Ombudsman institutions and Article 33(2) of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

• Author(s) / Creator(s)

  • Reif, Linda C.

• Introduction: It is estimated that over one billion persons around the world live with some form of disability. Persons with disabilities (PWDs) are often discriminated against and subjected to more egregious treatment by state and non-state actors. Women and girls with disabilities are often maltreated, suffering violence, exploitation, and forced sterilization. Most of the children with disabilities who live in developing countries have no access to education. The elderly often live with disabilities, either longstanding or appearing with the aging process. In industrialized countries, increasing numbers of prisoners are PWDs due to the percentage of inmates with mental health needs and the growth in the geriatric inmate population. Furthermore, the majority of PWDs live in poverty. In recent years, the international human rights system has paid greater attention to articulating and enforcing the human rights of PWDs. Moving from the initial use of medical or welfare models, the international community has adopted a social model of disability. The social model is reflected in the broad spectrum of human rights enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) which came into force in 2008.

• Date created

  2014

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Canadian Law

• Type of Item

  Article (Published)

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R3H12VN8B

• License

  © 2014 Linda Reif. This version of this article is open access and can be downloaded and shared. The original author(s) and source must be cited.