HUMAN RIGHTS. YES! Human Rights. YES! - University Of Minnesota

HUMAN RIGHTS. YES!FIRST EDITION FOREWORDBy The High Commissioner For Human RightsOn current estimates, one in ten people lives with a disability. Of these, a high proportion live in poverty,on the margins of society, and their rights are all too often breached. In many cases, people are simplyunaware that they have rights and unaware of the opportunities that exist to combat inequality and bringabout positive change. The adoption of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and itsOptional Protocol has provided us with the means to shift disabling attitudes and environments in societyand empower persons with disabilities to realize their rights. Now is the time to bring this newConvention home, to people, and I believe that “Human Rights. YES!” offers a much-needed tool toachieve this.The curriculum is an accessible and easy-to-use training manual and provides a major resource for humanrights advocates and practitioners to strengthen advocacy and human rights education. The division of thetraining material into three chapters – elaborating upon the human rights context of disability, a right-byright explanation of the Convention and plans for future advocacy and action – comprehensively coversthe human rights of persons, focusing in particular on the new Convention but drawing also from the bodyof law and experience of the broader human rights system. Importantly, each unit encourages participantsin the course to make commitments to promote respect for the rights of persons with disabilities beyondthe classroom. The chapter format offers practitioners the option of providing a full training package overan extended period, or shorter training sessions on specific human rights issues.Human rights education through curricula such as “Human Rights. YES!” is an essential step inempowering people and communities. For persons with disabilities and their representativeorganizations, learning about human rights can help combat discrimination when it occurs and strengthenadvocacy efforts to avoid it in the future. Significantly, through informed advocacy, we can help build thecapacity and will of governments to undertake the law and policy reform needed to bring about change onthe ground. For the broader community, the curriculum raises awareness of human rights and the waysthat persons with disabilities can and do contribute to society – an important step in building moreinclusive societies.“Human Rights. YES!” is an indispensable addition to the human rights education tool-kit and I takepleasure in being associated with it. I congratulate the authors and sponsors for this initiative and I hopethat it is widely used.Louise ArbourFormer United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (2004-2008)V

HUMAN RIGHTS. YES!ABOUT THE EDITORNancy Flowers is a writer, editor, and human rights activist. She has worked to develop AmnestyInternational USA's education program and was a co-founder of Human Rights USA. Recent publicationsinclude Compasito, a Manual for Children’s Human Rights Education (Council of Europe, 2007) andLocal Action/Global Change: Learning about the Human Rights of Women and Girls (with Julie Mertus)(Paradigm Press, 2007). She has served as consultant to governments, NGOs, and UN agencies.ABOUT THE SECOND EDITION AUTHORSJanet Lord, lead author of the first and second editions of Human Rights. YES! is a Senior Partner in theinternational law and development firm BlueLaw International, LLP, where she directs the Human Rightsand Inclusive Development Practice. She is also a Senior Research Associate at the Harvard Law SchoolProject on Disability and an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Maryland, Francis King CareySchool of Law. A human rights educator with more than 15 years of experience, Ms. Lord has designedand delivered human rights education programmes in all regions of the world. She participated in allsessions of the negotiation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, draftingproposed treaty text and advising civil society and governments alike on complex legal and technicalmatters. A leading expert on international human rights law and disability, Ms. Lord has implementedhuman rights programming for a number of national and international organizations, including the UNOffice of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations Development Programme, theSecretariat of the CRPD, the World Bank, the US National Council on Disability, Disabled PeoplesInternational, and IFES.Allison deFranco is a disability rights lawyer who directs projects in BlueLaw’s Human Rights andInclusive Development practice. She has served as an inclusive education and disability access specialiston various education, democracy and governance programmes funded by the US Government, AusAID,the World Bank and private foundations. Ms. deFranco is a skilled trainer and facilitator and has designedand implemented a variety of advocacy-oriented human rights evaluations, assessments, and trainingsboth domestically and internationally.ABOUT THE FIRST EDITION AUTHORSKatherine Guernsey is an attorney with a practice focusing on public international law, human rights,disability, and international development. Her clients include the World Bank Group and DisabledPeoples’ International. She is also an adjunct professor at the American University School of InternationalService, where she teaches human rights. Ms. Guernsey served as legal counsel to a variety of disabledpeople’s organizations and governmental delegations throughout the drafting of the UN Convention on theRights of Persons with Disabilities, and continues to work on issues related to ratification andimplementation of the Convention. She has designed and implemented human rights education andawareness-raising initiatives for people with disabilities in Central and South America, Africa, Europe,Asia, and the Middle East.Joelle Balfe is an independent consultant with an extensive practice area that includes disability issues,international public health, and human rights law and policy. She has developed human rights educationcurricula and materials for a range of non-governmental organizations, as well as spearheaded national andinternational advocacy campaign initiatives. Ms. Balfe provided core analytical and advocacy support toboth governments and civil society participants in the development of the UN Convention on the Rights ofPersons with Disabilities. Her diverse consulting practice provides analytical, communications, advocacy,VI

