• A young man is detained against his will to a psychiatric hospital after his parents raised concerns about his behaviour. He is not told why he has been admitted.
• A woman is admitted to a social care home on the authorisation of the person appointed as her guardian. She is not consulted about this decision.
• Residents of an institution are not informed about their right to apply to a court or tribunal to challenge their involuntary admission/detention.
• People are institutionalized indefinitely with no review of their status or of the admission decision.

ICCPR 9(1) Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention. No one shall be deprived of his liberty except on such grounds and in accordance with such procedure as are established by law.

CRPD 14(1) State Parties shall ensure that persons with disabilities, on an equal basis with others : (a) Enjoy the right to liberty and security of person; (2) Are not deprived of their liberty unlawfully or arbitrarily . . .

CRC 25 States Parties recognize the right of a child who has been placed by the competent authorities for the purposes of care, protection or treatment of his or her physical or mental health, to a periodic review of the treatment provided to the child and all other circumstances relevant to his or her placement.

ACHPR 6 Every individual shall have the right to liberty and to the security of his person. No one may be deprived of his freedom except for reasons and conditions previously laid down by law. In particular, no one may be arbitrarily arrested or detained.

ECHR 5(1) Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person. No one shall be deprived of his liberty save in the following cases and in accordance with a procedure prescribed by law:… (e) the lawful detention…of persons of unsound mind

HRC: considering that a period of 14 days of detention for mental health reasons without review by a court in Estonia was incompatible with ICCPR 9. [CCPR/CO/77/EST (HRC, 2003), para. 10].

ECtHR: holding that the detention of a person on grounds of mental disorder, in addition to complying with national law, must meet the following minimum conditions:

• Objective medical evidence demonstrates that the person is of ‘unsound mind’
• The mental disorder must be of a kind or degree that warrants compulsory confinement
• The validity of the compulsory confinement depends on the persistency of the mental disorder.

[Winterwerp v. The Netherlands, 33 Eur. Ct. H.R. (ser. A) (1979)].

ECtHR: establishing that there must be a regular periodic review by a court (a judicial independent body) with the power to discharge if the conditions for detention no longer apply [X v. United Kingdom, 46 Eur. Ct. H.R. (ser. A) (1981)].

• Treatment is routinely given to people in institutions without their consent because they are automatically assumed to lack the capacity to make decisions about their treatment and care.
• Patients at a psychiatric hospital are treated as part of a clinical medical trial without being informed that they are participants in the research.
• Patients are given ECT (electro-convulsive therapy) which they are told is "sleep therapy."
• Mentally disabled women are sterilized or given abortions without their consent.

CRPD 17- Protecting the Integrity of the Person
Every person with disabilities has a right to respect for his or her physical and mental integrity on an equal basis with others.

ACHPR 4 Human beings are inviolable. Every human being shall be entitled to respect for his life and the integrity of his person. No one may be arbitrarily deprived of this right.

Note: The right to bodily integrity is not specifically recognized under the ICCPR, ICESCR, or European conventions, but has been interpreted to be part of the right to security of the person (ICCPR 9, ECHR 5), the right to freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment (ICCPR 7, ECHR 3), the right to privacy (ICCPR 17, ECHR 8), and the right to the highest attainable standard of health (ICESCR 12, ESC 11).

See also:

• CRC 19(1) (protecting the child from all forms of physical or mental violence)
• Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, art. 4(1): "Every woman shall be entitled to respect for her life and the integrity and security of her person."
• European Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine, art 5: "An intervention in the health field may only be carried out after the person concerned has given free and informed consent to it."
• European Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine, art. 7: "Subject to protective conditions prescribed by law, including supervisory control and appeal procedures, a person who has a mental disorder of a serious nature may be subjected, without his or her consent, to an intervention aimed at treating his or her mental disorder only where, without such treatment, serious harm is likely to result to his or her health."

CESCR: explaining that the right to health includes “the right to be free from non-consensual medical treatment and experimentation.” [CESCR GC 14, para. 8].

ECtHR: "[The imposition of medical treatment, without the consent of a mentally competent adult patient, would interfere with a person’s physical integrity in a manner capable of engaging the rights protected under Article 8 § 1 of the Convention" [Pretty v. United Kingdom, 2002].

