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Witchcraft and the human rights of persons with albinism 2017, para. 17
- Paragraph text
- In the international human rights framework, persons with albinism have normative protection in the International Bill of Rights covering all their fundamental human rights, including the rights to life, physical integrity, liberty, security, the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health and an adequate standard of living. Further protection can be found in specific instruments, including the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which proscribes "racial discrimination" based on colour.
- Body
- Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Access to rights-based support for persons with disabilities 2017, para. 19
- Paragraph text
- Regretfully, there is little public and political interest or attention to the support needs of persons with disabilities. In many countries, support is not included in national legislation and policies and, when available, it is an underfunded residual service with scarce provision that does not match people's needs. Moreover, whereas there are some forms of formal support for persons with disabilities in many high-income countries, this is not the case in many low- and middle-income countries. Consequently, the majority of persons with disabilities have to rely on informal forms of support, primarily from their families and personal networks.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Access to rights-based support for persons with disabilities 2017, para. 13
- Paragraph text
- Support is the act of providing help or assistance to someone who requires it to carry out daily activities and participate in society. Support is a practice, deeply embedded in all cultures and communities, that is at the basis of all our social networks. Everyone needs support from others at some stage, if not throughout their life, to participate in society and live with dignity. Being a recipient of support and offering support to others are roles we all share as part of our human experience, regardless of impairment, age or social status. However, while some forms of support have been naturally integrated into social design, others, such as that required by persons with disabilities, are still marginal.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Access to rights-based support for persons with disabilities 2017, para. 14
- Paragraph text
- Support for persons with disabilities encompasses a wide range of formal and informal interventions, including live assistance and intermediaries, mobility aids and assistive devices and technologies. It also includes personal assistance; support in decision-making; communication support, such as sign language interpreters and alternative and augmentative communication; mobility support, such as assistive technology or service animals; living arrangements services for securing housing and household help; and community services. Persons with disabilities may also need support in accessing and using general services, such as health, education and justice.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Access to rights-based support for persons with disabilities 2017, para. 52
- Paragraph text
- Support must be affordable for all persons with disabilities. Support services represent a significant cost for persons with disabilities, preventing them from climbing out of poverty. States must ensure that support is available at nominal or no cost to the maximum extent of their available resources, and take into account the gender disparity in income and access to financial resources. Social protection systems can constitute a powerful strategy to facilitate access to support services for persons with disabilities (see A/70/297, para. 9). Qualifying conditions for accessing support must be reasonable, proportionate and transparent, and should not be limited to those persons protected by social insurance schemes. Additionally, States should include the provision of essential assistive devices and technologies in the coverage of national health insurance and/or social protection schemes, on the basis of the World Health Organization priority assistive products list (ibid.). States should also consider waiving import duties and taxes on assistive devices and technologies that are not produced domestically (ibid., para. 48).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Access to rights-based support for persons with disabilities 2017, para. 37
- Paragraph text
- Support is a cross-cutting obligation under the Convention. As part of the general obligations provided in article 4, States parties have an obligation to adopt all appropriate measures to implement the rights recognized in the treaty, including the provision of support services when necessary (art. 4 (1) (a)). States must also undertake or promote research and development, and promote the availability and use, of devices and assistive technologies (art. 4 (1) (g)), and provide accessible information to persons with disabilities about mobility aids, devices and assistive technologies, including new technologies, and other forms of assistance, support services and facilities (art. 4 (1) (h)).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Access to rights-based support for persons with disabilities 2017, para. 74
- Paragraph text
- Persons with disabilities should have access to effective judicial or other appropriate remedies when States fail to meet their obligation to ensure access. Similarly, States must guarantee that all persons with disabilities who have experienced any form of exploitation, violence or abuse in the context of support received have access to justice and effective remedies. These remedies should include adequate reparations, including restitution, compensation, satisfaction and guarantees of non-repetition, as appropriate. National human rights institutions and independent mechanisms to promote, protect and monitor the implementation of the Convention should be mandated to carry out inquiries and investigations (art. 33 (2)) as well as provide assistance to persons with disabilities in accessing legal remedies.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Access to rights-based support for persons with disabilities 2017, para. 67
- Paragraph text
- The sustainability of support services and arrangements represents a major challenge in both developing and developed countries. Whereas in most low-income countries support is funded and provided mainly by families, charities and international non-governmental organizations, many high- and middle-income countries are reducing their direct public investment in support and are turning to non-profit organizations and community networks to take charge of these services. States usually invoke the scarcity of resources and economic difficulties to justify their failure to provide support services and arrangements to persons with disabilities.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Access to rights-based support for persons with disabilities 2017, para. 68
