CRPD

前言：近年來，隨著各種升學管道的開創，大專校院身心障礙學生人數日漸
增加；另方面，相關研究也顯示，「輔具」對於支持其生活與學習的重要性。目的：
瞭解大專校院身心障礙學生校園輔具使用經驗及對輔具功能需求與研發期待。研
究方法：以半結構式訪談大綱，針對北、中、南 25位大專校院身心障礙學生、4
位資源教室輔導老師以及 1位陪同者，進行質性訪談。結果：主要分為三個面向，
首先，大專校院身心障礙學生認為，輔具不僅可增進學習成效、使其符合正常化
生活原則，更能為生活帶來主導權。其次，對於輔具的功能需求與研發期待，研
究受訪者指出增進輔具使用安全、耐用、獨立及可攜性，以及降低輔具費用負擔
及社會烙印的重要性；並且提出對於白手杖、充電設備、擴視機及行動輔具使用
相關雨具的研發設計期待。最後，大專校院身心障礙學生亦指出校園環境的障礙
層面，包含升降設備、無障礙教室課桌椅及交通接駁服務的缺乏。建議：本文提
出兩項研究建議，包含建置資訊整合平台，連結大專校院身心障礙學生與輔具研
發設計端，以及發展全面性校園無障礙環境，作為相關單位後續規劃參考。

This article will provide a brief historical background to mental health law in order to gain a greater sense of the significance of international human rights law to civil commitment legislation today. Historical context will help to identify the purpose and objectives of mental health law, which in turn assist in weighing into the major debates currently underway. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability (CRPD), in particular, has brought major changes to the way mental health law is understood, including strengthening longstanding critiques, and adding novel critical perspectives. Three 'eras' of mental health law are examined: the pre-modern origins of mental health law and 19th century regulation; the 'medicalising' shift of the 20th century; and deinstitutionalisation and 'rights-based legalism'. These distinct periods of thought will help to critically assess what appears to be a new reform era in which international human rights law will set a new agenda for transforming or even abolishing mental health law as it currently stands.

This is an author's original manuscript of a paper that has been published in International Journal of Law in Context, 13,1 pp. 77–86 (2017) © Cambridge University Press 2017 doi:10.1017/S1744552316000483.

This reflection responds primarily to the articles on legal agency and state intervention in the same issue of the journal, with brief comments on the two other papers.  The concept of transformative equality, developed in jurisprudence under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), can promote a deeper understanding of the rights of persons with disabilities.  In particular, it is useful to address power relations between disabled and non-disabled persons not only with respect to family members and medical professionals, but also in the institutions of law and the state.

The Nyusti and Takács v Hungary decision is only the second view (quasi judgment) decided on the merits by the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities under the Optional Protocol to the 2006 UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The case concerns ATMs which were inaccessible to the two blind applicants. The Committee found Hungary in breach of its obligations to provide accessible environment to people with disabilities. This case-note sets out the facts of the decision, and reviews some of its notable features. The Committee has clarified the State’s responsibility to prevent non-State actors from discriminating, and it has ensured that the State obligation on accessibility which is set out in the Convention is justiciable by individual applicants. The case-note then provides some wider implications of the case, key to which is the European Commission's proposed accessibility act.

In 2013, and again in 2014, the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) has recommended that Australia abolish its existing mental health laws which authorise involuntary treatment and detention, and replace them with a regime of supported decision-making. The Australian Law Reform Commission has also recommended the introduction of supported decision-making to replace mental health and guardianship laws. This paper critically evaluates the concepts of autonomy and discrimination and the social model of disability which provide the theoretical underpinning of the CRPD. Focussing on coercive treatment of adults with severe mental illness under Queensland's Mental Health Act 2000, it then evaluates the advantages and disadvantages of supported decision-making, and concludes that the proposed abolition of involuntary treatment laws is not justified.

Supported decision-making replaces clinical/medicalized service framework as overall approach to mental health crisis; non-discriminatory violence prevention and non-discriminatory conflict resolution replace the conjoint medicalized repressive power delegated by the state to psychiatry; practical support, defense and advocacy to maintain safety and well-being according to one’s own perspective, will and preferences replaces medicalized repressive coercive paternalism delegated by the state to psychiatry. Medicalization of repression dehumanizes people experiencing distress and weaponizes ‘treatment’ as torture, for which reparations are due along with comprehensive human rights guarantees based on formal and substantive equality.

