The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: Implementing a Paradigm Shift

Implementation of the United Nations' (UN) Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), together with the new UN commitment to ensure the inclusion of people with disabilities in the post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), should now be considered an overarching priority by organizations and individuals committed to improving the quality of life of people with disabilities. The CRPD is not merely the latest in a long line of UN declarations, but a potential catalyst for a radical reappraisal of policy and practice among governments and organizations of persons with disabilities (disabled persons organizations (DPOs)) and by service planners and providers, members of professional and voluntary organizations, the research community, and by society at large. The 152 governments that have ratified the CRPD have entered into a commitment in international law to submit detailed reports to the CRPD Committee of the UN human rights commission. Although some DPOs have made good use of their right of access to this Committee, there is cause of concern about resources available to others. The Committee's criticisms of the nature and quality of government implementation highlight the need for sustained and informed advocacy by civil society and the use of the Internet and social media to raise public awareness about the potential of the CRPD to benefit people with disabilities. The author posits that lack of data on persons with disabilities in many countries now presents the most serious obstacle to accountability and monitoring. It is suggested that scientific and professional bodies need to work more earnestly in partnership with DPOs in a combined effort to make a reality of the Convention and the emerging SDGs in a new dynamic of research to practice.