Rights of Disabled in India and the impact of foreign treaties and conventions

Introduction

We as human beings are all born different; different in terms of abilities. Some people might be differently-abled than certain people. But that disability in no manner can be grounds of discrimination or making people less equal. To fulfill this aim of removing any kind of discrimination towards disabled people, such rights become necessary.

According to WHO, “Disability is thus not just a health problem. It is a complex phenomenon, reflecting the interaction between features of a person’s body and features of the society in which he or she lives. Overcoming the difficulties faced by people with disabilities requires interventions to remove environmental and social barriers.”[1]

In India, according to the Census 2011, 2.68 crore persons are disabled which is 2.21% of the total population of 1.21 Billion people. People with disability are often denied opportunities and chances to lead a normal life, we have seen, seats reserved in the metros for the people with disabilities, we have seen easy access to buildings, reservation for disabled in educational institutions and employment, these are all examples of practices adopted by the government for the welfare of the disabled people.

India has enacted several laws and policies to work for the protection of such people. In the Constitution of India, we find that the most basic right that has been provided to all the persons in the country is the right to equality provided in Article 14. It says that all persons are equal before law. The constitution does provide equal protection of law to everyone.

Article 15, which prohibits the Government to discriminate any person because of certain parameters and that, includes not discriminating people with disability and Article 16 says that there shall be no discrimination by the state in matters of opportunities of work.

Enactments in India

The Mental Health Act, 1987

This act was passed to administer the proper treatment and care of mentally ill persons and to provide legal aid to mentally ill persons in certain cases at the expense of the state.

The Rehabilitation Council of India Act, 1992

This act was passed to regulate the training of the professionals required for the rehabilitation of persons with disability sand the maintenance of a Central Rehabilitation Register. Rehabilitation is the process of restoring a person who has suffered an injury to his normal life.

The Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995

This act was passed to take affirmative actions to safeguard the rights of the disabled such as reservation in jobs, education, non- discrimination in transports, to establish institutions for the persons with severe disabilities. It mentions the punishments for people who fraudulently gain benefits of Person with disability. Disability under this act includes blindness, low vision, leprosy-cured, hearing impairment, locomotor disability, mental retardation and mental illness.

The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016

This act was passed to give effect to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. This act distinguished person with disabilities into three categories; person with disability; person with benchmark disability; person with disability having high support needs. A progress that has been made through this act is that this act has made insulting a person with disability a punishable offence.

International treaties and conventions

There had been a lot of progress at the international level for the upliftment and equal rights for persons with disabilities. The following treaties and conventions are the most prominent ones;

Declaration on the Rights of Disabled Persons

This declaration was made by UN General Assembly on December 9, 1975. It says that all the member states shall work for the equal protection of rights of disabled. They have same civil and political rights as another human being. They have to be protected from all forms of exploitation and abuse or discrimination.

United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)

This is one of the most important international conventions for the protection and promotion of the right of Persons with disabilities. This convention by the UN requires its parties to adopt measures to protect equal rights for persons with disabilities.

Important articles of these conventions are;

1. Article 14 which “guarantees people with disabilities the “right to liberty and security of person[2]”.
2. Article 18 guarantees people with disabilities the right “to liberty of movement, to freedom to choose their residence . . . on an equal basis with others[3].”
3. Article 24 recognizes the “right of persons with disabilities to education. With a view to realizing this right without discrimination and on the basis of equal opportunity, States Parties shall ensure an inclusive education system at all levels and lifelong learning[4].”
4. Article 25 calls on member states to “recognize that persons with disabilities have the right to the enjoyment of the highest able standard of health without discrimination on the basis of disability”[5]
5. Article 27 says to “recognize the right of persons with disabilities to work, on an equal basis with others; this includes the right to the opportunity to gain a living by work freely chosen or accepted in a labor market and work environment that is open, inclusive and accessible to persons with disabilities”.[6]

Conclusion – A long way ahead

Though we have numerous conventions and laws for the protection of persons with disabilities still there are many people who lack basic facilities to lead a normal life. Poverty in India has made the life of persons with disabilities more difficult who are not able to seek a normal life. There has to be increased awareness about the rights of persons with disabilities, for them to have equal access to opportunities in life. That can be only achieved through mutual efforts and cooperation.

The author is Iqra Khan, a second year student of BALLB(Hons) in Jamia Millia Islamia.

References

1. Constitution of India
2. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
3. Declaration on the Rights of Disabled Persons, 1975.
4. The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.
5. The Mental Health Act, 1987
6. The Rehabilitation Council of India Act, 1992
7. The Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995
8. The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.
9. Census of India, 2011.
10. Amy Raub, Isabel Latz, Aleta Sprague, Michael Ashley Stein, and Jody Heymann, Constitutional Rights of Persons with Disabilities: An Analysis of 193 National Constitutions, Harvard Human Rights Journal,Vol 29, 2016.
11. Rights of Disabled Persons, available at http://www.legalserviceindia.com/legal/article-98-rights-of-disabled-persons.html, last seen at 6 April,2020.