ECLJ to the Ad Hoc Committee, United Nations Global Programme on Disability

August 22, 2006

Ad Hoc Committee
United Nations Global Programme on Disability
Two United Nations Plaza, DC2-1372
New York, NY10017
United States of America

Colleagues:

The European Centre for Law and Justice, representing the interests of the disabled in Europe, and working in specific with the disabled in the Slovak Republic and Ireland, wishes to add its support to the proposal of Qatar in reference to Article 25: “Health: Prevent discriminatory denial of medical treatment or food and fluids, regardless of the method of administration, necessary to preserve life based on present or predicated disability or perceived quality of life”

The legal recognition of the right to care and freedom from discriminatory treatment respects the qualities of dignity and worth held to such high premiums by the Ad Hoc Committee. Further, any derogation from the above language threatens to infringe the sovereign laws of many Member States to the Draft Convention.

Our organization further supports either the full removal of all language in article 25 referencing the right to reproductive health and in the alternative supports the proposal of the Holy See that a definition of reproductive health must be added to the text.

The legal traditions of many Delegate States constitutionally prescribe legal clarity as a requirement to enactment of all law and therefore any use of reproductive health as a term of art with a failure to define the term necessarily fails under the clarity tests required by the legal traditions of delegate Member States, including all Member States of the European Union where such clarity and precision is prescribed by the European Convention of Human Rights annexed to the Amsterdam Treaty and therefore legally binding on European Union States, the disabled communities of which the ECLJ seeks to represent.

Finally, the European Centre for Law and Justice supports the use of language referencing sex rather than gender. In the alternative, the ECLJ requests the addition of a note stating that pursuant to the Beijing Platform of Action, gender be defined according to its customary definition.

It is critical to note that the proposed Convention on Disability is a potential milestone in breaking down barriers for the disabled, particularly in the developing world. The document acts as a floor and not a ceiling in defining the rights of the disabled and sets a strong foundation to build upon by Delegate States. The addition of controversial and undefined language only discredits an otherwise very worthwhile document. The European Centre for Law and Justice points out that before first generation rights are fully enacted for the disabled in developing Member States, the addition of third or fourth generation rights to the Draft Convention, even if aspirational, clouds the main goals of the document and potentially threatens any meaningful implementation of foundational rights whatsoever.

Respectfully submitted,  

Roger Kiska
Legal Counsel
European Centre for Law and Justice
Strasbourg, France