See also:

• Council of Europe guidelines concerning the protection of the human rights and dignity of persons with mental disorder, (“REC(2004)10"): a person should be subject to involuntary treatment only if the individual has a mental disorder which "represents a significant risk of serious harm to his or her health or to other persons," less intrusive means of providing appropriate care are not available, and "the opinion of the person concerned has been taken into consideration" [Article 18].
• The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, ("CPT 2001") : "[E]very competent patient...should be given the opportunity to refuse treatment or any other medical intervention. Any derogation from this fundamental principle should be based upon law and only relate to clearly and strictly defined exceptional circumstances."
• In England, courts have considered whether the compulsory treatment of a mentally competent patient has the potential to breach Articles 8 and 3 ECHR (even if the proposed treatment complies with the legislative requirements). Relevant factors include the consequences of the patient not receiving the proposed treatment, its possible side effects, and whether there were any other less invasive treatments. [R on the application of PS and others, 2003].

• People in institutions hide their few personal possessions in their clothing because there is no other safe place to keep them.
• The medical records of people in institutions are available to all staff, including those who are not involved in their care. Diagnoses are routinely discussed in front of other residents.
• People in an institution do not have their own clothes; all clothes are communal.
• Women in an institution must use the toilet and take showers as a group, supervised by male staff.

ICCPR 17(1) No one shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to unlawful attacks on his honour and reputation.

CRPD 22(1) No person with disabilities, regardless of place of residence or living arrangements, shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his or her privacy, family, home or correspondence . . . (2) States Parties shall protect the privacy of personal, health and rehabilitation information of persons with disabilities on an equal basis with others.

CRC 16(1) No child shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his or her privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to unlawful attacks on his or her honour and reputation

ECHR 8(1) Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence..

REC(2004)10: “All personal data relating to a person with mental disorder should be considered to be confidential. Such data may only be collected, processed and communicated according to the rules relating to professional confidentiality and personal data collection.” [Article 13(1)].

CPT 2001: “The importance of providing patients with lockable space in which they can keep their belongings should also be underlined; the failure to provide such a facility can impinge upon a patient’s sense of security and autonomy.” 

CPT 2001: “[T]he practice observed in some psychiatric establishments of continuously dressing patients in pyjamas/nightgowns is not conducive to strengthening personal identity and self-esteem; individualisation of clothing should form part of the therapeutic process.”

• People in an institution are kept in cage beds and are not allowed to use the toilet.
• People in a psychiatric hospital are given unmodified ECT (electro-convulsive therapy).
• People in an institution who have been labelled "dangerous" by staff are tied or chained to chairs or beds for hours and even days at a time.
• Residents in an institution are forced to subsist on very little food and with inadequate clothes and no heat during the winter.

ICCPR 7 No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. In particular, no one shall be subjected without his free consent to medical or scientific experimentation.

CRPD 15(1) No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

CRPD 16(1) States Parties shall take all appropriate legislative, administrative, social, educational and other measures to protect persons with disabilities, both within and outside the home, form all forms of exploitation, violence and abuse, including their gender-based aspects.

ACHPR 5 Every individual shall have the right to the respect of the dignity inherent in a human being and to the recognition of his legal status.

ECHR 3 No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

See also:

• Convention Against Torture and Other Forms of Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
• Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, art. 4(1): "All forms of exploitation, cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment and treatment shall be prohibited."
• European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

HRC: calling for the improvement of hygienic conditions, regular exercise, and adequate treatment of the mentally ill in detention facilities in Bosnia and Herzegovina (both in prisons and mental health institutions). [CCPR/C/BIH/CO/1 (HRC, 2006), para. 19].

ECtHR: finding that the failure to respond adequately to the prisoners deteriorating mental health amounted to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. [Keenan v. United Kingdom, 2001].

See also:

• Committee Against Torture: pointing to overcrowding, inadequate living conditions, and lengthy confinement in Russian psychiatric hospitals as “tantamount to inhuman or degrading treatment.” [CAT/C/RUS/CO/4 (CAT, 2007), para. 18].
• CPT 2001: considering unmodified ECT (without anaesthetic and muscle relaxants) no longer acceptable. "Apart from the risk of fractures and other untoward medical consequences, the process as such is degrading for both the patient and the staff concerned." [Para 39].

• A fire breaks out in a social care home and nearly a third of the residents die in the blaze. It later became clear that compulsory fire and safety regulations were not followed.
• People in an institution die from food poisoning caused by unhygienic conditions in the kitchen.
• The mortality rate in an institution is particularly high during the winter months due to poor condition of the building, inadequate sanitation and heating, and poor or no medical care.
• A person in a psychiatric hospital known to be at risk of suicide is put in an isolation room and that is not monitored adequately and takes her own life.

ICCPR 6(1) Every human being has the inherent right to life. This right shall be protected by law. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life.

