For example, there is a UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. It states: “All members of society have the same human rights – they include civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights.” In other words, if an action, policy, or attitude would be wrong for minorities, women, or LGBTQ people, it is wrong for disabled people or people with birth defects. If the Fourteenth Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection of the laws is implemented as protected class, then disabled people or people with birth defects should be clearly identified as being in a protected class; and they should be as highly ranked in the politics of identity as, for example, people of color.
Why is it necessary to have a Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities?: “The Convention is necessary in order to have a clear reaffirmation that the rights of persons with disabilities are human rights and to strengthen respect for these rights. Although existing human rights conventions offer considerable potential to promote and protect the rights of persons with disabilities, it became clear that this potential was not being tapped. Indeed, persons with disabilities continued being denied their human rights and were kept on the margins of society in all parts of the world. This continued discrimination against persons with disabilities highlighted the need to adopt a legally binding instrument which set out the legal obligations on States to promote and protect the rights of persons with disabilities.” (Emphasis added)
Note: America has done well concerning disability access, as What We Have Done: An Oral History of the Disability Rights Movement - Fred Pelka, 2012, documents. However, the civil rights of disabled people — protection against comments and gesturing intended to demean, degrade, marginalize, and disenfranchise disabled people — have been neglected. Where needed American civil rights law is lacking, there may be recourse to standards documented by the United Nations.
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“A University of Windsor law professor could become the first person to represent Canada on the United Nations' Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
The federal government announced last week that Canada has nominated disability advocate and legal scholar Laverne Jacobs as a candidate to serve on the committee.
The 18-person committee features experts from all over the world. If Jacobs is elected at a conference in June of next year, she would serve a four-year term.
Jacobs, who joined CBC Radio's Windsor Morning on Monday, said she was "honoured and humbled" to have been selected.
UN Disability Nominee: One of Windsor's most respected university professors has been nominated for a prestigious United Nations post. Laverne Jacobs is Canada's nominee to join the UN's Committee on Rights of Persons with Disabilities. She speaks with Tony Doucette about what it means, and what she hopes to accomplish, if elected.
The committee plays an important role in implementing the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Jacobs explained. It reviews reports on different countries and provides recommendations on the convention, and it also receives complaints and conducts inquiries related to allegations of human rights abuses.”
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