2016 Theses Master's

Monitoring the Implementation of the Convention on the Rights for Persons with Disabilities: A Comparative Analysis of Judicial Decisions in the European Union, Colombia and Mexico

Demichelis Avila, Renata

In 2008, the first international binding document specifically intended for the protection and promotion of the rights of persons with disabilities entered into force: the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities [CRPD]. It is not a treaty that creates new rights, but rather recognizes disability as a human rights issue and the importance of the role of governments and society in eliminating the long practice of social oppression, and the removal of physical and attitudinal barriers faced by people with impairments. The adoption of the CRPD in 2006 , was the culmination of a long world wide self-advocacy movement that pushed “from below” (Sabetello, 2014: 14) towards the recognition of persons with disabilities as subjects of the law and right-holders, as the means to achieve equality and full participation in society. The CRPD obliges party States to “recognize the right of persons with disabilities to education. With a view to realizing this right without discrimination and on the basis of equal opportunity, party States shall ensure an inclusive education system at all levels and life long learning” (Art. 24.1) . Therefore, the international human rights community recognizes inclusive education as the most appropriate system under which universal and nondiscriminatory education can be achieved. In an attempt to answer the research question: to what extent has the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities [CRPD] has impacted judicial decisions on inclusive education in Mexico, Colombia and the European Union?, this study adopts a comparative perspective of judiciary decisions in order to explore the impact of the ratification of the CRPD in the advancement of the right to inclusive education in the selected party States Mexico and Colombia, and region, the European Union. For that purpose, the thesis is divided in six sections –the Introduction and five Chapters-. On this section, the following paragraphs will cover first the scope of the problem, which explores the status of persons with disabilities in relation to their right to education, and the role of the judges as political actors that actively participate in decision making and standard setting that affect the every-day life of millions of persons; second, the justification and methodology followed by the study are presented. The first chapter introduces the conceptual framework of the indicators used as the analysis tool. Chapter II refers to the analysis of the judicial decisions of the European Court of Human Rights; Chapter III does it for the rulings of the Constitutional Court of Colombia; while the fourth Chapter presents the results found within the sentences of the Supreme Court of Mexico. Concluding, Chapter V discusses the comparisons of the contributions of three judicial systems in the protection of the right to education for persons with disabilities.