RES/7/9 Human rights of persons with disabilities

Human Rights Council

Resolution 7/9. Human rights of persons with disabilities

The Human Rights Council,

Recalling the relevant resolutions of the General Assembly, the most recent of

which are resolution 62/170 of 18 December 2007 on the Convention on the Rights of

Persons with Disabilities and the Optional Protocol thereto, and resolution 62/127 of

18 December 2007 on the implementation of the World Programme of Action

concerning Disabled Persons,

Recalling also the relevant resolutions of the Commission on Human Rights,

the most recent of which is resolution 2005/65 of 25 April 2005, as well as those of

the Commission for Social Development of the Economic and Social Council,

Reaffirming the universality, indivisibility, interdependence and

interrelatedness of all human rights and fundamental freedoms and the need for

persons with disabilities to be guaranteed their full enjoyment without discrimination,

Recognizing that disability is an evolving concept and that disability results

from the interaction between persons with impairments and attitudinal and

environmental barriers that hinder their full and effective participation in society on

an equal basis with others,

Recognizing also the importance of accessibility to the physical, social,

economic and cultural environment, to health, education, information and

communication, in enabling persons with disabilities to enjoy all human rights and

fundamental freedoms fully,

Recognizing further the importance of international cooperation for improving

the living conditions of persons with disabilities in every country, particularly in

developing countries,

Recognizing that women and girls with disabilities are often subject to

multiple discrimination, and emphasizing the need to incorporate a gender perspective

in all efforts to promote the full enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms

by persons with disabilities,

1. Reaffirms the need to promote, protect and ensure the full and equal

enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with

disabilities, and to promote respect for their inherent dignity, and in this regard, calls

upon Governments to take active measures:

(a) To prevent and prohibit all forms of discrimination against persons

with disabilities;

(b) To ensure, for persons with disabilities, full and effective participation

and inclusion, respect for their individual autonomy, including the freedom to make

one’s own choices; independence; and equality of opportunity;

2. Welcomes the adoption by the General Assembly on 13 December

2006 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional

Protocol, and expresses the hope that they will enter into force at an early date;

3. Also welcomes the fact that, since the opening for signature of the

Convention and Optional Protocol on 30 March 2007, 126 States have signed and 17

have ratified the Convention, and that 71 States have signed and 11 have ratified the

Optional Protocol, and calls upon those States and regional integration organizations

that have not yet done so to consider signing and ratifying the Convention and the

Optional Protocol as a matter of priority;

4. Further welcomes the attention that several special rapporteurs have

paid to the rights of persons with disabilities in carrying out their mandates, and

requests special procedures, in carrying out their mandates, to take into account the

full and equal enjoyment of all human rights by persons with disabilities;

5. Encourages the Human Rights Council Advisory Committee, and other

mechanisms of the Council, to integrate the perspective of persons with disabilities, as

appropriate, in carrying out their work and in their recommendations so as to facilitate

the inclusion of persons with disabilities in the work of the Council;

6. Urges all stakeholders to give consideration to the rights of persons

with disabilities at all stages of the universal periodic review, including during the

consultations carried out by States at the national level for the preparation of

information to be submitted for the review, so as to include national human rights

institutions and non-governmental organizations representing persons with disabilities

in such consultations;

7. Welcomes the attention paid to the rights of persons with disabilities in

the work of several human rights treaty monitoring bodies and encourages all such

bodies to further integrate the perspective of persons with disabilities in their work,

including in their monitoring activities and through the issuing of general comments;

8. Urges Governments to address fully, in consultation with, inter alia,

national human rights institutions and organizations of persons with disabilities, the

rights of persons with disabilities when fulfilling their reporting obligations under the

relevant United Nations human rights instruments, and welcomes the efforts of those

Governments that have begun to do so;

9. Welcomes the report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on

progress in the implementation of the recommendations contained in the study on the

human rights of persons with disabilities (A/HRC/7/61) and invites the High

Commissioner to continue to provide adequate support for the integration of the

perspective of persons with disabilities in the work of the Council and to continue the

activities of her Office that contribute to raising awareness and understanding of the

Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, including in cooperation with

the Department for Economic and Social Affairs of the Secretariat;

10. Encourages States to raise awareness regarding the rights of persons

with disabilities, including through public awareness campaigns and training

programmes, to combat stereotypes, prejudices, harmful practices and attitudinal

barriers relating to persons with disabilities and to promote positive perceptions and

greater social awareness of persons with disabilities;

11. Encourages the High Commissioner for Human Rights to take fully

into account the progressive implementation of standards and guidelines for the

accessibility of facilities and services of the United Nations system, also taking into

account relevant provisions of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with

Disabilities, and underlines the need for the Council, including its Internet resources,

to be fully accessible to persons with disabilities;

12. Encourages States to take appropriate measures to identify and

eliminate obstacles and barriers to accessibility for persons with disabilities, in

particular to ensure that persons with disabilities have access, on an equal basis with

others, to the physical environment, transportation, information and communications,

and to other facilities open or provided to the public, both in urban and rural areas;

13. Welcomes the important role played by national human rights

institutions and civil society organizations, including organizations of persons with

disabilities, in the negotiation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with

Disabilities, and encourages relevant institutions and organizations to continue their

efforts to promote understanding of the Convention and, where appropriate, its

implementation;

14. Encourages the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner to

continue to strengthen its partnerships with and its outreach activities towards civil

society organizations, with a particular emphasis on organizations representing

persons with disabilities, so as to raise awareness among them about the work of the

human rights system;

15. Decides to hold an annual interactive debate in one of its regular

sessions on the rights of persons with disabilities and that the first such debate should

be held at its tenth session, focusing on key legal measures for ratification and

effective implementation of the Convention, including with regard to equality and

non-discrimination;

16. Requests the Office of the High Commissioner to prepare a thematic

study to enhance awareness and understanding of the Convention on the Rights of

Persons with Disabilities, focusing on legal measures key for the ratification and

effective implementation of the Convention, such as those relating to equality and

non-discrimination, in consultation with States, civil society organizations, including

organizations of persons with disabilities, and national human rights institutions, and

requests that the study be available on the website of the Office of the High

Commissioner, in an accessible format, prior to the tenth session of the Council;

17. Notes that the General Assembly requested the Secretary-General to

submit to the Assembly at its next session a report on the status of the Convention and

the Optional Protocol and on the implementation of resolution 62/170, and that it also

requested the Secretary-General to submit that report to the Council as a contribution

to its discussion of the rights of persons with disabilities;

18. Invites the Special Rapporteur on disability of the Commission for

Social Development to continue cooperating with the Council and to address it on

activities undertaken pursuant to his/her mandate, in accordance with its programme

of work.

40th meeting 27 March 2008

Adopted without a vote.