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Supporting Citizenship –
The Future of Services for Persons with Disabilities in Ireland:
Some Reflections on the Impact of the UN Convention on the
Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Gerard Quinn
Centre for Disability Law and Policy, NUI Galway
www.nuigalway.ie/cdlp
1. Backdrop to the CRPD
2. Overview of the Rights
3. Focus on the Rights Relevant to Personal Services
4. Implications for Services.
1. Backdrop to the the UN CRPD
- Clean break between disability and deficits……
-No ‘New Rights’ – Just Equal Enjoyment of all rights.
-Effects a Paradigm Shift – From Object to Subject.
-Blows away cobwebs of paternalism – general rejection of ‘best interests’ standard
-Sets a Floor – not a ceiling – calls for innovation.
-All Rights Interdependent/Interactive (e.g., 19 – 12).
-ESCR rights re-engineered.
-State still has a protective role – but shorn of paternalism (Art 16).
2. Overview of the Rights….
Protecting
the Person
Rt to Life – 10
Freedom agaist
Torture – 15
Freedom from
Violence, Exploitation
And abuse – 16
Autonomy
Self-Determination
Legal Capacity
12
Access
&
Participation
Liberty
Accessibilty 9
Liberty 14
Nationality 18
Per Mobilil 20
Political 29
Living Independently &
Included in Community, 19
Cultural 30
Rehab 26
Justice 13
Expression 21
Protect Integrity
Of the person 17
Privacy 22
Family 23
Solidarity…
Education 24, Health 26, Adeq Std of Living 28, Work, 27
4
3. CRPD Provisions relevant to Services
Transversal Right: Women with Disabilities
Assumption of Legal
Capacity to Make On Decisions
& have them Respected
6
Transversal Right:
Children with Disabilities
Active consultation and
involvement
In decision-making processes
7
PP x
12
4.3
19
Families Right to Support
Right to Living
Independently and
Being included in
the Community
Art 12 - Old & New Approach
NOW – decision making fragility
Response: Guardian to
take decisions
New Approach
ASSUMPTION of Legal Capacity
Art 12 Obligation is to SUPPORT in Exercising Legal Capacity
Not just supported decision-making at one extreme
Centering People
SUPPORT means augmenting residual capacity
With Natural Supports
Support means building capacity
SUPPORT can mean connecting with social capital/community
Widening opportunity to share personhood and grow
SUPPORT can mean support in making decisions
6
Article 19 Living independently and being
included in the community
States Parties to the present Convention
recognize the equal right of all persons with
disabilities to live in the community, with
choices equal to others, and shall take
effective and appropriate measures to
facilitate full enjoyment by persons with
disabilities of this right and their full inclusion
and participation in the community, including
by ensuring that:
(a) Persons with disabilities have the
opportunity to choose their place of residence
and where and with whom they live on an
equal basis with others and are not obliged to
live in a particular living arrangement;
Not beholden to one model
Of Independent Living
Not Just Bricks & Mortar
Very Basic Right to Choose…
Home is the ‘materialisation of
Identity’
(b)Persons with disabilities have access to a
range of in-home,
residential
and other community support services,
including personal assistance
necessary to support living and inclusion in
the community, and to prevent isolation or
segregation from the community;
(c) Community services and facilities for the
general population are available on an equal
basis to persons with disabilities and are
responsive to their needs.
Services never serve just needs
Connected to higher goal
to achieve
Community engagement
With clear implications for
congregated settings
And clear implications for
service design that may have
the effect of isolating
The Transversal Provisions
Art 6 Women
Acknowledges
Women & girls
subject to
multiple discrimination
Obligation with respect
to development,
advancement and
empowerment of
women and girls
Evolving Capacities…
Art 7 Children
Full enjoyment of rights
on an equal basis with
other children
Retains ‘best interests’
principle of CRC (but CRC
is changing)
PP X Family
….
Persons and families should
receive assistance to
contribute to
full
enjoyment of rts of pwd
Rt to express views and to
assistance to do this
CRPD envisages
a positive dialectic between
family and individual
rights.
Centering the Child in
Services
But Family itself must be
Respected, privacy…
4.3 Nothing about us without us…….
In decision making processes…
States shall consult and actively involve…pwd
Children and their representative organisations
Applies whether States responsibilities are devolved to service providers or not
4. Implications for Services
An insistent focus on human flourishing – not on deficits.
A focus more on ‘life plans’ and less on needs and services
A Profound re-centering of the person and Child in all processes affecting him/her
A right to say ‘NO’ – Person Driven, not person centered service design
Restoring power to the consumer – with independent mechamisms of accountability
A Joined up Lifecoure perspective on the design of services – pathways to adulthod.
Families as a positive Part of the Picture – as well as other social capital