World Health • 49th Yeor, No.5, September-october 1996 9
A better world for all
Bengt Lindqvist
The chain of events which started with the International
Year of Disabled Persons in 1981 will finally lead to stronger and more generally accepted legislation in the disability field.
''N ot
until the creation and maintenance of decent conditions of life for all men are recognized and accepted as a common obligation of all men and all countries, not until then, shall we, with a certain degree of justification, be able to speak about mankind as civilized."This statement was made by Albert Einstein in 1945, as a reaction to the horrors of the Second World War. Out of this feeling a determina- tion grew to strengthen human values and dignity. As everyone knows, this led to the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights three years later. Since then the involve- ment of the international community in strengthening human rights has developed apace. The two general covenants on political and civil rights and on social, cultural and economic rights are among the most important agreements, while during the 1970s and 1980s the rights of women and children have been strengthened through special conventions.
But what about the human rights of citizens with disabilities? Well, things have finally started to happen.
Two important achievements which emerged from the International Year of Disabled Persons in 1981
strengthened the position of people with disabilities. The first was the adoption of the theme of the year, which was "Full participation and equality". This has ever sincere- mained the internationally recog- nized goal of disability policy. The
School for blind children in Niger. The right to full citizenship and equal participation in society for people with disabilities has finally achieved recognition at the global/eve/.
second achievement was the adop- tion of the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons, which outlined measures and pro- grammes in harmony with the theme.
For the first time the human rights perspective was introduced in the disability field. Since then, a special study has been made of disability and human rights by the Human Rights Commission, and towards the end of the 1980s attempts were made in the UN General Assembly to draw up a convention on the rights of people with disabilities.
For various reasons these at- tempts failed. In 1993, and as a conclusion to theUnited Nations Decade of Disabled Persons ( 1983- 1992), the United Nations Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities were adopted. The goal of disability policy is still "full par- ticipation and equality", and the method recommended is to identify and remove obstacles to participa- tion. The Rules outline a Code of Conduct for governments and strongly emphasize the right to full citizenship and equal participation.
One very significant step towards the recognition of the special human rights needs of people with disabili- ties was taken when the World Conference on Human Rights, held
in Vienna in 1993, made the follow- ing important statement in its final report: "Special attention needs to be paid to ensuring non-discrimination and the equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental free- doms by disabled persons, including their active participation in all as- pects of society." Since then, various commissions and committees in the human rights area have taken up the disability issue in a very promising way. Such actions reveal to a largely ignorant world that it is necessary to protect persons with disabilities from discrimination and to take measures to strengthen their right to participa- tion.
This chain of events, which started in 1981, will eventually lead to stronger and more generally ac- cepted legislation in the disability field. After all, the world belongs to all of us. The human environment as well as all the activities created by humans for humans should be there for all to enjoy. Nobody can doubt that a world which is good for dis- abled people is a better world for all!
•
Mr Bengt Lindqvist is Special Rapporteur of the UN Commission for Social Development on Disability, Box 163 63, 5-103 26 Stockholm, Sweden.
