Consultation and Influence

Disability Awareness in Action
Resource Kit No. 2

Download the "Consultation and Influence Kit" as a PDF file (180 KB)

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European Social Charter

The members of the Council of Europe adopted the European Social Charter in 1961, for the protection of social and economic rights.

The Charter also protects the right to vocational guidance and training, to the protection of health, to social security, to social and medical assistance, and the right to benefit from social welfare services, including the right of disabled people to training and rehabilitation.

The Charter says that measures should be taken by the EC to make sure that disabled people can take part in all aspects of working life. Special reference is made to vocational training, "professional re-insertion" and re-adaptation, improvement of mobility, transport and housing. A note to the Charter recommends passing a directive on assistance for mobility-impaired workers.

Extracts

Article 3

With a view to ensuring the effective exercise of the right to safe and healthy working conditions, the Contracting Parties undertake:

1. to issue safety and health regulations

2. to provide for the enforcement of such regulations by measures of supervision to consult, as appropriate, employers' and workers' organisations on measures intended to improve industrial safety and health.

Article 9

With a view to ensuring the effective exercise of the right to vocational guidance, the Contracting Parties undertake to provide or promote, as necessary, a service which will assist all persons, including the handicapped, to solve problems related to occupational choice and progress, with due regard to the individual's characteristics and their relation to occupational opportunity; this assistance should be available free of charge, both to young persons, including school children, and to adults.

Article 15

Part I

Disabled people have the right to vocational training, rehabilitation and resettlement, whatever the origin and nature of their disability.

Part II

The right of physically and mentally disabled persons to vocational training, rehabilitation and social resettlement.

With a view to ensuring the effective exercise of the right of the physically or mentally disabled to vocational training, rehabilitation and resettlement, the Contracting Parties undertake:

1. to take adequate measures for the provision of training facilities, including, where necessary, specific institutions, public or private.

2. to take adequate measures for the placing of disabled in employment, such as specific placing services, facilities for sheltered employment and measures to encourage employers to admit disabled people to employment.

Article 17

With a view to ensuring the effective exercise of the right of mothers and children to social and economic protection, the Contracting Parties will take all appropriate and necessary measures to that end, including the establishment or maintenance of appropriate institutions or services.

Article 26

Part I

All disabled persons whatever the origin and nature of their disablement must be entitled to additional concrete measures aimed at improving their social and professional integration.

European Community Charter of Fundamental Social Rights for Workers

The Charter was adopted by all the member states of the European Community, except the UK, in 1989. It looks at only one aspect of disabled people's social rights for employment - the physical and organisational barriers that prevent disabled people's travelling to and from work.



The Treaty of Rome

Though only a recommendation, Article 235 encourages EC member states to adopt policies which would promote fair opportunities for disabled people, defined to include "all people with serious disabilities which result from physical, mental or psychological impairments". These policies include a quota system and a Code of Good Practice for employers.



Universal Islamic Declaration of Human Rights

Adopted on 19 September 1981 by the Islamic Council, the Declaration says that: "the age-old aspiration for a just world order wherein people could live, develop and prosper in an environment free from fear, oppression, exploitation and deprivation, remains largely unfulfilled".

Extracts

Article I

Right to Life

Human life is sacred and inviolable and every effort shall be made to protect it. In particular, no one shall be exposed to injury or death, except under the authority of law.

Article II

Right to Freedom

a Man is born free. No inroads shall be made on his right to liberty except under the authority and in due process of the law.

b Every individual and every people has the inalienable right to freedom in all its forms - physical, cultural, economic and political - and shall be entitled to struggle by all available means against any infringement or abrogation of this right; and every oppressed individual or people has a legitimate claim to the support of other individuals and/or peoples in such a struggle.

Article III

Right to Equality and Protection Against Impermissible Discrimination

a All persons are equal before the Law and are entitled to equal opportunities and

protection of the law.

b All persons shall be entitled to equal wage for equal work.

c No person shall be denied the opportunity to work or be discriminated against in any manner or exposed to greater physical risk by reason of religious belief, colour, race, origin, sex or language.

Article VII

Right to Protection Against Torture

No person shall be subject to torture in mind or in body, or degraded, or threatened with injury either to himself or to anyone related to or held dear by him, or forcibly made to confess to the commission of a crime, or forced to consent to an act which is injurious to his interest.

