UNITED
NATIONS
E
Economic and Social
Council
E/C.12/1994/13
14 December 1994
Original:
ENGLISH
COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL
AND CULTURAL RIGHTS
Eleventh session
21 November-9 December 1994
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL COVENANT ON
ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS
General Comment No. 5 (Eleventh session, 1994)*
Persons with disabilities
1.
The central importance of the International Covenant on Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights in relation to the human rights of persons with
disabilities has frequently been underlined by the international
community. 1/ Thus a 1992 review by the Secretary-General of the
implementation of the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons
and the United Nations Decade of Disabled Persons concluded that "disability
is closely linked to economic and social factors" and that "conditions of
living in large parts of the world are so desperate that the provision of
basic needs for all - food, water, shelter, health protection and education must form the cornerstone of national programmes". 2/ Even in countries
which have a relatively high standard of living, persons with disabilities are
very often denied the opportunity to enjoy the full range of economic, social
and cultural rights recognized in the Covenant.
2.
The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the working
group which preceded it, have been explicitly called upon by both the
General Assembly 3/ and the Commission on Human Rights 4/ to monitor the
compliance of States parties to the Covenant with their obligation to ensure
* Adopted at the 38th meeting, on 25 November 1994.
GE.94-70436
(E)