Legal Strategies in the Advocacy Activities of Organisations of Persons with Disabilities - Global Perspectives
Jukka Kumpuvuori, The Institute for Human Rights, Åbo Akademi University
Abstract
The paper examines the development of the concepts of equality and non-discrimination in the context of disability and the effects of this development into the advocacy activities of organizations of persons with disabilities. Through this scrutiny the paper sheds light on the situation of persons with disabilities in different parts of the world.
First, the paper explores the contemporary concepts of equality and non-discrimination in international human rights law in general and applies it into the context of persons with disabilities. In this, a comparative interpretive approach of different sources of international law is used. The notion of denial of reasonable accommodation as a form of indirect discrimination becomes visible through this scrutiny. This has tremendous potential in the context of persons with disabilities.
Second, the paper applies the lessons learnt in the first part to the situation of persons with disabilities on the ground and, through it, develops tools through which it is possible to generate changes in the political and legal spheres of society. The tools are based on the usage of wide understanding of nondiscrimination in the context of persons with disabilities.
Finally, the paper concludes by analyzing the possibilities and challenges of using the notion of the denial of reasonable accommodation as a motor in advocacy activities. While the notion is visible and reality in the sphere of legal human rights research, there still exists certain challenges to put it into action in the work of organizations of disabilities.
The paper contributes to the development of growing usage and need of legal strategies in the advocacy activities of organizations of disabilities. It elaborates the strategies in global context, addressing the possible differences of the strategy in different global settings.