Disability rights in North America and Europe
Introduction
Disability rights are the topic of today in a world where discrimination, lack of love, and intolerance reign. At times, People tend to forget that regardless of our status, our background and what we do, we are all human and all equals, and nothing can ever change that. Unfortunately, people with disability are being put aside and their rights are being denied. However, to understand what disability rights are, let’s dive into the definition of human rights, since we are all humans. Human rights are rights that each human has because they are human. These rights are automatically given once we are born. Therefore, all humans are entitled to it. According to Donnelly (2013), human rights refer to the fact that since we are all human being, we possess these rights. He goes on and mentions that human rights have three main features: the first one is human rights are equal rights meaning that people have the same rights as everyone else; human rights are inalienable rights which means people cannot be denied that no matter how badly they behaves; human rights are also universal rights meaning that since we are all considered human beings, as people we are holders of human rights (Donnelly, 2013). Some of the rights that human beings are entitled to are freedom of speech, freedom of association, right to education, and right to life, and right to be free and equal. Considering these facts and definitions, it is understood that no matter how we are or how one behaves, he/she has the right to enjoy these rights, even though you are a person with disability.
Disability rights in North America (the United States of America)
Human rights laid the foundation for disability rights. The issue with the idea of rights is that not everyone has access to it, even persons with disability. As define by The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), persons with disabilities are “those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others (Weiss, 2012).” Some of the disability rights are considered to be the rights to education, equality before the law, freedom of speech, respect of privacy, right to both marriage and family, and many more according to Weiss (2012). In North America, especially in the United States, actions have been taken to better the condition which persons of disability find themselves in. The Disabilities Rights Movement was created to ensure that persons with disabilities can enjoy their basic rights and can be treated like others no matter the situations. Also, the ADA (American Disability Act) was enacted in 1988 by Senators Lowell Weicker and Tom Harkin (McKeever, 2020). It is true that this law was to ensure that persons with disability can enjoy their rights conveniently, but the law failed to deliver it was enacted for. In fact, the law could
not guarantee that the employment rate would increase for persons with disabilities; therefore could not close the gap created by discrimination. Furthermore, in the Constitutions of the United States of America, it is guaranteed that every citizen has equal protection despite their race, gender and disability (Weiss, 2012). Although, the Constitution of the United States mentions equal rights for all and everything is being done to favor person with disabilities in America, there is not much progress. Even some people are still unaware of the laws of America that favor them greatly. This leads to a much more complicated situation where, with about 54 million persons with disabilities, there is still discrimination related to employment, services, education and additional areas (Weiss, 2012). The efforts put together are not enough to eradicate or even reduce the number of discrimination, crime, and violence towards persons with disabilities. Women and children with disabilities are exposed to violence easily and sometimes nothing is being done to support them because people find them “different”. In terms of equal protection and due process, Weiss (2012) declares that some of the social service organizations in America are unprepared to address the need of persons with disabilities. It happens that some staffs lack the specific training to respond to their different and specific needs. When it comes of accessibility, there is a huge problem. Weiss (2012) remarks that only 55-60 % of public buses in America have wheelchair lifts; sometime the wheelchair system do not even work or the buses driver have no knowledge about that which makes it difficult for persons with disabilities. Moreover, issues related to persons with disabilities are unimaginable. It reaches to the point where even in some schools in America, some teachers and principals have been “involved in instances of encouraging harassment with the intention of punishing students simply for experiencing a form of disability” (Weiss, 2012). People who are supposed to be responsible to create awareness about this issue, who are supposed to help eradicate scourge are the ones propagating it. Unfortunately, even though cases of disability harassment are growing, many courts in America treat it lightly and see it as no comparable to racism or sexism as they think it is not a serious matter. The understanding from this situation is that persons with disability are respected and they do not enjoy their rights as they must in America.
Disability rights in Europe (European Union and France)
As in the case of America, persons with disability are also facing discrimination in Europe. That is why the European Commission has introduced the Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2021-2030. This strategy will serve as a way to include all persons with disabilities in society and ensure their participation in it (Friscic, 2021). Also, the strategy follows the Europeans disability strategy 2010-2020 which constituted, and still does, one of the elements of the European Pillar of Social Rights. The European Disability Strategy 2010-2020 favored an inclusion of lots persons with disability by improving their lives. As Friscic (2021) recounts, the European Disability Strategy was established in the EU agenda and still is considered as important. However, even though changes occurred with the old strategy, a growing number of persons with disability are still facing problems within society in present days. There is still no
equal opportunity for persons with disabilities as of today. According to Friscic (2021), 50.8% of persons with disabilities compared to 75% without disability; “28.4% of persons with disabilities are at risk of poverty or social exclusion compared to 17.8% of persons without disabilities. Only 29.4% of persons with disabilities attain a tertiary degree compared to 43.8% of those without disabilities and 52% of persons with disabilities feel discriminated against” (Friscic, 2021). This is observation are made in every sector such as the healthcare system, education, employment, and political life. Nevertheless, the new strategy brings hope and create avenue to tackle the issue at hands. This ten years strategy will enhance equal participation and non-discrimination with regards to persons with disabilities. According to Friscic (2021), strategy firstly aims at protecting all persons with disabilities from any form of discrimination and ensures equal opportunities; also it aims at making sure that persons with disabilities have the same rights other citizens of the EU and to participate in the political life; finally, it aims at giving the right to persons with disabilities to live independently and choose whom they want to live with. In 2018 In France for example, persons with disability have the right to vote as it was not the case before. The French law would not allow persons with disabilities to vote because they were unfit to do so. Labaki (2018) explains that people who are under a guardian were deprived from voting and most of the time it affected persons with disabilities. However, changes were made to ensure the right to a political life. The article 5 of France’s Electoral code has been repealed to allow persons with to vote. It has been possible because of the UN disability rights treaty and also because “countries should not deprive or limit a person of legal capacity on the basis of disability, including by placing them under guardianship “ (Labaki, 2018).
Conclusion
In conclusion, this article attempted to raise awareness on the issues that persons with disabilities are facing in North America and Europe. The aim is to inform communities, societies, organization and individuals or what is happening and find ways and means to respond to the problem. Persons with disabilities are human like us and they must be able to fully enjoy their rights conveniently and to experience a new mode of living filling with satisfaction and joy.
References
Donnelly, J. (2013). The concept of human rights. Universal human rights in theory and practice, 7-23.
Friscic, J. (2021, March 3). European Comission presens Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2021-2030. Retrieved from Inclusion Europe: http://www.inclusion-europe.eu/european-commission-presents-strategy-for-the-rights-of-persons-with-disabilities-2021-2030/
Labaki, L. (2018, February 9). People with disabilities to get vote in France. Retrieved from Human Rights Watch: https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/02/09/people-disabilities-get-vote-france
McKeever, A. (2020, July 30). How the Americans with disabilities act transformed a country. Retrieved from National Geographic: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/americans-disabilities-act-transformed-united-states
Weiss, T. (2012, February 27). Rights of Persons with Disabilities in America. Retrieved from Disabled World: www.disabled-world.com/editorials/6786854.php