THE HUMAN RIGHTS’ IMPLICATIONS OF NON-RATIFICATION OF AND RESERVATIONS TO THE UN CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES

Abstract

The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 2006, (CRPD) opened the door to the enjoyment of human rights by persons living with disabilities in equal measure with the rest of humanity as mandated by the foundational International Bill of Human Rights (IBHR), viz. the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948, and the two human rights Covenants of 1966, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and their Optional Protocols. This door had been nudged by the UN Declaration on the Rights of Mentally Retarded Persons, 1971, the UN Declaration on the Rights of Disabled Persons, 1975, and United Nations General Assembly’s declaration of the “UN Decade of Disabled Persons” from 1983 to 1992. However, the non-ratification of and reservations made to this Convention by some UN Member States appear to be steadily unsettling this door as they adversely impact on the Conventions’ guiding principles, such as the following: respect for inherent dignity and individual autonomy, including the freedom to make one’s own choices; non-discrimination; equality of opportunity; and full and effective participation and inclusion in society. This is the context in which this paper, from a theoretical perspective, interrogates the CRPD in a two-pronged approach. Firstly, it challenges UN Member States who are yet to ratify the CRPD to uphold their treaty obligation under the UN Charter, 1945, and the IBHR to encourage respect for human rights for all without discrimination; thus, the paper argues about the effects of lack of such non-ratification. Secondly, the paper critiques reservations made to the CRPD, which have the effect of defeating the object and purposes of the Convention and, thus, undermining international law and, more importantly, the dignity of persons with disabilities. Hence, the paper concludes by urging UN Member States yet to ratify the CRPD to do so and those who have attached reservations to their ratifications and which reservations dilute or obfuscate the Convention to renounce such reservations and, thereby, contribute to the maintenance of the integrity of the Convention and, thereby, the inherent dignity of persons with disabilities.