This version may be supplemented later with footnotes, particularly to CRPD jurisprudence and related materials.

This situational analysis (SITAN) addresses the question: “what is the current situation for persons with disabilities in Nigeria?”. It has been prepared for the Disability Inclusive Development programme (which works on access to education, jobs, healthcare, and reduced stigma and discrimination for persons with disabilities in Bangladesh, Jordan, Kenya, Nepal, Nigeria, and Tanzania), to better understand the current context, including COVID-19, and available evidence in Nigeria. It will be helpful for anyone interested in disability inclusion in Nigeria, especially in relation to stigma, employment, education, health, and humanitarian issues.

Dominant models of disability, such as the medical abnormality and personal tragedy models are unjust and fail to address the enabling and disabling role of the environment. The Independent Living Movement of the 1970s offered a socially and spatially just perspective of disability, but the gains of this struggle have brought mixed results. Despite progress in legislation, planning practitioners have failed to fully realize the enabling power of physical space. This paper presents disability rights advocates, researchers, and practicing planners an argument for using space as a dimension along which justice for people with disabilities can be realized.

This situational analysis (SITAN) addresses the question: “what is the current situation for persons with disabilities in Bangladesh?”. It has been prepared for the Disability Inclusive Development programme (which works on access to education, jobs, healthcare, and reduced stigma and discrimination for persons with disabilities in Bangladesh, Jordan, Kenya, Nepal, Nigeria, and Tanzania), to better understand the current context, including COVID-19, and available evidence in Bangladesh. It will be helpful for anyone interested in disability inclusion in Bangladesh, especially in relation to stigma, employment, education, health, and humanitarian issues.

I draw on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities as a human rights model of disability to analyze how the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is meeting its obligations toward disabled people in higher education and employment. This paper argues that institutions in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi adopted a paternalistic and reactive approach to address the rights of disabled people. Drawing on the experiences of disabled people in the UAE and evidence from interviews conducted from 2016 to 2018, the analysis identifies several key challenges to inclusion that stem from a weak enforcement and accountability framework, which results in a lack of accessibility measures and supports in university and workplace settings. The paper recommends interventions that would create an institutional environment where disabled people are treated as rights holders and given equal and equitable access to higher education and employment.

Globally, disabled people are disproportionately excluded from the workforce. For the general population, it is recognised that having a job is closely linked to better health, wellbeing, self-esteem and to social inclusion. Disabled people are known to be disadvantaged in all these arenas and being employed may be a powerful route out of exclusion. The Inclusion Works programme (2018–2022), funded by the UK Department for International Development, aims to improve employment rates for people with disabilities in Bangladesh, Kenya, Nigeria, and Uganda. This Working Paper provides an overview of disability as a concept and relevant global treaties and statistics, including evidence of trends and complexities in promoting disability inclusive employment broadly and with some focus on formal employment specifically. We describe the current situation in each of the four focus countries, demonstrating the similarities and differences between them. We then discuss some promising interventions that have been tried, usually on a small scale, in diverse settings, and which may be applicable in our four focus countries. Finally, we present the potential interventions that will be trialled in the Inclusion Works programme, using an innovation-driven, adaptive management approach.

It is the contention of this paper that forced psychiatric interventions violate the universal prohibition of torture. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) lays the basis for this argument to be developed in a series of steps, starting from its recognition of equal legal capacity and free and informed consent of persons with disabilities, and equal right to respect for physical and mental integrity, as well as the freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. These obligations, contained in Articles 12, 25, 17, and 15 respectively, will require immediate cessation of forced psychiatric interventions. But there is a need to go further, and examine the serious nature and consequences of forced psychiatric interventions as a violent assault, in most cases sanctioned if not perpetrated by the state, affecting every aspect of a person's life: the body, the mind, the personality, the social relationships, and the spiritual values or higher meaning. Based on an examination of these factors, and the internationally accepted definitions of torture, I will argue for recognition of forced psychiatric interventions as a grave violation of human rights, necessitating criminalization of perpetrators and reparations for victims and survivors.

This study explored human rights for Qatari women with disabilities, challenges and means of empowerment as perceived by females and males both with and without disabilities. The Questionnaire of the Rights of Women with Disabilities (QRWD) was developed using the Articles of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Results indicated that participants without disabilities, especially men, less acknowledged the rights of women with disabilities. Furthermore, women with disabilities did not emphasize civil and political rights, but highly addressed the obstacles related to the society and legislative and political empowerment. Findings were discussed in the light of the previous literature and further recommendations were provided.

