Abstract
Discrimination against people with disabilities remains one of the greatest human rights issues of our time. This article represents a critical overview of international, and in particular European, human rights and of the non-discrimination frameworks relevant and applicable to the unequal treatment of persons with disabilities in order to ascertain whether these norms provide for adequate legal, policy and institutional bases for dealing with discrimination on the grounds of disability. Having considered the contents and scope of relevant international human rights and non-discrimination provisions, the author turns to the questions of how these provisions might be exercised, who the rights holders and duty bearers would be and what the challenges of balancing different rights and needs are. The article also includes the definition of the concept of disability in the context of non-discrimination law and examines the dimensions of disability discrimination as defined in international and EU law. The author concludes that international, and especially modern EU, non-discrimination law establishes a wide and inclusive legal framework for dealing with disability discrimination. However, the actual scope of the realisation of international and European legal standards on disability discrimination in each state will depend on the consistency and effectiveness of their national implementation and on the manner of putting them into practice.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | International Journal of Discrimination and the Law |
| Volume | 13 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Pages (from-to) | 34-49 |
| ISSN | 1358-2291 |
| Publication status | Published - Mar 2013 |