The Disabilities Convention: Human Rights of Persons with Disabilities or Disability Rights?

Human Rights Quarterly, Vol. 30, 2008

28 Pages Posted: 14 Sep 2008

See all articles by Frederic Megret

Frederic Megret

McGill University - Faculty of Law

Date Written: October 11, 2007

Abstract

The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is about more than making sure that existing human rights are applied to persons with disability. It also subtly reformulates and extends existing human rights to take into account the specific rights experience of persons with disability. In fact, the argument can be made that the Convention comes close to creating new rights, or at least very new ways of seeing common rights. This suggests a deeper point about the fragmentation of international human rights law and the increasingly recognized need to take into account the irreducibility of the experience of certain categories of persons. The Disabilities Convention has some interesting lessons to teach about human rights more generally.

Keywords: disabilities, human rights, United Nations, Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities

JEL Classification: K33, I12

Suggested Citation

Mégret, Frédéric, The Disabilities Convention: Human Rights of Persons with Disabilities or Disability Rights? (October 11, 2007). Human Rights Quarterly, Vol. 30, 2008, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1267723

Frédéric Mégret (Contact Author)

McGill University - Faculty of Law ( email )

3644 Peel Street
Montreal H3A 1W9, Quebec H3A 1W9
Canada

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