CRPD 10 State Parties reaffirm that every human being has the inherent right to life and shall take all necessary measures to ensure its effective enjoyment by persons with disabilities on an equal basis with others.

ACHPR 4 Human beings are inviolable. Every human being shall be entitled to respect for his life and the integrity of his person. No one may be arbitrarily deprived of this right.

ECHR 2(1) Everyone's right to life shall be protected by law. No one shall be deprived of his life intentionally save in the execution of a sentence of a court following his conviction of a crime for which this penalty is provided by law.

HRC: explaining that the right to life “should not be interpreted narrowly” or “in a restrictive manner,” and its protection “requires that States adopt positive measures . . . to increase life expectancy.” [ICCPR GC 6, paras 1, 5].

ECtHR: commenting that the right to life can impose a duty to protect those in custody, including where the risk derives from self-harm. The Court will consider whether the authorities knew or ought to have known that the person ‘posed a real and immediate risk of suicide and, if so, whether they did all that could have been reasonably expected of them to prevent that risk’.  (Keenan v. United Kingdom, 3rd April 2001)

• A child in a social care home becomes bedridden due to malnutrition and neglect.
• People with mental disabilities are placed in an institution where they receive little or no treatment, therapy or rehabilitation.
• A woman with a schizophrenia diagnosis is told by nursing staff that her abdominal pain is ‘all in your head’. She is later diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
• Women with mental disabilities are denied reproductive health services.

ICESCR 12(1) The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.

12(2) The steps to be taken by the States Parties to the present Covenant to achieve the full realization of this right shall include those necessary for: . . . (c) The prevention, treatment and control of epidemic, endemic, occupational and other diseases; (d) The creation of conditions which would assure to all medical service and medical attention in the event of sickness.

CRPD 25 States Parties recognize that persons with disabilities have the right to enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health without discrimination on the basis of disability...

CRC 3(3) States Parties shall ensure that the institutions, services and facilities responsible for the care or protection of children shall conform with the standards established by competent authorities, particularly in the areas of safety, health, in the number and suitability of their staff, as well as competent supervision.

CRC 24(1) States Parties recognize the right of the child to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health and to facilities for the treatment of illness and rehabilitation of health. States Parties shall strive to ensure that no child is deprived of his or her right of access to such health care services.

ACHPR 16(1) Every individual shall have the right to enjoy the best attainable state of physical and mental health. 16(2) States Parties to the present Charter shall take the necessary measures to protect the health of their people and to ensure that they receive medical attention when they are sick.

ECHR 3 No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

ESC 11 – The right to protection of health

With a view to ensuring the effective exercise of the right to protection of health, the Contracting Parties undertake, either directly or in co-operation with public or private organisations, to take appropriate measures designed (1) to remove as far as possible the causes of ill health; (2) to provide advisory and educational facilities for the promotion of health . . .

See also:

• African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, art.14 (child’s right to the highest attainable standard of health)

CESCR: “As well as being culturally acceptable, health facilities, goods and services must also be scientifically and medically appropriate and of good quality.” They must also be “sensitive to gender and life-cycle requirements.” [CESCR GC 14, para 12].

CESCR: “The right to physical and mental health also implies the right to have access to, and to benefit from, those medical and social services…which enable persons with mental disabilities to become independent, prevent further disabilities and support their social integration.” [CESCR GC 5, para 34].

CESCR: “Women with disabilities have the right to protection and support in relation to motherhood and pregnancy… The needs and desires in question should be recognized and addressed in both the recreational and procreational contexts.” [CESCR GC 5, para. 31].

CRC Committee: requiring Finland to provide timely health services to children and prevent the institutionalization of mentally ill children with adults [CRC/C/15/ADD.132 (CRC, 2000) paras 45-46].

ECtHR: holding that states have a duty to protect the health of detainees and lack of treatment may amount to a violation of the right to freedom from torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment [Hutardo v. Switzerland (Series A No. 280-A, 28/01/94); Ilhan v. Turkey, 34 EHRR 36 (2002)].

See also:

• CPT 2001: The provision of basic necessities of life must always be guaranteed in institutions where the State has persons under its care and/or custody. These include adequate food, heating and clothing as well as, in health establishments—appropriate medication. [Para 33].

• Staff tie a young man to his chair to stop a him from hitting his head against the wall.
• People in an institution sleep in large dormitories with no private space; some have to share a bed.
• People in a social care home have their heads shaved as punishment for minor minfractions of the rules.