Human rights have recently impacted on current conceptualisations of the rights and obligations owed to individuals with impairments, culminating in the UN Convention for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Particularly significant is Article 12, where interpretations have heralded a " will and preferences " paradigm which rejects substituted decision-making mechanisms, even in situations where an individual should make personally harmful or unwise decisions about their treatment, care, or relationships. This paper explores problems with " strict " and " flexible " interpretations of Article 12, focusing specifically on safeguarding issues in cases of relational abuse, exploitation, and coercion. Drawing analogies with feminist arguments opposing violence against women in the domestic sphere, I challenge the private/public and individualistic account of autonomy which is implicit in interpretations of the " will and preferences " paradigm, and suggest that proponents of Article 12 should consider the possible justifiability of expanded protectionist measures in cases of abuse involving individuals with impairments.

This situational analysis (SITAN) addresses the question: “what is the current situation in relation to formal sector employment for persons with disabilities in Bangladesh?”. It has been prepared for the Inclusion Works programme (which works on disability inclusive formal employment in Bangladesh, Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda), to better understand the current context and available evidence in Bangladesh, and will be helpful for anyone interested in disability inclusion, especially in relation to employment. It focuses on persons with disabilities, employers, policy, the disability movement, and partnerships.This situational analysis synthesises the most recent existing literature and evidence (drawing on government and non-government sources available online) about Bangladesh generally and on factors relating to persons with disabilities involvement in formal employment.

This situational analysis (SITAN) addresses the question: “what is the current situation in relation to formal sector employment for persons with disabilities in Nigeria?”. It has been prepared for the Inclusion Works programme (which works on disability inclusive formal employment in Bangladesh, Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda), to better understand the current context and available evidence in Nigeria, and will be helpful for anyone interested in disability inclusion, especially in relation to employment. It focuses on persons with disabilities, employers, policy, the disability movement, and partnerships.

After analysing the concluding observations of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, hereafter referred to as the Committee, this paper examines how the Committee has sustained a protective, medical, and gender binary model to address the sexual and reproductive rights of persons with disabilities. To break away from this narrow approach to sexuality, I call for an understanding of sex/gender that is more fluid and shifting, recognising the ability of persons with disabilities to express and act upon desire consensually, and bringing into the discussion issues of sexual orientation and gender identity.

This qualitative study was undertaken as part of the work of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) funded Inclusion Works programme which aims to improve inclusive employment for people with disabilities in four countries: Uganda, Kenya, Nigeria, Bangladesh. When the COVID-19 pandemic emerged early in 2020 the work of this consortium programme was adapted to focus on pandemic relief and research activities, while some other planned work was not possible. The Institute of Development Studies (IDS) led a piece of qualitative research to explore the experiences and perceptions of the pandemic and related lockdowns in each country, using a narrative interview approach, which asks people to tell their stories, following up with some further questions once they have identified their priorities to talk about. 10 people with disabilities who were involved in Inclusion Works in each country were purposively selected to take part, each being invited to have two interviews with an interval of one or two months in between, in order to capture changes in their situation over time. The 10 interviewees had a range of impairments, were gender balanced and were various ages, as well as having differing living and working situations.

This report presents the results of a pilot application of the PA Checklist – a new tool designed for assessing personal assistance (PA) schemes from the perspective of independent living. The checklist was created at the European Network on Independent Living (ENIL) to help advocates around the world to fight for better PA and to monitor the implementation of Article 19 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. It was developed as part of the project ‘User-Led Personal Assistance in the European Union: A Critical Comparative Analysis’, led by Dr Teodor Mladenov. The PA Checklist was co-produced with PA users and independent living advocates to measure the degree to which PA schemes support independent living.

During emergency responses and situations, Deaf people are one of the more vulnerable groups to the effects of natural disasters in developing countries. They have communicational and cultural barriers due to lack of accessible information. They are often overlooked, neglected and forgotten in disaster relief and humanitarian response by the governmental and/or humanitarian relief organizations.

