Over the past two decades, there has been increasing recognition of the ways in which disabled children and adults have been denied human and civil rights that others take for granted. In the year 2000, the Human Rights Act 1998 came into force. This book reviews the implications of the Act for disabled people. The book provides: an overview of key policy and legislative developments in the UK in relation to disabled children and adults in the post war period; an outline of the European Convention on Human Rights, The Human Rights Act 1998 and related procedures; an account of the ways in which disabled people's human rights have increasingly become a matter of concern and the implications of the Human Rights Act in relation to specific issues; a debate about the ways in which public bodies and practitioners within them can engage positively with the provisions of the Human Rights Act to develop better practice. Disabled people and human rights will be of interest to both disabled people themselves and organisations representing their interests, professionals whose work brings them into contact with disabled people, and students of social work, social care, disability studies and law.

The United Nations' Decade of Disabled Persons has served as a time for standard setting in the field of human rights and disability, and has created the need to evaluate the relevant human rights instruments for disabled persons. This volume responds to this need by offering a collection of essays on the subject of human rights and disability, and an extensive compilation of international and regional human rights instruments, guidelines and principles which are of special relevance to disabled people. It should serve organizations of disabled people as well as governments throughout the world as a resource and as an introduction to human rights and disability. This shortcoming may be one reason for the widely prevailing notion that disability is a welfare issue rather than a human rights issue.

For all its achievements in integrating Europe, the EU lacks a human rights policy which is coherent, balanced and professionally administered. This volume provides an insightful critique of current policies and detailed recommendations for the future by leading experts in the field including individuals from every EU country.

This book explores how disabled people’s right to life is understood in different national contexts and the ways in which they are – or are not – afforded protection under the law, emphasizing the social, cultural and historical forces and circumstances which have promoted disabled people’s right to life or legitimated its violation.

This book examines the emergence of a human rights culture by considering the issues surrounding the effective implementation of human rights.

This book develops a legal argument as to how persons with intellectual disability can flourish in a liberal setting through the exercise of human rights, even though they are perceived as non-autonomous. Using Ronald Dworkin's theory of liberal equality, it argues that ethical individualism can be modified to accommodate persons with intellectual disability as equals in liberal theory. Current legal practices, the case law of the ECtHR on disability, the provisions of the UNCRPD and a comparative analysis of English and German law are discussed, as well as suggestions for positive measures for persons with intellectual disability. The book will interest academics, human rights activists and legal practitioners in the field of disability rights.

This seventh annual report covers the 12 month period until the end of July 2004. The human rights report is designed to provide detailed information for Parliament and for other interested parties on the FCO's activities to promote human rights, democracy and good governance abroad. These activities cost over £12 million in 2003-04. The key human rights issues in some 20 countries, ranging from Afghanistan to Iraq and Zimbabwe, are described. The report also covers the course of international debate on human rights. Specific chapters deal with: human rights and conflict; economic, social and cultural rights; human rights and the rule of law; democracy, equality and freedom; women's rights and child rights.

This book is based on a conference organised jointly by the editors to mark the European Year of Disabled People. It explores the range of legal strategies which have been adopted,both nationally and internationally, to achieve equality for disabled people and facilitate their inclusion into mainstream society. It examines current developments in anti-discrimination law, both within Member States and at EU level. It also assesses the effectiveness and potential of the human rights framework for disabled Europeans. In addition, a number of approaches to the enforcement and promotion of disability rights are considered. Contributors to this book, drawn from across Europe, represent a variety of different backgrounds. They include leading academics in the field, as well as campaigners and others working to improve or enforce disability-related legislation. The book is a unique and timely contribution to an important and rapidly expanding field of study. It will be of relevance to all those, whether lawyers or not, with an interest in disability and equality issues.

A demonstration of how European Court of Human Rights judgments might better accommodate the concerns of minorities.

The International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is the first human rights treaty adopted by the United Nations in the 21st century. It seeks to secure the equal and effective enjoyment of human rights for the estimated 650 million persons with disabilities in the world. It does so by tailoring gerneral human rights norms to their circumstances. It reflects and advances the shift away from welfare to rights in the context of disability. The Convention itself represents a mix between non-discrimination and other substantive human rights and gives practical effect to the idea that all human rights are indivisible and interdependent. This collection of essays examines these developments from the global, European and Scandinavian perspectives and the challenge of transposing its provisions into national law. It marks the coming of age of disabilty as a core human rights concern.