Article XIV

Right to Free Association

a Every person is entitled to participate individually and collectively in the religious, social, cultural and political life of his community and to establish institutions and agencies meant to enjoin what is right and to prevent what is wrong.

b Every person is entitled to strive for the establishment of institutions whereunder an enjoyment of these rights would be made possible. Collectively, the community is obliged to establish conditions so as to allow its members full development of their possibilities.

Article XV

The Economic Order and the Rights Evolving Therefrom

a In their economic pursuits, all persons are entitled to the full benefits of nature and all its resources.

Article XVIII

Right to Social Security

Every person has the right to food, shelter, clothing, education and medical care consistent with the resources of the community. This obligation of the community extends in particular to all individuals who cannot take care of themselves owing to some temporary or permanent disability.

Article XXI

Right to Education

a Every person is entitled to receive education in accordance with his natural capabilities.

b Every person is entitled to a free choice of professions and career and to the opportunity for the full development of his natural endowments.

4. National

Australia

Four states have made laws to protect disabled people's civil rights: New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia. All states cover discrimination on the grounds of physical disability. New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia also include intellectual impairment and in Victoria and Western Australia mental disorder is also included.

In New South Wales there is an "affirmative action" approach to public service employment. The state has appointed a Director of Equal Opportunity in Public Employment, to look at equal opportunity management plans and to see that they are carried out. These plans include target figures for the numbers of disabled people in various jobs. Unfortunately, the money available for such plans has been reduced recently and this has made them less effective.

Canada

Canada was the first country in the world to support equality for citizens in its Constitution. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms says that "every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability".

The Canadian Human Rights Act says that "every individual has an equal opportunity with other individuals to make for himself or herself the life that he or she is able and wishes to have without being hindered in or prevented from doing so by discriminatory practices based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, sex, marital status, family status, disability or conviction for an offence for which a pardon has been granted". The Act set up a Human Rights Commission for complaints about discrimination.

In 1980, Ontario was the first province to say that every child, whatever its impairment, is worthy of an education appropriate to his or her particular needs. In 1976, New Brunswick included disabled people in its human rights legislation. By 1984, all 10 provinces had made legislation to extend human rights protections to disabled people.

China

In 1986, China set up the Organising Committee of UN Decade of Disabled Persons to coordinate the development of work for disabled people. In 1989, the Chinese Government began putting into action the China Five-Year World Programme for the Disabled. Among other things, the Plan adopts affirmative action and protection for employment of disabled people.

On 28 December 1990, the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Disabled Persons was passed to ensure for disabled people "equal and full participation in social life and their share of the material and cultural wealth of society".

The law guarantees the rights of disabled persons to education, to work, to protection from discrimination in recruitment, employment, promotion, pay, welfare and labour insurance. It also says that the lives of disabled persons should be reflected through radio, film, television, press and periodicals, books and other media.

Denmark

Denmark has developed social legislation that includes provisions on the rights of disabled people, based on the principles of the welfare state, equality and participation in social life.

The principle of equality between disabled people and other citizens has been put into action by making the relief measures of the Danish Social Assistance Act equally accessible to disabled people, older people, children and other groups.

Social provision for disabled people moved, in the late 1970s, from being the responsibility of central government to the local authorities. The change increased efficiency and gave the local and regional authorities the necessary legal, administrative and financial basis.

Finland

The responsibility for services for disabled people lies with local government in Finland, which has a great deal of self-determination. Local councils for disabled people have been coordinating policies and programmes with local government since the 1970s. Disabled people's organisations have always been very strong in Finland.

There are only two special laws for disabled people: The Disabled Persons Welfare Act (1946) and the Act on Special Services for Mentally Retarded Persons (1977). There is no plan for a special law on equality, participation or human rights for disabled people in Finland. It is believed that equality will be achieved through the existing laws.

France

The French Penal Code makes it a criminal offence to discriminate against a person on grounds of race, sex, nationality and religion in providing goods, services or employment.

Discrimination on the grounds of health or impairment where this is unjustified was added to the Code by a law passed in July 1990. Breaking of the Code is punishable by imprisonment from two months to one year or a fine of F2,000-F20,000, or both.

Libya

Libya has the People's General Congress Law Number 3 of 1981 on Disabled Persons, which states that every disabled person is entitled to: housing, care services at home, prostheses and appliances, an education, rehabilitation, employment, exemption from income tax, accessible public transport, buildings and resorts, exemption from custom duties on imported appliances.

New Zealand

There have been many changes in New Zealand during the UN Decade. Laws have been passed dealing with access, television subtitles, attendant care and the development of the Disabled Persons Assembly.