HUMAN RIGHTS. YES!and writing services to individuals, organizations, and institutions in the public and private sectors.Valerie Karr is an expert in the field of child education with a strong clinical background in specialeducation and extensive experience in international education programming, including consultancies forUNESCO’s inclusive education sector. Currently a Ph.D. candidate at Teachers College, ColumbiaUniversity, Ms. Karr is a specialist in qualitative and quantitative program analysis, including assessment,evaluation, and the development of measurement tools and strategies.ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS – SECOND EDITIONWe would like to recognize the talented BlueLaw team who worked tirelessly on the second edition ofHuman Rights. YES!. The authors of the second edition, Janet Lord and Allison deFranco, were able tointegrate their passion, commitment, and expertise into this new training tool. Without Janet’s leadership,vision, and sense of purpose, no edition of this manual would ever have been possible. Allison providednew ideas and determination to ensure that this publication was an effective, user-friendly resource forboth advocates and practitioners. Both Mathew Burns and Sarah Fowkes from the BlueLaw teamprovided research, fact-checking, and editing support under tight deadlines.With the publication of the second edition of Human Rights Yes!, Nancy Flowers has now edited eightpublications in the Human Rights Center’s Human Rights Education Series. Nancy provided guidanceand encouragement every step of the way and has been an amazing role model to this publication teamand to human rights educators across the globe for decades. We would also like to acknowledgeadditional Human Rights Center team members, Natela Jordan, Vicky Nguyen, and Patrick Finnegan fortheir contributions.Mr. Hassan Ali Bin AliOne Billion StrongMs. Kristi Rudelius-PalmerUniversity of Minnesota Human Rights CenterVII

HUMAN RIGHTS. YES!Human Rights. YES! Review Board Michael Stein, Principal Reviewer, Harvard Project on DisabilityAnne Hayes, IWID Fellow at USAIDTheresia Degener, University of BochumJoan Durocher, US National Council on DisabilityAlison Hillman, Mental Disability Rights InternationalRobyn Hunt, New Zealand Human Rights CommissionRosemary Kayess, University of New South WalesCharlotte McClain-Nhlapo, World Bank GroupJerry Mindes, American Institutes for ResearchPat Morrissey, Agency on Developmental Disabilities, US Department of Health and HumanServicesStephanie Ortoleva, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights & Labor, US Department of StateEric Rosenthal, Mental Disability Rights InternationalElise Roy, Independent Human Rights Law ConsultantMarsha Saxton, World Institute on DisabilityEli Wolff, Center for the Study of Sport & Society, Northeastern UniversityVIII

HUMAN RIGHTS. YES!AN INTRODUCTION TO HUMAN RIGHTS. YES!The Purpose of Human Rights. YES!The adoption of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) by the UNGeneral Assembly in 2006 presents both a challenge and an opportunity for the international disabilityrights movement. The human rights of persons with disabilities are now set forth in a legally bindingtreaty and provide a common language for engaged advocacy on a wide range of issues of importance topersons with disabilities. The challenge is to undertake broad-based education around the CRPD toensure that persons with disabilities worldwide know and claim their rights to live self-determined lives intheir communities with dignity.What is New in Human Rights. YES! Second Edition?The first edition of Human Rights. YES! appeared in 2007, just a year after the General Assemblyadopted the CRPD and opened it for ratification. This new edition reflects the significant developments inthe field of disability rights that have evolved in the following five years. Not only has the Conventionreceived enough ratifications to enter into force in 2008, but as a result of the reporting process requiredby the treaty, the CRPD Committee, which monitors the treaty, has begun to issue General Comments,Concluding Observations, and Recommendations that encourage States Parties to take action toimplement the treaty fully. Furthermore, disabled people’s organizations around the world have begun touse the CRPD to advocate for the full realization of the human rights of persons with disabilities.To capture these important developments, this new edition offers: Updated statistics on disability rights around the world; Case studies of advocacy for the rights of persons with disabilities; Examples of legal cases that illustrate how national laws are being changed to meet therequirements of the CRPD; A new section that explains how the CRPD is monitored and how its monitoring mechanism canbe used for advocacy; A CD-ROM containing Human Rights. YES! in both PDF and an accessible word document. TheCD-ROM contains a file of all the photos and images used in the manual for facilitators to useduring trainings; and A passport-sized booklet containing both full-text and abbreviated versions of the CRPD.Using Human Rights. YES!This manual is intended to help all those who care about the human rights of persons with disabilities tobecome effective educators and advocates on human rights and disability, able to share both their passionand their knowledge. Human Rights. YES! draws on the experience of many educators and organizations,illustrating effective advocacy practices and distilling their accumulated insights in the development ofparticipatory exercises.Like most human rights education manuals, Human Rights. YES! is designed to be used as both areference and tool: easy to read, easy to use, easy to photocopy, easy to relate to people’s real lives. Eachpart and chapter stands alone and may be read and used independently, depending on the needs of thereader. Throughout the manual, technical terms are printed in boldface type and defined in Annex 3,IX