The United Nations has created the new international document, The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (U.N. CRPD). It provides the full range of rights for Deaf people and persons with disabilities, including during humanitarian emergencies in natural disaster situations. In addition, the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) and Swedish National Association of the Deaf (SDR) have presented the newly published report, Deaf People and Human Rights. It has incorporated research in human rights for Deaf people, and how their rights are being protected by
the U.N. Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

This research examines the above documents for the extent of their accessibility to services – an important aspect of human rights for Deaf people. It also includes interviews with two Deaf relief workers who traveled to Haiti and Chile during recent emergencies. The discussion focuses on the capability of developing nations and humanitarian relief organizations to respond to the needs of Deaf victims during times
of natural disasters. The research concludes with recommendations for how governments and NGOs should improve their services for Deaf people/victims during natural disasters.

In this paper I reflect on my 13 years of work in international human rights law related to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, on obstacles and co-optation, and on my growing and inescapable awareness of linkages with feminism.

COVID-19 is deepening pre-existing inequalities. Emerging research suggests that people with disabilities across the world have experienced various rights violations and been disproportionality affected by the health, economic and social impacts of the pandemic and responses to it. The aim of this research was to better understand how people with disabilities who are often excluded from research have experienced the evolving COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh and Nepal. In order to better understand how it has affected some of the most marginalised groups of people with disabilities, this study used in-depth qualitative research to focus on people with intellectual, psychosocial, deafblindness and other multiple impairments.

The textbook is divided into three main parts, preceded by an introductory chapter that lays down the methodology and pedagogical approach of the book. The first part of the book examines the development of international standards on disability, focusing on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD or the UN Convention). The second part of the book analyses EU disability law and policy, paying attention to the role of the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) in protecting the rights of EU citizens with disabilities, and critically assessing the status and effects of the CRPD in the EU legal order. The third part of the textbook covers the role of regional systems, such as the CoE, and the Inter-American and African human rights systems, as well as other transnational regimes, in protecting and promoting the rights of people with disabilities.

In this paper I examine the reception of Article 12 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in the courts of two domestic jurisdictions: United States (New York) and Mexico, and through legislative reform in Peru. Adopting a normative standpoint, I compare the value of leading court cases in New York and Mexico as a step towards implementation of the international standard, followed by a summary of Peru's reform proposal which I believe substantially fulfills international obligations. After this Introduction, I begin with an overview of Article 12 and a criterion by which to assess domestic reception, following which I discuss each jurisdiction separately, addressing the status of international human rights law and CRPD in particular in the jurisdiction, and focusing on one central case and subsequent developments.

People with disabilities are the largest minority in the world; a minority that continues to face high instances of direct, structural and cultural violence during times of peace, as well as during times of conflict and displacement. Exacerbating their marginalisation has been the absence of the disability community from Peace and Conflict Studies (PACS) research, literature and practice, which has perpetuated ableist ideologies and hindered the pursuit of “positive peace”. This research responds to this absence by investigating the intersectionality of disability, conflict and displacement from a PACS perspective. Its purpose is two-fold. The first aim is to conduct pure research that challenges the on-going marginalisation of people affected by disability, conflict and displacement, by intentionally de-subjugating and valuing their knowledge and experiences. The second aim is to use applied research to conceptualise and demonstrate ways in which PACS might actively advance inclusi...

This piece of qualitative research explores the experiences and perceptions of the COVID-19 pandemic and related lockdowns of people with disabilities in Uganda. It used a narrative interview approach, which asks people to tell their stories, following up with some further questions once they have identified their priorities to talk about. A very flexible ‘teller-focused’ methodology allowed us to hear the real concerns of the participants and to probe for in-depth examples of their experiences and perceptions. This method can provide valuable insights which contrast with and complement quantitative and researcher set agendas of inquiry.

This workshop took place on April 24, 2021, presented by Tina Minkowitz.

Description:
"This workshop brings together concerns and interests of mine in the areas of disability human rights (abolition of forced psychiatry, guardianship and institutionalization), restorative justice, and how lesbians and feminists create community.
I am interested in our politics towards the world outside our lesbian communities – which impacts us and in which we also play active roles as leaders, activists, workers, etc. – and in our internal community practices and relationships.
I am committed to feminism that is relevant to all women (female human beings) as liberation from male domination and all other forms of oppression. I am also committed to the abolition of forced psychiatry and similar practices, and have shaped international human rights law to uphold this position.
I have more questions than answers, regarding some big and little issues where disability, restorative justice and feminism intersect. Two of these are the question of women’s relationship to the state, and whether calls for inclusion – ‘everybody in, nobody out’ – end up exploiting women, or if we can envision and create practices that make this work. (By inclusion, I am not referring to males in female-only spaces, but such things as the right of all adults and children to live in the community and not be institutionalized.)"