ICCPR 10 (1) All persons deprived of their liberty shall be treated with humanity and with respect to the inherent dignity of the human person.

CRC 37 (c) Every child deprived of liberty shall be treated with humanity and respect for the inherent dignity of the human person, and in a manner which takes into account the needs of persons of his or her age. In particular, every child deprived of liberty shall be separated from adults unless it is considered in the child’s best interest not to do so and shall have the right to maintain contact with his or her family through correspondence and visits, save in exceptional circumstances.

ACHPR 5 Every individual shall have the right to the respect of the dignity inherent in a human being and to the recognition of his legal status. All forms of exploitation and degradation of man particularly slavery, slave trade, torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment and treatment shall be prohibited.

Note:

• ECHR, art. 8 (the right to privacy) covers a broad range of issues that are relevant to people who are detained, such as the administration of medical treatment and the provision of care.
• Although the ECHR does not refer to dignity specifically the ECtHR has referred to dignity as a fundamental value. [Ahmet Ozkan v. Turkey, 6th April 2004].

ECtHR: ‘The State must ensure that a person is detained in conditions which are compatible with respect for his human dignity, that the manner and method of the execution of the measure do not subject him to distress or hardship of an intensity exceeding the unavoidable level of suffering inherent in detention and that, given the practical demands of imprisonment, his health and well-being are adequately secured by, among other things, providing him with the requisite medical care.’ [Ahmet Ozkan v. Turkey, 6th April 2004].

See also:

• REC(2004)10: explaining that treatment and care should be provided to individuals with mental disorder "by adequately qualified staff and based on an appropriate individually prescribed treatment plan. Whenever possible the treatment plan should be prepared in consultation with the person concerned and his or her opinion should be taken into account. The plan should be regularly reviewed and, if necessary, revised." [Article 12].
• CPT 2001: "Provision of accommodation structures based on small groups is a crucial factor in preserving/restoring patients' dignity."

• People living on a locked ward in an institution are forced to wear pyjamas all day.
• People in a social home do not have access to a telephone to contact friends or family.
• Certain residents of a social care home are chosen by staff to punish other residents.

ICCPR 26 All persons are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to the equal protection of the law. In this respect, the law shall prohibit any discrimination and guarantee to all persons equal and effective protection against discrimination on any ground such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.

ICESCR 2(2) The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to guarantee the rights enunciated in the present Covenant shall be exercised without discrimination of any kind as to race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, birth or other status.

CRPD 1 The purpose of the present Convention is to promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities, and to promote respect for their inherent dignity. 

CRPD 12(1) States Parties reaffirm that persons with disabilities have the right to recognition everywhere as persons before the law.  (2) States Parties shall recognize that persons with disabilities enjoy legal capacity on an equal basis with others in all aspects of life.  (3) States Parties shall take appropriate measures to provide access by persons with disabilities to the support they may require in exercising their legal capacity.  (4) States Parties shall ensure that all measures that relate to the exercise of legal capacity provide for appropriate and effective safeguards to prevent abuse in accordance with international human rights law.

ACHPR 2 Every individual shall be entitled to the enjoyment of the rights and freedoms recognized and guaranteed in the present Charter without distinction of any kind such as race, ethnic group, color, sex, language, religion, political or any other opinion, national and social origin, fortune, birth or other status.

See also:

• European Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine, art 3 (equitable access to health care)

CESCR: explaining that health facilities, goods, and services have to be accessible to everyone without discrimination “and especially to the most vulnerable and marginalized sections of the population.” The Committee further urged particular attention to the needs of “ethnic minorities and indigenous populations, women, children, adolescents, older persons, persons with disabilities and persons with HIV/AIDS.” [CESCR GC 14, para 12].

CESCR: stressing “the need to ensure that not only the public health sector but also private providers of health services and facilities comply with the principle of non-discrimination in relation to persons with disabilities.” [CESCR GC 14, para 26].

CESCR: Defining “disability-based discrimination” as “any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference, or denial of reasonable accommodation based on disability which has the effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise of economic, social or cultural rights.” [CESCR GC 5, para. 15].

CESCR: “Anti-discrimination measures should be based on the principle of equal rights for persons with disabilities and the non-disabled. . . .  [A]ll resources must be employed in such a way as to ensure for every individual, opportunity for participation. Disability policies should ensure the access of [persons with disabilities] to all community services.” [GC 5, para. 17].

