
facilitate persons with disabilities living independently in the community and participating in social and economic activities. Yet, persons with disabilities, and especially those who live in rural communities, are more likely to lack access to identification and face additional barriers to access and use of IDs.
International Review of the Red Cross, 2022
Academics rarely raise the need to consider persons with disabilities when preventing, investigat... more Academics rarely raise the need to consider persons with disabilities when preventing, investigating and prosecuting international humanitarian law (IHL) violations. Worse still, no actual attempts have been made to include a disability perspective into practical guidance and monitoring mechanisms. This article addresses that void by laying out how existing yet unutilized IHL obligations can be leveraged to repress and suppress disability-based IHL violations. In doing so, the article will detail how fact-finding approaches, criminal investigative processes and reporting methods for IHL violations can be inclusive of persons with disabilities and thus more appropriately address the endemic under-representation of a disability perspective in the planning and execution of military operations during armed conflict and the specific crimes they thereby suffer. Additionally, this article will articulate concrete changes that should be made to international criminal law procedures for prosecuting war crimes to provide recognition and accountability for disability-based IHL violations, as has been done for violations against women and children. Finally, this article will diagnose the state of the law to address any legal challenges or hurdles that may hamper the inclusion of a disability perspective in fulfilling the IHL obligation to reduce and address violations of humanitarian law.
International Review of the Red Cross, 2022
The adoption of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) represents an im... more The adoption of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) represents an important and (potentially) progressive development in the protection framework under international humanitarian law (IHL). Article 11 of the CRPD specifically obliges States to protect persons with disabilities from harm in situations of risk, including armed conflict, consistent with IHL and human rights law. The CRPD framework signals the need to address the traditional framing of disability under IHL and to draw from human rights concepts in the CRPD in order to inform the protection accorded to persons with disabilities in armed conflict. This article is divided into four main parts: the first three address three main lines of inquiry, while the fourth is forward-looking. The first part analyzes the framing and construction of disability in IHL and the implications of such framing for the protection of persons with disabilities. The second part analyzes fundamental IHL rules in an effort to demonstrate how the framing of disability and the protection framework of the CRPD can be used in the application of IHL. The third part identifies some specific problem areas ripe for further disability scoping and * The author is grateful for the thoughtful comments generously provided by Bruno Demeyere, Jillian Rafferty and Michael Ashley Stein. The advice, opinions and statements contained in this article are those of the author/s and do not necessarily reflect the views of the ICRC. The ICRC does not necessarily represent or endorse the accuracy or reliability of any advice, opinion, statement or other information provided in this article.
Virginia Journal of International Law, 2021
in ASPECTS OF DISABILITY LAW IN AFRICA 31 (Tobias Van Reenen & Ilze Grobbelaar-de Plessis eds., 2... more in ASPECTS OF DISABILITY LAW IN AFRICA 31 (Tobias Van Reenen & Ilze Grobbelaar-de Plessis eds., 2011) (analyzing refugee protection in the African context in the light of recent developments in international disability law); Andreas Dimopoulos, An Enabling Interpretation of the Refugee Convention: Determination of Refugee Status in Light of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, in HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE REFUGEE DEFINITION: COMPARATIVE LEGAL PRACTICE AND THEORY 253 (Bruce Burson & David James Cantor eds., 2016) (assessing CRPD's implications for refugee law). 11Among other initiatives is the U.N. Global Compact for Migration and the Global Compact for Refugees put forward by the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.
Disability, Human Rights and the Limits of Humanitarianism, 2016
This is a book chapter addressing the intersection between human rights and humanitarian law with... more This is a book chapter addressing the intersection between human rights and humanitarian law within the specific context of disability. Michael Gill & Cathy J. Schlund-Vials, eds., Disability, Human Rights and the Limits of Humanitarianism (Routledge, 2014).