- Paragraph text
- States have an obligation to mobilize resources to their maximum availability to ensure access to support for persons with disabilities. Earmarked funds aimed at covering support, close collaboration and engagement with civil society and increasing efficiency can contribute to greater sustainability of support systems. Participatory budgeting processes, when they are inclusive of persons with disabilities, can also help to expand the allocation of public funds to support persons with disabilities. Social protection systems can also constitute a powerful strategy to facilitate access to support for persons with disabilities (see A/70/297, paras. 4-9).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Access to rights-based support for persons with disabilities 2017, para. 81
- Paragraph text
- Article 20 of the Convention requires States to facilitate the personal mobility of persons with disabilities in the manner and at the time of their choice, facilitate their access to assistive technologies and forms of mobility assistance and intermediaries, and provide training in mobility skills to persons with disabilities and staff working with them. It also encourages entities that produce mobility aids, devices and assistive technologies to take into account all aspects of mobility for persons with disabilities. The Special Rapporteur's thematic report on disability-inclusive policies (A/71/314) provides guidance to States on how to establish a policy framework that ensures access to assistive devices and technologies to persons with disabilities.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Access to rights-based support for persons with disabilities 2017, para. 82
- Paragraph text
- States have an obligation to ensure that persons with disabilities have access to the personal assistance necessary to support living and inclusion in the community, as provided by article 19 (b) of the Convention. Personal assistance encompasses a broad range of arrangements designed to assist a person with disabilities to perform daily activities, including getting up, bathing, dressing, getting ready for work, going out, cooking, cleaning and shopping. Persons with disabilities may require personal assistance for different lengths of time, from full time to a few hours a week, depending on their individual needs.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Access to rights-based support for persons with disabilities 2017, para. 83
- Paragraph text
- Independent living centres and representative organizations of persons with disabilities can play an important role in ensuring access to personal assistance. They can disseminate information about the obligations of States and service providers, provide assistance in recruitment and budgeting, facilitate support groups and train those who wish to become assistants. They can also foster participatory processes for developing ethical principles and practice guidance. While personal assistants may not require specialized preparation, States should ensure they have adequate training in order to provide safe and quality support. For example, in the Republic of Korea, the Act on Personal Assistance Services for Persons with Disabilities specifies the qualifications, human resources and service providers relating to the provision of personal assistance.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 12
- Paragraph text
- One decade later, progress is slow. Effective, acceptable and scalable treatment alternatives remain on the periphery of health-care systems, deinstitutionalization has stalled, mental health investment continues to be predominantly focused on a biomedical model and mental health legislative reform has proliferated, undermining legal capacity and equal protection under the law for people with cognitive, intellectual and psychosocial disabilities. In some countries, the abandonment of asylums has created an insidious pipeline to homelessness, hospital and prison. When international assistance is available, it often supports the renovation of large residential institutions and psychiatric hospitals, undermining progress.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- The professional group in psychiatry is a powerful actor in mental health governance and advocacy. National mental health strategies tend to reflect biomedical agendas and obscure the views and meaningful participation of civil society, users and former users of mental health services and experts from various non-medical disciplines. In that context, the 2005 WHO Resource Book on Mental Health, Human Rights and Legislation, developed using human rights guidelines at the time, was highly influential in the development of mental health laws that allowed “exceptions”. Those legal “exceptions” normalized coercion in everyday practice, widening the space for human rights violations to occur and it is therefore a welcome development to see the laws being revisited and the Resource Book formally withdrawn, as a result of the framework brought about by the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 25
- Paragraph text
- Conventional wisdom based on a reductionist biomedical interpretation of complex mental health-related issues dominates mental health policies and services, even when not supported by research. Persons with psychosocial disabilities continue to be falsely viewed as dangerous, despite clear evidence that they are commonly victims rather than perpetrators of violence. Likewise, their capacity to make decisions is questioned, with many being labelled incompetent and denied the right to make decisions for themselves. That stereotype is now regularly shattered, as people show that they can live independently when empowered through appropriate legal protection and support.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 74
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur highlights the devastating impact that institutionalization has on young children, particularly on their mental health and holistic development. Mental health-related services for children receive inadequate investment and lack quality standards of care and staffing, thus creating an environment where abuse is common for children with disabilities or with difficulties in social and emotional development, especially for those in institutional care. There are many examples of innovative child mental health services and practices throughout the world and there is convincing research on their effectiveness in promoting mental health and preventing deterioration in mental health conditions. However, those good practices often serve merely as pilot projects, owing to a lack of political will to replicate and mainstream them in general childcare services.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Persons with disabilities
