The three UN bodies that deal with disability rights have teamed up to issue guidelines to help countries implement existing obligations to ensure effective access to justice for people with disabilities.
The new document, International Principles and Guidelines on Access to Justice for Persons with Disabilities, was released by the special rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities, the committee on the rights of persons with disabilities and the special envoy of the secretary-general on disability and accessibility.
The UN special rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities, Catalina Devandas, said that the guidelines respond to the challenges that people with disabilities face.
‘We want to help countries dismantle obstacles and parallel systems that prevent access to the existing guarantees and rights by all people’ the UN Human Rights quoted Devandas as saying.
The new document outlines ten principles of access to justice for people with disabilities, noting that people with disabilities have the right to participate in the administration of justice on an equal basis with others.
Chairperson of the committee on the rights of persons with disabilities, Danlami Basharu, said that the guidelines will contribute to the achievement of justice for all.
‘These guidelines are an important contribution to international human rights law, and are an indispensable contribution to achieving justice for all’, Basharu said.
‘For the first time, countries will have a practical handbook on how to design and implement justice systems that provide equal access to justice for people with disabilities, regardless of their role in the process, to bring them into line with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and other international standards’.
The UN bodies noted that ‘as countries set about implementing these guidelines, we sincerely hope they will include people with disabilities and their representative groups in the process of making changes in legislation, procedures and training of law enforcement and justice officials’.
Source: OHCHR
Photo source: Andreas Komodromos