At the heart of the World Bank Group education strategy 2020: learning for all is the recognition... more At the heart of the World Bank Group education strategy 2020: learning for all is the recognition that a holistic, multidimensional approach is essential to achieve education for all. Student-centered learning is a precondition for achieving inclusion and equity for all students, especially those who are disadvantaged in society. This paper focuses on three groups who experience deeply entrenched disadvantages, inequity, exclusion, and discrimination in education: persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples, and sexual and gender minorities. Inclusion and equity in education at all levels recognize the responsibility of the school system and individual teachers and school leaders to create a learning environment that facilitates all students. Inclusion and equity also require an enabling law and policy environment that support inclusion and nondiscrimination in education and in all spheres of life. Making education inclusive and equitable requires recognizing: (a) that many differ...
Hague Yearbook of International Law / Annuaire de La Haye de Droit International, Vol. 27 (2014), 2016
law schools. His path-breaking scholarship has been published globally by leading journals and pr... more law schools. His path-breaking scholarship has been published globally by leading journals and presses, and he is the recipient of fellowships and awards from the American Council of Learned Societies, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the National Institute on Disability Rehabilitation and Research, among others. An internationally recognized expert on disability law and policy, Stein participated in the drafting of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, works with disabled peoples organizations around the world, actively consults with governments on their disability laws and policies, advises a number of UN bodies and national human rights institutions, and has brought landmark litigation. Stein has received numerous awards for his work, including the inaugural Morton E. Ruderman Prize for Inclusion, the inaugural Henry Viscardi Achievement Award, and the ABA Paul G. Hearne Award, and was appointed by President Obama to the United States Holocaust Council.
Social Inclusion, 2018
Inclusive higher education is elusive for students with disabilities, especially in developing co... more Inclusive higher education is elusive for students with disabilities, especially in developing countries. The adoption and rapid ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) provides, if applied as its drafters intended, a “whole of institution” framework for its realization (CRPD Committee, 2016). Myriad legal, attitudinal, physical, and communication-based barriers limit or exclude participation. The individual impact of such discrimination is clear and carries lifelong consequences. Equally endemic are the broad societal and pedagogical effects of this exclusion. To illustrate: preventing persons with disabilities from Teacher Education courses impacts inclusive education in primary and secondary education; barring people with disabilities from academic programs in the sciences stifles innovation in assistive technology, health, and rehabilitation; and limiting access to studying the humanities hampers the emergence of disability studies as a r...
Journal of Human Rights Practice, 2014
Historically and contemporaneously, persons with disabilities have been excluded from exercising ... more Historically and contemporaneously, persons with disabilities have been excluded from exercising their human rights, including the right to political participation. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities responds to this circum stance and provides a holistic solution. Article 29 addresses the design and imple mentation of an electoral process that is non-discriminatory, while also requiring states to provide voters with disability-related accommodations and other facilitative measures to enable their equal right to vote. Yet to date, what little attention has been paid to the voting rights of disabled persons has focused on the validity and scope of exclusions, and neither courts nor legislators have turned to the positive side of the ledger, namely, how to enable individuals with disabilities to exercise their franchise. Emerging practices around the globe nonetheless bear out that persons with disabilities can be successfully incorporated in all phases of an electoral process. Further, they can perform a variety of roles beyond exercising the franchise-as voter educators, election commissioners, observers, monitors and committee members, and as candidates. The article reflects evolving state policies and practices by disabled people's organizations, and draws on our experience working in this field to provide guidance for disability inclusion throughout the ongoing process of pre electoral, electoral and post-electoral phases that comprise the electoral cycle.
Legal Innovation and Empowerment for Development, 2012
The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), 1 the first legally binding int... more The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), 1 the first legally binding international human rights treaty to address the rights and fundamental freedoms of one billion persons, provides a framework for legal empowerment and innovation that challenges traditional conceptualizations of justice-oriented development intervention. The CRPD implicitly renounces the orthodox view that top-down justice sector and rule of law initiatives should be the primary target of law and development efforts. Although the CRPD does not discount—in fact, it explicitly requires—the reform of legal systems, justice sectors, and institutions in meeting its obligations, it goes well beyond the traditional focus on development donors to embrace an empowerment model that implicates non-formal and decentralized justice and administrative systems and processes, local communities in development, and the duties of private as well as public actors in fostering inclusion. The legal empowerment framework set forth in the CRPD has significant implications not only for bridging rights and development in the context of disability, but also more broadly for other marginalized groups living in poverty. The UN General Assembly adopted the CRPD, along with its Optional Protocol, 2 by general consensus and the instruments were opened for signature by states parties on March 30, 2007. 3 It attained the requisite 20
Human Rights Quarterly, 2010
The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply t... more The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.
