Human Rights Council Special Event on the entry into force of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol. -8th Session of the Human Rights Council.

Statement by Charlotte McClain-Nhlapo.

Mr. President, Excellencies, distinguished delegates,ladies and gentlemen;

It gives me great pleasure to be here today and celebrate with you the entry into force of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities – the first Human Rights Convention of the 21st Century.

Allow me a minute to thank; Ambassador Doru Costea, the President of the Human Rights Council, Madame Louise Arbour, the High Commissioner for Human Rights and Ambassador Don Mackay of New Zealand for not only hosting this event, but for their sterling leadership, vision and support provided during the negotiation of this Convention- Thank You.

According to the United Nations, there are approximately 650 million people with disabilities in the world, and at least 80 percent of them live in developing countries. More often than not, they are among the poorest of the poor.

The UN Convention on the Rights of Person with Disabilities, which entered into force on the 3rd May 2008, defines such persons as “ those who have long term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others.” (Article 1)

Recent World Bank estimates suggest that people with disabilities may account for as many as one in five of the World’s poorest. And while, prevalence is difficult to measure effectively, it appears that disability is in the range of 10-12 percent in developing countries, of which 2-4 percent is severely disabled. Males at all ages are reported to have higher levels of disability, and prevalence increases dramatically across the world in people over 60 years old.

It is also important to note that people with disabilities are not a homogeneous group. Among this group are some who are particularly vulnerable. These include; children with disabilities, women with disabilities, people with multiple disabilities, those who are HIV positive and those living in rural and remote areas.

Though people with disabilities have diverse backgrounds, they ALL frequently experience discrimination and social, economic and political exclusion. This kind of discrimination occurs from birth or the time the disability occurs, and beyond. It is the main factor that results in social exclusion of people with disabilities. It is also this exclusion that precipitates poverty, because it leads to the lack of resources, lower expectations, poor health, and poor education.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Poverty is about vulnerability- being exposed and powerless in the face of risks and shocks to the household.

Disability is also about vulnerability- being exposed to widespread discrimination and exclusion as well as the lack of voice in society.

Poverty contributes to disability through a lack of access to basic human rights such as; the right to education, health, food and social protection.

Disability also often captures people in poverty because of attitudinal and structural barriers to participation in economic and social life in general.

It is clear that the relationship between poverty and disability is complex and multidirectional.And that in tandem, poverty and disability create a vicious circle.Having said that, the nexus from poverty to disability may not be as clear as the nexus between disability and poverty- much more research is required.

We do know that, poverty and hunger are almost inevitably linked to insufficient nutrition, poor housing, and inadequate healthcare services. These factors in concert, lead to an increased risk of impairment which in turn may lead to disability. The WHO estimates that 100 million people worldwide have impairments which are caused by malnutrition and poor sanitation.

Therefore, the likelihood that people with disabilities will experience poverty is greater than that for the population at large. There are many reasons for this. Exclusion and discrimination, unequal access to food, health care and education, and reduced capabilities for work -all contribute to reduce opportunities for people with disabilities and their consumption generating capabilities. However, despite the obvious relationship between disability and poverty, there is little to no reliable statistical information to substantiate this point-Making it very difficult to have a detailed global picture on disability and poverty intersect. Research remains sketchy and often mired by factors that are difficult to measure, such as the exclusion of people with disabilities from services, cultural concepts of disability, discrimination and the absence of statistically precise poverty information. Poverty statistics for people with disabilities are virtually non-existent.

This is bound to change with the entry into force of the CRPD. Particularly as Article 31 on Statistics and data collection requires State Parties to undertake appropriate collection of disaggregated data to help identify and address barriers faced by people with disabilities.

Whilst not all people with disabilities are poor, evidence points to a disproportionate number of people with disabilities in all countries being amongst those living in abject poverty.

It is important to note that:

  • Disability affects not just the person with a disability but the entire households income.
  • In the developing world the impact of disability goes beyond the person with the disability to include their family members. In these countries poverty is exacerbated by:
  • (i) the likelihood of a person with a disability not working;
  • (ii) another family member is more likely to be taken out of work (or children out of school) to care for the person with disability, and
  • (iii) the cost of healthcare and other interventions required by the person is higher than for families without a person with a disability/ high out of pocket costs are borne by the family.

This is what Nobel Laureate, Amartya Sen calls the ‘hidden costs of disability.”