- Youth
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 65
- Paragraph text
- Coercion in psychiatry perpetuates power imbalances in care relationships, causes mistrust, exacerbates stigma and discrimination and has made many turn away, fearful of seeking help within mainstream mental health services. Considering that the right to health is now understood within the framework of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, immediate action is required to radically reduce medical coercion and facilitate the move towards an end to all forced psychiatric treatment and confinement. In that connection, States must not permit substitute decision-makers to provide consent on behalf of persons with disabilities on decisions that concern their physical or mental integrity; instead, support should be provided at all times for them to make decisions, including in emergency and crisis situations.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Sexual and reproductive health and rights of girls and young women with disabilities 2017, para. 2
- Paragraph text
- In her thematic reports, the Special Rapporteur has underscored the importance of ensuring a gender perspective in all interventions related to persons with disabilities, stressing the significant additional barriers that women and girls with disabilities encounter that can prevent them from the full enjoyment of their rights. As international and national efforts on the rights of persons with disabilities have too often failed to take into account a gender perspective, it is urgent that the multifaceted discrimination, marginalization and compounded human rights violations that women and girls with disabilities face in most societies be addressed (see A/HRC/28/58, para. 19 (d)).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Sexual and reproductive health and rights of girls and young women with disabilities 2017, para. 3
- Paragraph text
- The present report focuses on the sexual and reproductive health and rights of girls and young women with disabilities. The term “girls with disabilities” refers to women with disabilities below the age of 18 years, whereas the term “young women with disabilities” refers to women between 15 and 24 years of age. The Special Rapporteur stresses that those women face significant challenges in making autonomous decisions with regard to their reproductive and sexual health, and are regularly exposed to violence, abuse and harmful practices, including forced sterilization, forced abortion and forced contraception. She recalls that States have an obligation to invest in the sexual and reproductive health and rights of girls and young women with disabilities, and to end all forms of violence against them.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Sexual and reproductive health and rights of girls and young women with disabilities 2017, para. 4
- Paragraph text
- In preparing her report, the Special Rapporteur analysed 47 responses to a questionnaire sent to Member States, national human rights institutions and civil society organizations, including representative organizations of persons with disabilities, as well as the outcome of consultations conducted with girls and young women with disabilities in three countries, whose main trends are reflected in the text. She also organized an expert consultation in New York in June 2017 with representatives of United Nations agencies, women’s organizations and organizations of persons with disabilities. The Special Rapporteur would like to thank Plan International, who supported the research efforts for the study, which was undertaken under the coordination of her office.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Sexual and reproductive health and rights of girls and young women with disabilities 2017, para. 6
- Paragraph text
- Disability is more prevalent among women than men. Women with disabilities account for almost one fifth of the world’s female population. There are no reliable and representative global data on children with disabilities. Estimates suggest that there are between 93 and 150 million children with disabilities worldwide, but numbers could be higher. Furthermore, there are very few statistics available on girls with disabilities at national and international levels, as generally data are not disaggregated by gender, age and disability. That scarcity of data has contributed to making the pressing human rights issues that affect children with disabilities, and girls in particular, invisible.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Sexual and reproductive health and rights of girls and young women with disabilities 2017, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- The forced sterilization of girls and young women with disabilities represents a widespread human rights violation across the globe. Girls and young women with disabilities are disproportionately subjected to forced and involuntary sterilization for different reasons, including eugenics, menstrual management and pregnancy prevention. Women with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities, as well as those placed in institutions, are particularly vulnerable to forced sterilization. Despite the limited data on current practices, studies show that the sterilization of women and girls with disabilities continues to be prevalent, and up to three times higher than the rate for the general population.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Sexual and reproductive health and rights of girls and young women with disabilities 2017, para. 31
- Paragraph text
- Other medical procedures or interventions that are often performed without the free and informed consent of girls and young women with disabilities include forced contraception and forced abortion. Contraception is often used to control menstruation at the request of health professionals or parents. Moreover, while the contraceptive needs of girls and young women with disabilities are the same as those without disabilities, they receive contraception more often by way of injection or through intrauterine devices rather than orally, as it is less burdensome for families and service providers. In addition, girls and young women with disabilities are frequently pressured to end their pregnancies owing to negative stereotypes about their parenting skills and eugenics-based concerns about giving birth to a child with disabilities. During official country visits, the Special Rapporteur has received information about compulsory regular gynaecological checks and the use of forced abortion in institutions as a way to contain the institution’s population.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Sexual and reproductive health and rights of girls and young women with disabilities 2017, para. 34