HUMAN RIGHTS. YES!Glossary.The second edition of Human Rights. YES! is also distributed with a CD-ROM and a passport-sizedbooklet. The CD-ROM contains electronic copies of the manual in PDF and an accessible worddocument version. The CD-ROM also contains a file of all the photos and images used in the manual forfacilitators to use during trainings as appropriate. Please note that to ensure accessibility facilitators mustdescribe any photo or image that they show during trainings. The passport-sized booklet contains bothfull-text and abbreviated versions of the CRPD for easy reference.X

HUMAN RIGHTS. YES!The Structure of Human Rights. YES!Human Rights. YES! is unique in that it is written and designed for use by a diverse audience, taking intoaccount the accessibility needs of persons with disabilities. However, adaptation for specific learners isrecommended throughout the text. Facilitators should be aware of the needs of any particular audienceand adapt the physical environment, activities, and all means of communication to make everyone’s fullparticipation possible. For more information on facilitation, see Part 4, Facilitating Human RightsLearning.Part 1, Understanding the Human Rights of Persons with Disabilities, sets out some basic principlesfor thinking about human rights and disability. It provides a review of who is responsible for humanrights and introduces the content of the CRPD. It also summarizes common attitudes and perceptionsabout disability that may create barriers to the realization of human rights and explores the way in whichdisability issues have been defined and researched. It concludes by setting forth a rights-based approachto disability and making the links between disability, human rights, and effective advocacy.Part 2, The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, provides a comprehensive overviewof the human rights set forth in the CRPD in seventeen chapters. Each chapter considers human rights setforth in the CRPD, providing an accessible explanation of each right. Illustrative examples of advocacystrategies, helpful facts, and other topical information are also provided. Each chapter concludes with ashort list of useful additional resources on the topics covered.Part 3, Advocacy! Taking Action for the Human Rights of Persons with Disabilities, approachesadvocacy at both the grassroots and the international levels. Section 1 explains the essentials of effectivehuman rights advocacy and offers step-by-step advice for developing, articulating, and implementing anadvocacy action plan. It provides advocacy planning templates as well as inspiring examples of howpersons with disabilities are taking action for their human rights.Section 2 explains in detail how human rights treaty bodies monitor the implementation of treaties. Itdescribes the functions of the CRPD Committee and the ways in which advocates can interact with thisprocess, especially through the Optional Protocol to the CRPD.Part 4, Learning about Human Rights, offers participatory exercises to complement the content ofParts 1, 2, and 3. These exercises help people consolidate their understanding, articulate the issues in theirown words and contexts, and think constructively about how to take action. This section also sets outprinciples for interactive learning, facilitation, and planning workshops.The Annexes contain a variety of useful resources: Annex 1, Human Rights Documents: Full text, plain-language text, and summaries of theUniversal Declaration of Human Rights and the Convention on the Rights of Persons withDisabilities and a list of other key human rights instruments.Annex 2, General Resources: A list of significant printed, electronic, and other materials.Annex 3, Glossary: Definitions of human rights terms used in the text.Annex 4, Topic Index: A list of the principal subjects covered in the book.XI

HUMAN RIGHTS. YES!Abbreviations Used in Human Rights. OHCHRUDHRWHOAmericans with Disabilities ActConvention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhu

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