Recording can be accessed here:  https://soundcloud.com/user-855766643/on-not-throwing-anyone-away-1

Das Bildungswesen im deutschsprachigen Raum kann durch die Gleichzeitigkeit von einer nach wie vor ständisch organisierten äußeren Bildungsstruktur und einer dominant meritokratischen inneren Bildungskonzeption charakterisiert werden. Jenseits von verschiedenen Versuchen direkter bildungspolitischer Ge-staltung erfolgt die Steuerung darüber, dass das Bildungssystem einer für die Mo-derne typischen Eigendynamik überlassen wird. Modernisierung heißt, dass der öentliche Bildungssektor ohne weitgehende Privatisierung einem quasi internen Mechanismus des Dienstleistungs-Markt-Modells unterworfen wird, das system-logisch an der Ausweitung von Dienstleistungen und Monopolbildung orientiert

Book Chapter:  • Darius Whelan, ‘Protecting Rights in Mental Health Law: The Relationship Between the Courts and Mental Health Tribunals’ in: Mary Donnelly and Claire Murray (eds.), Ethical and Legal Debates in Irish Healthcare: Confronting Complexities (Manchester University Press, 2016), pp.208-221.

Mental health law, and in particular the law concerning involuntary detention, has been a subject of protracted debate in Irish society. Ireland’s Mental Health Act 2001 requires that all involuntary admissions for mental disorder be reviewed within twenty-one days by a three-person Mental Health Tribunal (MHT). The tribunals review both procedural and substantive aspects of the person’s detention. Under section 18 of the 2001 Act, they also have the power to waive or ‘cure’ a procedural defect which may have occurred, provided the defect does not affect the substance of the order and does not cause an injustice.
The tribunal system became operational in 2006, and there are hundreds of hearings each year. Inevitably, there has been a significant amount of litigation about the exact parameters of the tribunals’ powers and the relationship between the tribunals and the courts. This litigation has been an important opportunity for the courts to establish principles and standards for the tribunals. As a person’s liberty is at stake, it would be expected as a matter of policy that courts would subject the tribunal process to very strict scrutiny. However, there is strong evidence that the Irish courts are, in general, extremely deferential to the decisions of Mental Health Tribunals. The courts’ approach raises serious questions about their commitment to the rights of persons detained under mental health legislation.
In this chapter, the focus is on key written judgments of the High Court and Supreme Court where the courts have in some way reviewed a decision of a Mental Health Tribunal. The issues are considered under five headings: an examination of the remedies of applications under Article 40 and judicial reviews; the MHTs’ power to review procedural matters; the power to waive procedural irregularities; statements from the courts concerning the importance of MHTs following procedures correctly and the relevance of the ECHR and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).
Despite some statements to the contrary, the general picture which emerges is that the courts have not engaged in robust supervision of mental health tribunals. Instead, the general tenor of the case-law has been to endorse decisions of tribunals to affirm detentions, and to limit access to the courts to the most extreme violations of procedural rights. This is a disappointing outcome, in light of the supposed rights-based focus of the Mental Health Act 2001.

Full text: https://cora.ucc.ie/handle/10468/2533

COVID-19 is deepening pre-existing inequalities. Emerging research suggests that people with disabilities across the world have experienced various rights violations and been disproportionality affected by the health, economic and social impacts of the pandemic and responses to it. The aim of this research was to better understand how people with disabilities who are often excluded from research have experienced the evolving COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh and Nepal. In order to better understand how it has affected some of the most marginalised groups of people with disabilities, this study used in-depth qualitative research to focus on people with intellectual, psychosocial, deafblindness and other multiple impairments.

This qualitative study was undertaken as part of the work of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) funded Inclusion Works programme which aims to improve inclusive employment for people with disabilities in four countries: Uganda, Kenya, Nigeria, Bangladesh. When the COVID-19 pandemic emerged early in 2020 the work of this consortium programme was adapted to focus on pandemic relief and research activities, while some other planned work was not possible. The Institute of Development Studies (IDS) led a piece of qualitative research to explore the experiences and perceptions of the pandemic and related lockdowns in each country, using a narrative interview approach, which asks people to tell their stories, following up with some further questions once they have identified their priorities to talk about. 10 people with disabilities who were involved in Inclusion Works in each country were purposively selected to take part, each being invited to have two interviews wi...