United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Iceland ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2016.

This means that the Icelandic government commits to ensuring that people with disabilities enjoy all the rights laid down in the Convention. The Convention deals with human rights and says that people with disabilities should enjoy the same rights and opportunities as everybody else and receive any assistance they need to that end. For instance, people with disabilities are entitled to education, employment and a family life just like anybody else. Society needs to change so that people with disabilities are not excluded from opportunities and rights. Viewing disability as a natural part of human existence and providing better access to all areas of life makes it easier for people with disabilities to play an active role in society just like anybody else and to enjoy the same rights.  In order to sweep away the obstacles that block the path, it is very important to engage in consultation with people with disabilities. People with disabilities and their interest groups should be given the opportunities to work with policy-makers and those who enact laws and regulations affecting the lives of people with disabilities.

The main aspects of the Convention are:

• Respect for everybody’s human dignity, personal freedom and independence.
• A ban on discrimination on the grounds of disability.
• Respect for diversity and human heterogeneity.
• Equal opportunities, e.g. for education, employment, family life and an independent home life.
• Access for all.
• Equality between men and women.
• Consultation with people with disabilities.
• Presenting and teaching people about the Convention.
• Support and societal change to ensure that everybody enjoys equal opportunities.

The Convention states that governments must ensure that the necessary accommodation is made for people with disabilities, i.e. that account is taken of disabled people’s individual needs, to guarantee that they enjoy the same rights and opportunities as other people in all areas of life. This means that people with disabilities are entitled to specific changes being made to support them in respect of their disability.

Here you can watch a film on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Here is the text of the Convention.