Mounting evidence points to the high economic costs of excluding people with disabilities from the development agenda and the productive cycle, it is estimated that the global annual GDP loss due to the exclusion of people with disabilities from the labor market is between US$1.37 and US$1.94 trillion. This does not include the cost of excluding people with disabilities from the education or health systems.The business case for including people with disabilities is compelling.

The CRPD recognizes the relationship between the disability and poverty.The Preamble in para (t) highlights the fact that the majority of persons with disabilities live in conditions of poverty, and calls for the critical need to address the negative impact of poverty on persons with disabilities.

Art.28 2 (b) on Adequate standard of living and social protection- makes specific reference to poverty reduction programmes.

Art. 32 1 (a) on international cooperation; requires that international cooperation, including international development programmes, are inclusive of and accessible to persons with disabilities.

Furthermore, the CRPD recognizes thatitsimplementation is a shared responsibility and provides us with a roadmap towards Inclusive Development.

This roadmap is comprehensive and signposts the no gap policy. This is important as Governments, development agencies and service providers have tended to, either omit people with disabilities from their development programmes or create ‘special disability’ projects that effectively exclude or ghettoize people with disabilities from mainstream society. Often these programmes are small in scale and reach only those people with disabilities in urban areas. They do not reach the large numbers in rural and remote areas.And they never seem to reach the tipping point.

The few services that are available to people with disabilities are often under-funded, poorly managed, and invariable capacity constrained.

This neglect of disability in development planning reflects a broader tendency of undervaluing the capacity of people with disabilities and not seeing people with disabilities as full citizens with rights or dignity that can contribute to society. Instead people with disabilities continue to be portrayed as vulnerable and helpless.

The Convention has ushered in a new era. Today,disability led organizations are a lot more engaged with policy makers at country level. They are emphasizing the need to make the paradigm shift - to look more at inclusive approaches that recognizes them as holders of rights like anyone else. Empowering people with disabilities and increasing resources to address their exclusion can make a powerful contribution to reducing world poverty. This cannot be cosmetic, it will require more than referencing people with disabilities in programmes. They themselves must be part of the process. They must also be part of the accountability mechanisms to ensure effectiveness.

Disability discrimination is often deeply rooted in norms and traditions.

So policy for inclusion of people with disabilities needs to focus on changing both outcomes and the underlying norms. Changes are needed in the very laws that define the rules for society, in the actual institutions that exemplify and transmit norms as well as in the policies that affect outcomes. For the CRPD to bring its full benefits- for people with disabilities- more policy attention must go to the equality and inclusion of people with disabilities.

The goal of inclusive development is to create an inclusive society; the concept takes all vulnerable and marginalized groups into account. Inclusive development advocates the mainstreaming of disability dimensions as a development issue. As a consequence, people with disabilities should be included in all phases of any project and programme cycle. A focus on inclusive development helps demonstrate the positive value of inclusion and highlights aspects of diversity within society.

In the context of reaching people with disabilities who are poor and hungry this can be accomplished by improving nutrition and food security interventions, ensuring accessible social safety nets and integrating people with disabilities into sustainable rural development policies and programmes.

I offer some suggestions for action:

  • Action for poverty reduction should mainstream a disability perspective into all its future work- ensuring that differential impacts of policies and programmes are understood and reach people with disabilities.
  • Governments and development organizations should use various approaches to ensure the equal participation of people with disabilities - include disability in PRSPs.
  • Laws and policies should provide an enabling framework aligned with the tenets of the CRPD. Having said that, successful legal reforms to protect the rights of people with disabilities and level the playing field are contingent on effective enforcement. Otherwise, legislation remains merely good intentions.
  • States Parties –should sign and ratify the CRPD.
  • State Parties should collect reliable statistics relating to consumption poverty amongst people with disabilities. To date, such data have been lacking. One reason for this is that people with disabilities often do not have a voice and are invisible in many societies.
  • State Parties should continue with the twin track approach- this may include specific projects that target people with disabilities as well as mainstream disability into poverty reduction programmes.

Finally, it cannot be over emphasized that taking action for poverty reduction should have a broad-based strategy to improve access for people with disabilities with the ultimate goal of improving social conditions for everyone. This requires us to redefine the understanding and scope of who and where are the World’s poor and hungry. If we do not do this we will not achieve the first Millennium Development Goal of eradicating extreme poverty and hunger.

Disability has now finally been recognized as a rights issue. This is the right thing to do. The CRPD gives us not only the impetus to act but has created space for dialogue on how we can together demolition the barriers that keep more 650 million people from enjoying their fundamental human rights.

Thank you for attention.

Statement by Charlotte McClain-Nhlapo

6th June 2008.

Geneva.

1