The Employment Equity Act of 1990 meant that the government had to set up a Working Party to look at barriers which prevented women, ethnic minorities and disabled people from taking part in employment.

Norway

Norway's Plan of Action for Disabled People (1990-1993) includes over 50 measures. Ten ministries take part - Health, Education, Industry, Culture, Labour, Consumer Affairs, Local Government, Development Aid, Foreign Affairs and Transport.

Measures include making the Norwegian Council of the Disabled stronger, making sure that the various ministries know about each other's plans for disabled people, grants to disabled people's organisations, an easy to read newspaper, development grants for new technology in industry, encouraging the production of books on tape, making buildings more accessible and support for the creation of organisations of and for disabled people in developing countries.

The Plan is being monitored by the Ministry of Health and Social Services. A copy (Order No. 1-0624) can be ordered from the Publications Division (P0 Box 8169 Dept., 0032 Oslo I, Norway. Tel: +47 2 34 98 60). It's also available on tape, in braille and in large print.

The Philippines

On 24 March 1992, a Magna Carta for Disabled Persons (Republic Act No.7277) was passed, unopposed, by the Philippine Congress.

The Act provides for "the rehabilitation, self-development and self-reliance of disabled persons and their integration into the mainstream of society". It lays down very clearly the principles for giving rights and privileges to disabled people and also serves as a framework for future legislation to realise the goals of "full participation and equalisation of opportunity"

Sweden

As well as a strong central government, Sweden also has an extensive system of local government to administer its laws. This decentralised decision-making has made it possible for social and health programmes for disabled people to be developed.

The tradition of popular movements is an important factor in the development of Swedish social welfare policies - the labour movement, the revivalist movement and the temperance movement all have deep popular roots and take part in society's decision-making process.

Organisations of disabled people today receive state grants and are recognised in the public sector as partners in decision-making. The Building Code, the Act Providing for Adaptation of Public Transport to the Needs of the Disabled, the New Syllabus for the Compulsory School and the Social Services Act show that the main principle of Swedish social policy for disabled people is to make society accessible by adapting the environment and activities.

United States

In the US, many states have adopted their own human rights, equal opportunity and protection laws. They have used the example of civil rights legislation passed by Congress, particularly the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1973 Rehabilitation Act, which makes discrimination by federally funded schemes or organisations against "otherwise qualified handicapped persons illegal.

The Federal Department of Health, Education and Welfare decided that the new legislation needed resources to change programmes and services, in order to provide for the needs of "otherwise qualified handicapped persons".

At the federal level, which automatically affects all states, laws have been drawn up which, for the first time, affect the private sector as well as the public sector. This is the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which came into force in 1992. It extends the 1964 Civil Rights Act protecting women and ethnic minorities to 43 million disabled Americans. Anyone connected with disabled people - for example, a family member or carer - is also protected.

President Bush's support for the Act and the very effective lobbying by grassroots organisations combined to produce the legislation, despite the protests by the powerful American commercial and service sectors.

The Act was presented as a measure to deal with human rights, rather than one calling for resources for the special needs of a "deserving minority". As the US Chamber of Commerce lobbyist said, "No politician can vote against this bill and survive."

There are four main areas - employment, public services (including transport), private sector "accommodations" and services for disabled people's needs, and telecommunications.

Employment

The Act stops US employers (those with 25 or more workers from 1992 and those with 15 or more from 1994) from discriminating against "a qualified individual with a disability". Employers are expected to make "reasonable accommodation" for disabled employees, which includes making existing facilities accessible, letting people work part-time, getting or changing equipment, providing training materials or policies and qualified readers and interpreters.

Public Services

The Act says that "no qualified individual with a disability shall, by reason of such disability, be excluded from participation in or be denied the benefits of the services, programmes, or activities of a public entity, or be subjected to discrimination by any such entity".

To make public transport accessible, there are long and complicated provisions which require bus, train and coach operators to meet the needs of disabled people, including those who use wheelchairs, on all routes. The service provider can, however, escape the duty if it will mean "an undue financial burden", or if it isn't possible for technical reasons.

Private Sector Services

The Act says that public sector service providers are those who provide services or goods to the public, although they are privately owned and run. This includes shops, cinemas, restaurants and schools. This section of the Act lists the discriminatory acts or non-acts which are now unlawful. Denial of participation, limited participation and unjustified segregation of services are outlawed. There are bans on unnecessary screening practices; failure to change the service to make it available to all; failure to remove architectural barriers or to provide appropriate "auxiliary aids", such as qualified interpreters.

Telecommunications

The Act says that telecommunications equipment must be changed so that it can be used by hearing-impaired and speech-impaired people.

Congress believes that the Act will eventually pay for itself: preventing employment discrimination will raise tax revenues and lower welfare payments; making sure that goods and services denied to disabled people in the past are now accessible will benefit the national economy.



Zimbabwe

The Zimbabwean Disabled Persons Act of 1992 provides for the welfare and rehabilitation of disabled people and aims to achieve equalisation of opportunities to make sure that disabled people have all community and other services. The Act established a Director for Disabled Persons' Affairs, who works with ministries and local authorities to put the Act into practice.

The Act also sets up a national disability board, of the Director, ministers and representatives of disabled people's organisations. One of the aims of the Board is to draw up policies that will:

bring about equal opportunities for disabled people, by making sure that they have education and employment, can take part in sporting, recreation and cultural activities, and have full access to community and social services

• help disabled people to lead independent lives
• prevent discrimination against disabled people as a result of their impairment
• encourage employment for and income generation schemes by disabled people
• provide orthopaedic appliances
• generally improve the social and economic status and condition of disabled people

Extracts

Section 8

(1) No disabled person shall, on the ground of his disability alone, be denied

• a admission to any premises to which members of the public are ordinarily admitted; or
• b the provision of any service or amenity ordinarily provided to members of the public unless such denial is motivated by a genuine concern for the safety of the disabled person concerned...

(3) A disabled person who is denied admission into any premises or the provision of any service or amenity in terms of subsection (I) shall be deemed to have suffered an injury rio and shall have the right to recover damages in any court of competent jurisdiction.

Section 9

(I) No employer shall discriminate against any disabled person in relation to:

a the advertisement of employment

b the recruitment for employment

c the creation, classification or abolition of jobs or posts

d the determination or allocation of jobs or posts

e the choice of persons for jobs or posts, training, advancement, apprenticeships, transfer, promotion or retrenchment

f the provision of facilities related to or connected with employment

g any other matter related to employment.

The penalties for discrimination as outlined in sections 8 and 9 can be fine up to $4,000 and/or be imprisoned for up to a year.

The Zimbabwe Act is to a large extent the result of a campaign by the Southern African Federation of Disabled People (SAFOD). Believing that the only way for disabled people to have equal opportunities is through anti-discrimination legislation, they set up a five-person committee, headed by two blind lawyers and supported by three SAFOD workers, and began with a seminar for disabled people and government officials. The governments of Mozambique, Lesotho and Zambia are also working on legislation. In South Africa, the government and the ANC are both taking part.





Part Three - Sources

1. Addresses

• African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, P0 Box 673, Banjul, The Gambia
• CARICOM, Georgetown, Guyana
• UN Centre for Human Rights, 8-14 Avenue de la paix, CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
• (COPOH) Coalition of Provincial Organisations of the Handicapped. 926-294 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3C 0B9, Canada. Tel: +1204 947 0303. Fax: +1204 942 4625
• Colombo Plan, Colombo, Sri Lanka
• Commission of the European Communities, Rue de la Loi 200, B-1049, Brussels, Belgium
• Commonwealth Association for Mental Handicap and Developmental Disabilities, c/o NIMHANS, PB No. 2900, Bangalore 560 029, India
• Commonwealth Secretariat, Marlborough House, Pall Mall, London, SWIY 5HX, United Kingdom. Tel: +4471 8393411. Fax: +4471 9300827
• Council of Europe, Palais de l'Europe, 67006 Strasbourg, France. Tel: +33 88 6 14961
• Department of Public Information, United Nations, New York NY 10017, USA. Tel: +212 963 0353. Fax: +212 963 4556
• Disability Awareness in Action, 11 Belgrave Road, London SWIV IRB, United Kingdom. Tel: +44 71 8340477. Fax: +44 71 8219539. Minicom: +44 71 8219812
• Disabled Peoples' International, 101-7 Evergreen, Winnipeg, R3L 2T3, Canada. Tel: +204 287 8010. Fax: +204 287 8175
• Disabled Persons Unit, Social Development Division, The Centre for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs, United Nations Office at Vienna, Vienna International Centre, Room E 1323, P0 Box 500, A-1400 Vienna, Austria. Tel: +43 12131 , extension 4239. Fax: +43 12321 56
• Division for Measures in Favour of Disabled People, Directorate-General V, Commission of the European Communities, 200 rue de la Loi, B-1049 Brussels, Belgium
• Division for the Advancement of Women, Centre for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs, United Nations Office at Vienna, Vienna International Centre, Room E 1323, P0 Box 500, A-1400 Vienna, Austria. Tel: +43121131 4248. Fax: +431 232156
• Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, United Nations Building, Rajdamnern Avenue, Bangkok 10200, Thailand. Tel: +66 22829161. Fax: +66 22829602
• Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, P0 Box 927115, Amman, Jordan. Tel: +962 6694351. Fax: +962669498082
• Economic Commission for Africa, P0 Box 3001, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Tel. +25115 10 172. Economic Commission for Europe (ECE), Palais des Nations, 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland Tel: +41 2273460 II. Fax: +41 22739825
• Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Casilla 179D, Santiago, Chile
• European Commission of Human Rights, Council of Europe, BP 431 R6 67006 Strasbourg CEDEX, France
• European Court of Human Rights, Palais de l'Europe, 67006 Strasbourg, France. Tel: +33 88 614961
• European Network on Independent Living (ENIL), 4 Plantation Way, Whitehill, Bordon, Hants. GU3S 9HD, United Kingdom
• European Parliament, L-2929 Luxembourg
• European Parliament, Directorate-General for Information and Public Relations, Avenue du President Robert Schuman, B.P. 1024, F-67070 Strasbourg Cedex, France. Tel: +33 88 17 40 01. Fax: +3388 175184
• Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), Human Resources Officer on Disability Matters, Via delle Terme di Caracalla, 00100 Rome, Italy. Tel: +39 6 5797 3880. Fax: +39657973152
• IMPACT, c/o WHO, Room L225, 20 Avenue Appia, CH-1211, Geneva 22, Switzerland. Tel: +41 227913733. Fax: +4122791 0746
• Inter-American Children's Institute (OAS/IACI), Av. 8 de Octubre 2904, 11600, Montevideo, Uruguay. Tel: +598 2 47 21 50. Fax: +598 2 47 32 42
• Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Organisation of American States, Washington, DC, 20006, USA
• International Council on Disability, PO Box 3488, Riyadh 11471, Saudi Arabia. Tel: +966 1 488 2917. Fax: +966 1 488 8260
• International Council on Social Welfare, Koninginneracht 1/29, A-1060 Vienna, Austria
• International Labour Organisation (ILO), 4 Route des Morillons, CH-1211 Geneva 22, Switzerland. Tel: +41 22 799 6111. Fax: +41 22 798 8685
• International League of Societies for Persons with Mental Handicap (ILSMH), 248 Avenue Louise, bte 17 Brussels, Belgium B-l050. Tel: +32 2 647 6180. Fax: +32 2 647 2969
• Office for Official Publications of the EC, 2 rue Mercier, L-2985 Luxembourg
• Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Information Officer, Public Information Service, Centre William Rappard, 154 rue de Lausanne, Case Postale 2500, CH-1211 Geneva 2 Depot, Switzerland. Tel: +41 22 739 8111 Fax: +41 22 731 9546
• Organisation of African Unity, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
• Organisation of American States, Washington DC, 20006, USA
• Organisation of the Islamic Conference, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
• Rehabilitation International, 25 East 21st Street, New York, NY 10010, USA. Tel: +212 420 1500. Fax: +212 505 0871
• South Pacific Commission, Noumea, New Caledonia
• Southern Africa Federation of the Disabled (SAFOD), 130 Herbert Chitepo Street, 12th Avenue, PO Box 2247, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Tel: +263 9 69356. Fax: +263 9 74398
• Statistical Division, Department of Economic and Social Development, Statistician - Disability Issues, Demographic and Social Statistics Branch, Room DC2- 1586, United Nations, New York, NY 10017, USA. Tel: +212 963 4947. Fax: +212 963 4116
• United Nations Centre for Human Rights, Legislation and Prevention of Discrimination Branch, Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland. Tel: +41 22 734 60 11. Fax: +41 22 733 98 79
• United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), Programme Officer, Childhood Disability, 3 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY 10017, USA. Tel: +212 326 7000. Fax: +212 326 7336
• United Nations Development Fund for Women, 304 E. 45th Street, 6th Floor, New York, NY 10017, USA. Tel: +1 212 906 6400. Fax: +1 212 906 6705
• United Nations Development Programme, One UN Plaza, New York, NY 10017
• United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), 7 Place de Fontenoy, F-75007 Paris, France. Tel: +33 1 45 68 10 00. Fax: +33 1 45 67 16 90
• United Nations International Drug Control Programme (UNDCP), Vienna International Centre, PO Box 500, A-1400 Vienna, Austria. Tel: +43 1 21131 4176. Fax: +43 1 230 7002
• United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, Disability Programme Specialist, UNRWA Headquarters, PO Box 484, Amman, Jordan. Tel: +962 682 6171. Fax: +962 682 6179
• World Blind Union, 224 Great Portland Street, London W1N 6AA, United Kingdom. Tel: +44 71 388 1266. Fax: +44 71 383 0508
• World Federation of the Deaf, Ilkantie 4, PO Box 65, SF-00401 Helsinki, Finland. Tel: +358 0 58031. Fax: +358 0 5803770
• World Health Organisation, 20 Avenue Appia, CH-1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland. Tel. +41 22 791 2111. Fax: +41 22 791 0746
• World Institute on Disability, 510 16th Street, Oakland, CA 94612, USA. Tel: + 1 510 763 4100. Fax: +1 510 763 4109.

2. Publications

(If no address is shown below, see the first part of this section)

• Aim at the Sky: Report of the Disabled Peoples' International North American and Caribbean Region, Disabled Women in Development Seminar, Roseau, Dominica, July 18-22, 1988. From DPI North American and Caribbean Secretariat, PO Box 220, Liguanea, Kingston 6, Jamaica.
• Bulletin of the European Communities. From the Office for Official Publications of the European Communities. An official reference publication for all areas of Community activity, including a detailed look at legislation, issued 10 times a year.
• Centre for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs publications include Disabled Persons Bulletin (three times a year, English, French, Spanish), the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons (six languages), The Situation of Disabled Persons in Africa (English only).
• Community-Based Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation: Guidelines for Planning and Management (1989). From ESCAP and based on the findings of some of its programmes and projects.
• COMPASS. Journal of COPOH, available in English and French.
• Cooperatives for the Disabled: Organisation and Development, From the International Labour Organisation.
• Defining the Parameters of Independent Living. From COPOH.
• Directory of Disability Organisations and Services in the Americas. From the Inter-American Children's Institute (IACI), available in English and Spanish. Very useful list of organisations of and for disabled people in North, Central and South America.
• Disability Frontline, SAFOD's quarterly newsletter.
• Disability, Handicap & Society journal. From Carfax Publishing Company, PO Box 25, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, OX14 3UE, United Kingdom.
• Disability Studies Quarterly. Editor Kenneth I Zola, Department of Sociology, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA 02254, USA.
• Disabled People in Britain and Discrimination: A Case for Anti-discrimination Legislation, by Colin Barnes. £9.95. From Hurst & Co. (Publishers) Ltd., 38 King Street, London WC2E 8JT, United Kingdom.
• Disabled People in International Development. From COPOH. Sections on attitudinal barriers, disabled women, literacy, refugees, what is meant by development, international solidarity.
• Disabled Peoples' International Development Policy and Strategy (booklet). Free from Disabled Peoples' International, in English, French and Spanish.
• Disabled Village Children and Where There is No Doctor, by Dr. David Werner. From the Hesperian Foundation, PO Box 1692, Palo Alto, CA 94302, USA. An invaluable handbook full of practical ideas on community-based rehabilitation, with delightful illustrations.
• Disabling Imagery & the Media, by Colin Barnes. From the British Council of Organisations of Disabled People, Unit 14, De Bradelie House, Chapel Street, Belper, Derbyshire. DES 1AR, United Kingdom. Tel: +44 773 828182. Fax: +44 773 829672. Minicom: +44 773 828195. £4.50, Looks at the most common media stereotypes of disabled people; outlines principles for positive representation; describes the complaints procedures available.
• Education for All. From the United Nations Children's Fund, available in English and French. An information kit on basic education, containing 11 fact-sheets and articles on issues related to Education for all (EFA).
• Education For All From the EFA Forum Secretariat, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation. An easy-to-read illustrated brochure available in English and French.
• Employment of Disabled Persons: Manual on Selective Placement. From the International Labour Organisation. Explains selective placement; suggests ways of increasing job opportunities.
• Equal Rights for Disabled People: the case for a new law, by Ian Bynoe, Mike Oliver and Colin Barnes. £5. From the Institute of Public Policy Research, 30-32 Southampton Street, London WC2E 7RA, UK. Tel: +44 71 379 9400. Fax: +44 71 497 0373. This excellent book gives conclusive evidence of discrimination against disabled people in Britain in the workplace, schools and colleges, public facilities and services and in health and welfare institutions; argues for a new law against discrimination on grounds of disability; shows how laws in the United Kingdom support discrimination; reviews current law in North America, Australia and Europe.
• Handbook on Community Awareness Programs Concerning Disability (1989). From the United Nations, New York. Published by ESCAP.
• Human Rights oft he Disabled, by HJM Desai. Free from the National Association for the Blind, 11 Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan Road, Worli Sea Face, Bombay 400 025, India.
• Human Right Training Manual for Public Officials. From the Commonwealth Secretariat.
• ILSMH News. The League's newsletter, available in English, French, Spanish and German, for a subscription of Sw.Fr. 50.
• In Brief the World Programme of Action. From the UN Department of Public Information. Short, simple outline of the WPA.
• Independence Through Mobility A Guide to the Manufacture of the ATI-Hotchkiss Wheelchair by RaIf Hotchkiss, 6505 Farallon, Oakland, CA 94611, USA.
• International Classification of Impairments Disabilities and Handicaps. World Health Organisation
• International Rehabilitation Review. RI newsletter, published three times a year. $30 a year, including airmail postage. Free to RI members and selected individuals and organisations in developing countries.
• The Last Civil Rights Movement: Disabled Peoples' International (1989), by Diane Driedger. From Hurst and Co. and St. Martin's Press, 38 King Street, London WC2E 8JT, United Kingdom.
• Making the Most of the United Nations, an ILSMH booklet, by Professor Peter Mittler. Very good outline of the way the UN works.
• Meeting Disability: A European Response, by Patrick Daunt. From Cassell Educational Limited, Villiers House, 41-47 Strand, London WC2N 5JE, UK. Describes the situation of the 30 million disabled people in the European Community and examines the success or failure of official and voluntary organisations in responding to their needs. Includes a detailed look at the Community's programme to promote independent living.
• Preserving Disability Civil Rights: A Step-By-Step Guide to Taking Action. From Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, Inc., 2212 Sixth Street, Berkeley, CA 94710, USA.
• Role of Organisations of Disabled People (booklet). Free from DPI, in English, French and Spanish.
• State of the World's Children. From UNICEF.
• Target for Health For All. From the World Health Organisation, Regional Office for Europe, Scherfigsvej 8, DK-2100 Copenhagen 0, Denmark. Includes discussion, in a European context, of the things necessary for good health; how to improve health opportunities for disabled people; how to reduce disease and impairment; public policies for health, social services, environmental concerns; how to encourage people to look after their own health.
• Tools for Power: A Resource Kit for Independent Living. From Disabled Peoples' International. More than 100 pages on skills and ideas for independent living, income generation and campaigns; also contains a lot of material on the history of the disability movement internationally.
• Training of Persons who Care for Persons with Mental Handicap: An Asian Experience, by Fr. Adam B. Gudalefsky and Sr. Ching Madduma (ILSMH, 1992). English, French, Spanish and German.
• United Nations Development Education Directory. From United Nations Non-Governmental Liaison Service, Palais des Nations, CH-1211, Geneva 10, Switzerland. Describes the UN system to NGOs, listing the materials and services the UN has to offer, how and where to obtain them.
• Vox Nostra, newsletter of Disabled Peoples' International. Published quarterly in English, French and Spanish. Welcomes articles of interest to the international community of disabled people.
• WFD News. Quarterly newsletter of the World Federation of the Deaf, in English only. Send articles and news to WFD Information Officer, PO Box 65, SF-00401, Helsinki, Finland.
• WFD Survey of Deaf People in the Developing World, by Marjo Joutselainen, 1990. From WFD.
• Women with Disability (booklet). Free from DPI, in English, French and Spanish.
• World Ageing Situation, 1991. From the CSDHA. An overview and factual information.

Member states of the UN have national UN offices, probably based in the main city. You can get more information about resources from there.



3. Words

abrogation - formal or official cancellation or repeal

act - law or decree passed by a legislature

amendment - change, correction or addition to a bill during its passage through parliament

anti-discrimination legislation - laws which make it illegal to act in a biased way towards a particular group of people

arbitrary - founded on or subject to personal whims, prejudices, etc.

aspiration - strong desire to achieve something

auxiliary - person or thing that supports or supplements

bilateral assistance - two people or countries, etc., helping each other

bill - draft outline of a new law, which is worked on before it is passed and becomes an act

bind - oblige to do something

binding - compulsory; imposing an obligation or a duty

brief - give instructions or information to someone; a short statement or written outline

campaign - series of coordinated activities to achieve a social or political goal

congress - formal assembly for discussing and making laws; meeting or conference of representatives of sovereign states; a society or association

convention - international agreement, second only to a treaty (e.g. a covenant)

covenant - important treaty, binding on states that ratify it, becoming part of national law

CSDHA - Centre for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs

DAA - Disability Awareness in Action

declaration - particularly important resolution

denunciation - formal announcement of the termination of a treaty

directive - instruction or order

dissemination - distribution of something - information, resources, etc.