- Paragraph text
- Girls and young women with disabilities are disproportionately affected by different forms of gender-based violence, including physical, sexual, psychological and emotional abuse; bullying; coercion; arbitrary deprivation of liberty; institutionalization; female infanticide; trafficking; neglect; domestic violence; and harmful practices such as child and forced marriage, female genital mutilation, forced sterilization and invasive and irreversible involuntary treatments (see A/HRC/20/5, paras. 12-27). Many of those forms of violence are a consequence of the intersection between disability and gender, and might happen while a girl or young woman with disabilities performs daily hygiene, receives treatment or is overmedicated. Gender-based violence occurs at home, in institutions, in schools, in health centres and in other public and private facilities, and perpetrators are frequently relatives, caregivers and professionals on whom the girl or young woman may depend.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Sexual and reproductive health and rights of girls and young women with disabilities 2017, para. 48
- Paragraph text
- States need to take all appropriate legislative, administrative and other measures necessary to ensure the provision of procedural and age-appropriate accommodations for girls and young women with disabilities, which is essential to enabling their effective direct and indirect participation, including as witnesses, in all legal proceedings, from investigative and other preliminary stages to court hearings. All protection services must be age-, gender- and disability-sensitive. For instance, the Kenya Association for the Intellectually Handicapped provides training to law enforcement officials, health personnel and service providers on the provision of reasonable and procedural accommodations to persons with intellectual disabilities and on respect for their personal autonomy.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Sexual and reproductive health and rights of girls and young women with disabilities 2017, para. 49
- Paragraph text
- States have an obligation to prevent, investigate, prosecute and try all acts of violence, including sexual violence, and to protect the rights and interests of the victims. National human rights institutions and civil society organizations can play a key role in carrying out inquiries and investigations on exploitation, violence or abuse against girls and young women with disabilities, and in assisting all women with disabilities in accessing legal remedies. For instance, the National Union of Women with Disabilities of Uganda trained 32 women with disabilities as paralegals with knowledge about the rights of women and girls with disabilities related to sexual and reproductive health and rights and gender-based violence. The paralegals offer peer-to-peer support with regard to reporting violations and conducting the necessary follow-up to ensure justice is achieved. States should consider reparations and redress mechanisms for girls and young women with disabilities who have been subjected to harmful practices, such as forced sterilization and forced abortion, particularly within institutions (see CEDAW/C/JPN/CO/7-8, paras. 24-25).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Sexual and reproductive health and rights of girls and young women with disabilities 2017, para. 50
- Paragraph text
- States must ensure the full accessibility of all sexual and reproductive health and rights information and services. All public and private facilities and services open or provided to the public, including gynaecological and obstetric services, must take into account all aspects of accessibility for women with disabilities, including accessibility with regard to infrastructure, equipment and information and communications. Transport to reach those services must be accessible, as otherwise girls and young women with disabilities will continue to be obstructed from enjoying and exercising their sexual and reproductive health rights in practice.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to adequate housing of persons with disabilities 2017, para. 22
- Original document
- Paragraph text
- Homelessness for persons with disabilities is also linked to the breakdown of family relationships. A study in Montreal, Canada, of homeless persons with intellectual disabilities found that almost all individuals who lived on the street or in shelters had had no contact with their families since becoming homeless. On mission in Chile, the Special Rapporteur visited a homeless shelter run by the Salvation Army in Valparaiso where many of the residents were persons with intellectual or psychosocial disabilities who had been shunned or abandoned by their families.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to adequate housing of persons with disabilities 2017, para. 24
- Original document
- Paragraph text
- Water, sanitation and hygiene facilities are often inaccessible and located some distance from the home. Those with mobility impairments may be dependent on assistance or forced to drag themselves along the ground to reach the facilities. In many situations, persons with disabilities are simply unable to gain access to toilets, must defecate in their homes and are often unable to remove waste. Streets or alleys in informal settlements are often sand, gravel or mud, sometimes built into steep cliffs and hill-sides, and are not accessible to persons in wheelchairs or with reduced mobility.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to adequate housing of persons with disabilities 2017, para. 75
- Original document
- Paragraph text
- In its recent white paper on the rights of persons with disabilities, the Department of Social Services of South Africa called for a comprehensive strategy to realize the right to adequate housing of persons with disabilities consistent with the transformative nature of the constitutional right to housing, including supported community living plans, subsidized housing support, universal design as a requirement in infrastructure grants and a sustainable community-based system for support for independent living. In the white paper, emphasis was laid on the critical importance of strengthening the enforcement of existing legislation, improving access to courts, complaints mechanisms and institutions and strengthening the capacity of institutions such as the South African Human Rights Commission and of organizations for persons with disabilities to support persons with disabilities in gaining access to justice.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph