The World Report on Disability 10 makes nine recommendations. They are reproduced here to illustrate how the Convention could be implemented around the world. However, they are not the only steps that States should take to implement the Convention.
Some recommendations are relevant to law and policy reform.
Recommendation 3: Adopt a national disability strategy and plan of action
[…] A national disability strategy sets out a consolidated and comprehensive long-term vision for improving the well-being of persons with disabilities and should cover both mainstream policy and programme areas and specific services for persons with disabili-ties.
The development, implementation, and monitoring of a national strategy should bring together the full range of sectors and stakeholders […].
The strategy and action plan should be informed by a situation analysis, taking into account such factors as the prevalence of disability, needs for services, social and economic status, effectiveness and gaps in current services, and environmental and social barriers. […] The plan of action operationalizes the strategy in the short and medium terms by laying out concrete actions and timelines for implementation, defining targets, assigning responsible agencies, and planning and allocating needed resources.
Mechanisms are needed to make it clear where the responsibility lies for coordination, decision-making, regular monitoring and reporting, and control of resources.
Recommendation 4: Involve people with disabilities
People with disabilities often have unique insights about their disability and their situa-tion. In formulating and implementing policies, laws, and services, people with disabilities should be consulted and actively involved.
Disabled people’s organizations may need capacity-building and support to empower people with disabilities and advocate for their needs. […]
People with disabilities are entitled to control over their lives and therefore need to be consulted on issues that concern them directly – whether in health, education, rehabilita-tion, or community living. Supported decision-making may be necessary to enable some individuals to communicate their needs and choices.
10 World Health Organization and World Bank, World Report on Disability (Geneva, 2011).
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Budgetary measures in the context of law and policy reform
Budgetary measures are essential aspects of most laws and policies. While some laws and policies—such as those prohibiting cer-tain conduct, e.g., discrimination or torture—
do not require funding, most laws and poli-cies related to human rights do, particularly in relation to economic, social and cultural rights. Key factors to bear in mind are:
✓ Some provisions do not cost anything to implement
✓ Implementing some provisions can save money (e.g., universal design saves money on retrofitting later)
✓ Some provisions can be implemented by using existing funding differently (funding inclusive education rather than segregated education could sim-ply involve reallocating budgets)
✓ Some provisions can be implemented by using existing funds better (here, budget planning that is transparent and ensures accountability is important)
✓ Some provisions can be implemented through the dedication of relatively few additional funds (awareness-raising through public campaigns is relatively inexpensive but can be very effective)
✓ Implementing some provisions requires additional funds (for example, rehabili-tation services, home care services and so on).
State duty to provide budgets
Decision makers must consider whether laws and policies have financial implications
and then they must foresee adequate bud- gets. As noted above, before adopting laws and policies, parliament and the executive should explicitly indicate the sums that will be provided for implementation. When budgets (and human resources) are made available, other measures have a much higher likeli-hood of success.
The Convention’s key provision on fund-ing is article 4 (2) (general obligations):
With regard to economic, social and cultural rights, each State Party undertakes to take measures to the maximum of its available resources and, where needed, within the framework of international cooperation, with a view to achieving progressively the full realization of these rights, without prejudice to those obligations contained in the present Convention that are immediately applicable according to international law.
This obligation is often misunderstood.
It does not mean that aspects of economic, social and cultural rights that require resources/funding can be put off indefinitely.
Indeed, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has stated that economic, social and cultural rights comprise core obli-gations which must be implemented immedi-ately, irrespective of the costs involved. One example is the duty to provide affordable essential medicines as part of the right to health.
However, where resources are required and progressive realization applies:
• The State must take steps immediately to draw up the budget and a time-bound action plan
• Time-bound benchmarks should be set so as to guide progressive implementation
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• Indicators should be identified to mea-sure whether those benchmarks have been met or not
• Funding should be committed so that the measures necessary to meet those benchmarks can be taken
• The action plan should be monitored, using the indicators, to assess whether implementation is on track or not.
In the light of the difficulties that poorer States have in implementing the Convention (as a result of resource requirements), arti-cle 4 (2) as well as article 32 highlight inter-national cooperation as a means of helping States. Article 32 (1) (d) requires States to undertake appropriate and effective inter-national cooperation measures including by providing, as appropriate, technical and economic assistance.
Disability rights budgeting
Increasing attention is being placed on
“human rights budgeting” and related issues such as gender budgeting. The experience from these areas will be important to guide budgeting for the Convention. The following questions can help to decide whether bud-gets are aligned with laws and policies to implement it:
− How are national development policies aligned with the Convention?
− What is the alignment between policy and budget processes?
− To what extent are budgets aligned with the Convention’s priorities, stan- dards and goals, including their desired and real impact (tied to the progres-sive realization of rights and maximum available resources)?
− To what extent are budgets aligned with both the Convention and nationally set priorities?
− To what extent are budgets aligned with inclusive, transparent and accountable processes?
− To what extent does the budget process reflect the differing roles of rights-hold-ers, civil society and the State as well as the dynamic relationship among them?
One problem facing the alignment of budgeting with law and policy processes is the asymmetry of ownership. For exam-ple, the asymmetries between ministries of finance, ministries of planning, sectoral min-istries, parliament and civil society can have an impact on the ways in which budgets are aligned with policies as well as the extent to which policies and budgets incorporate human rights principles (e.g., of the extent to which civil society is involved).
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