DPI - Disabled Peoples' International

DPU - Disabled Persons' Unit (based at CSDHA)

EC - European Community

ECA - Economic Commission for Africa

ECE - Economic Commission for Europe

ECOSOC - Economic and Social Council

enact - to make into an act or statute; to establish by law or decree

equalisation - making equal or uniform

ESCAP - Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific

ESCWA - Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia

ex post facto - having retrospective effect

federal - relating to a form of government or a country in which power is divided between one central and several regional governments

fiscal - relating to government finances

ICOD - International Council on Disability

ILO - International Labour Organisation

ILSMH - International League of Societies of Persons with Mental Handicap

immunity - freedom from obligation or duty

IMPACT - an initiative against avoidable disability

implement - carry out, put into practice

inalienable - not transferable to another

indigenous - occurring naturally; relating to an ethnic group that has always lived in a region

influence - effect of one person or thing on another; to have an effect upon

infringement - breaking of a law or agreement

inherent - existing as an inseparable part

INGO - international non-governmental organisation

injuria - injury or infringement of a legal right

inter-agency - describes a meeting, communication, etc. between two or more agencies

inter alia - among other things

inter-governmental - something between or among two or more governments

inviolable - something that must not or cannot be broken; something sacred

ipso jure - by that very judgement

IYDP - International Year of Disabled Persons (1981)

IYF - International Year of the Family (1994)

law - rule or set of rules, enforceable by the courts regulating the relationship between the state and its subjects and the conduct of subjects towards one another

legislation - process of making laws; the laws made by this process

legislator - person concerned with the making of laws; member of legislature

legislature - body of people that makes and repeals laws

magna carta - charter recognising the rights and privileges of citizens

mandate - official instruction or command to act for another

manifesto - public declaration of intent, policy, aims, etc. by government, party, organisation

media - ways of passing on information (plural of medium), such as television, radio, newspapers, magazines and advertising

multi-media - in several media - print, broadcasting, advertising

negligent - lacking attention, care or concern; neglectful

NGO - non-governmental organisation

ombudsman - official investigating citizens' complaints against the government or its servants

parliament - legislative assembly of the representatives of a political nation or people

petition - written document signed by a large number of people demanding some form of action from a government or other authority

preamble - introductory part (of a declaration, resolution, etc.)

precedent - judicial decision that serves as an authority for deciding a later case

prejudice - opinion formed beforehand, especially an unfavourable one; intolerance or dislike for people of a particular race, religion, etc., including disabled people

prerequisite - something required as a prior condition

press release - statement giving information to the media, sent or given to reporters

proclamation - public announcement

prohibited - forbidden by law or other authority; not allowed or prevented

proscribe - to condemn or prohibit

protocol - amendment to a treaty or convention

quota -part or share allocated to a particular group

ratify - give formal consent (ratification) to something not automatically binding (e.g. a Covenant) remuneration - reward or pay for work, service, etc.

representative - person representing constituency in deliberative, legislative or executive body resolution - decision of court; vote of assembly; opinion of meeting

resources - supplies or sources of aid and support, financial or otherwise

retroactive - applying to the past; effective from a date or period in the past

segregation - practice or policy of creating separate facilities within the same society for the use of a particular group

sovereignty - supreme and unrestricted power; an independent state

standing committee - looks carefully at every clause of a bill and talks about possible amendments

statute - permanent rule made by a body or institution

stimuli - plural of stimulus: something that acts as an incentive, increases activity

stipulated - specified as a condition of an agreement; guaranteed or promised

telecommunications - science an technology or communicating by telephones, radio, TV, etc.

treaty - formal agreement between two or more states; document in which such a contract is written

umbrella organisation - an agency made up of and representing the interests of several groups

UN - United Nations

UNDP - United Nations Development Programme

UNESCO - United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation

UNICEF - United Nations Children's Fund

UNIFEM - United Nations Development Fund for Women

UNOV - United Nations Office in Vienna (includes the CSDHA and the DPU)

WBU - World Blind Union

WFD - World Federation of the Deaf

WHO - World Health Organisation

WPA - World Programme of Action Concerning Disabled Persons

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Contents Consultation & Influence

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