Disability and Health Journal, 2012
The United States invests billions of taxpayer dollars each year into foreign assistance programs... more The United States invests billions of taxpayer dollars each year into foreign assistance programs that foster international diplomacy and development directed toward improving the quality of life for people around the world. These programs develop economies and combat poverty, promote democracy and governance, build new infrastructure, advance and protect human rights, among other development goals. The United States cannot effectively accomplish the goals of foreign assistance programs unless it undertakes measures to ensure that the programs are accessible to and inclusive of people with disabilities. The United States has been a leader in advancing the rights of people with disabilities and must continue to promote disability rights through its international development work. Overseas economic development will not be successful unless people with disabilities are included. Because of the significant number of people with disabilities in developing countries, if they are not included, the very economic growth the United States is trying to foster will be hindered. The goals of democracy and governance programs cannot be achieved without the inclusion of people with disabilities. In many countries, domestic law contains blatant discriminatory provisions for people with disabilities that undermine access to justice and full participation in society. The provisions that discriminate against people with disabilities include arbitrary exclusions in electoral codes, sweeping plenary guardianship laws with no due-process protections, discriminatory banking practices, and inaccessible court proceedings. National disability legal frameworks remain underdeveloped throughout the world.
American Journal of International Law
Persons with disabilities have historically been subjected to egregious human rights violations. ... more Persons with disabilities have historically been subjected to egregious human rights violations. Yet despite well-documented and widespread harms, one billion persons with disabilities remain largely neglected by the international laws, legal processes, and institutions that seek to redress those violations, including crimes against humanity (CAH). This article argues for the propriety of prosecuting egregious and systemic human rights violations against persons with disabilities as a CAH, and, in addition, asserts the necessity of ensuring the accessibility of international criminal process to those individuals. The UN Security Council's recent acknowledgement of the enhanced risk that persons with disabilities experience during armed conflict, the growing evidence of widespread human rights violations against them, and an ongoing effort to forge a UN convention on the prevention and punishment of CAH make these arguments especially timely.
International human rights law is an increasingly articulate legal regime that applies core human... more International human rights law is an increasingly articulate legal regime that applies core human rights principles to populations subject to historic disadvantage and to thematically focused areas. Since the adoption of the International Bill of Human Rights, the human rights system has evolved not only in content but also in institutional structures and mechanisms. Consequently, the human rights system has witnessed an increase in its attendant lawmaking potential. The adoption of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD or Convention) reflects this accretion. One of its core mandates is to channel and make applicable existing human rights obligations to the specific lived experiences of persons with disabilities. Indeed, the call for a disability-specific treaty arose largely due to the eliding—explicitly or programmatically—of disability rights from the scope and content of otherwise universal protection accorded to all persons under the international huma...
The Right to Inclusive Education in International Human Rights Law, 2019
Persons with disabilities have historically been subjected to egregious human rights violations. ... more Persons with disabilities have historically been subjected to egregious human rights violations. Yet despite well-documented and widespread harms, one billion persons with disabilities remain largely neglected by the international laws, legal processes, and institutions that seek to redress those violations, including crimes against humanity (CAH). This article argues for the propriety of prosecuting egregious and systemic human rights violations against persons with disabilities as a CAH, and, in addition, asserts the necessity of ensuring the accessibility of international criminal process to those individuals. The UN Security Council's recent acknowledgement of the enhanced risk that persons with disabilities experience during armed conflict, the growing evidence of widespread human rights violations against them, and an ongoing effort to forge a UN convention on the prevention and punishment of CAH make these arguments especially timely.