See also:

• The United States Supreme Court held in Olmsted v. LC (1999) that the unjustified institutional isolation of people with disabilities amounted to unlawful discrimination. This was evidenced not only by restrictions placed on the rights of those confined in the institutions, but also "institutional placement of persons who can handle and benefit from community settings perpetuates unwarranted assumptions that persons so isolated are incapable or unworthy of participating in life."

• A child is placed in an institution because she is diagnosed as having Downs Syndrome and her parents are told that there is no support available to help them take care of her at home.
• A young man with intellectual disabilities is admitted to a social care home far from his home because his mother has become ill and can no longer look after him without some help.
• Residents of an institution cannot live in the community because funding is only available for institutional care.

CRPD 19 Living independently and being included in the community:

 States Parties...recognize the equal right of all persons with disabilities to live in the community, with choices equal to others and shall take effective and appropriate measures to facilitate full enjoyment by persons with disabilities of this right and their full inclusion and participation in the community.

CRPD 26 Habilitation and rehabilitation:

State Parties shall take...measures...to enable persons with disabilities to attain and maintain maximum independence, full physical, mental social and vocational ability, and full inclusion and participation in all aspects of life.

CRC 23(1) States Parties recognize that a mentally or physically disabled child should enjoy a full and decent life, in conditions which ensure dignity, promote self-reliance and facilitate the child's active participation in the community. (2) States Parties recognize the right of the disabled child to special care and . . . [assistance] shall be provided free of charge . . and shall be designed to ensure that the disabled child has effective access to and receives education, training, health care services, rehabilitation services, preparation for employment and recreation opportunities in a manner conducive to the child's achieving the fullest possible social integration and individual development, including his or her cultural and spiritual development

ACHPR 18(4) The aged and the disabled shall also have the right to special measures of protection in keeping with their physical or moral needs.

ESC 15 The right of persons with disabilities to independence, social integration and participation in the life of the community:

With a view to ensuring to persons with disabilities, irrespective of age and the nature and origin of their disabilities, the effective exercise of the right to independence, social integration and participation in the life of the community . . .

CRC Committee: requiring the implementation of alternative measures to the institutionalization of children with disabilities, encouraging the inclusion and integration of disabled children in the educational system and into society, and calling for adequate monitoring of private institutions of children with disabilities in Malta. [CRC/C/15/ADD.129 (CRC, 2000), para. 38].

CRC Committee: calling for the implementation of measures to provide alternatives to the institutionalization of disabled and for the strengthening of community-based programmes to enable them to stay at home with their families in the Czech Republic. [CRC/C/15/ADD.201 (CRC, 2003), para. 49].

CRC Committee: calling for community-based rehabilitation programmes, including parent support groups, in Hungary to avoid the marginalization and exclusion of disabled children and children with disabled parents. [CRC/C/HUN/CO/2 (CRC, 2006), para. 40].

CRC Committee: recommending support to community-based services to move children from institutions to a family environment in Kazakhstan. [CRC/C/15/ADD.213 (CRC, 2003), para. 55].

CESCR: “Institutionalization of persons with disabilities, unless rendered necessary for other reasons, cannot be regarded as an adequate substitute for the social security and income-support rights of such persons.” [GC 5, para. 29].

CESCR: “[E]verything possible should be done to enable . . persons [with disabilities], when they so wish, to live with their families.” [GC 5, para. 30].

CESCR: “[I]t is necessary to ensure that support services . . . are available for persons with disabilities to assist them to increase their level of independence in their daily living and to exercise their rights.” “[S]unch persons should be provided with rehabilitation services which would enable them to reach and sustain their optimum level of independence and functioning.” [GC 5, paras 33, 34].

See also:

• The UN Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities 1993: "Persons with disabilities are members of society and have the right to remain within their local communities. They should receive the support they need within the ordinary structures of health, employment and social services."
• The UN Principles for the Protection of Persons with Mental Illness,1991 state that people with mental illness have the right to live and work in the community (Principle 3) and be treated and cared for in the community in which they live so far as possible (Principle 7).
• Recommendation (Rec(2006)5 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on the Council of Europe Action Plan to promote the rights and full participation of people with disabilities in society: improving the quality of life of people with disabilities in Europe 2006-2015: "People with disabilities should be able to live as independently as possible, including being able to choose where and how to live. Opportunities for independent living and social inclusion are first and foremost created by living in the community. Enhancing community living… requires strategic policies which support the move from institutional care to community-based settings…"

• No education is provided to children in an institution.
• Parents of a child with intellectual disabilities are told that their daughter cannot go to school because she is ‘uneducable.’

ICESCR 13 States Parties...recognize the right of everyone to education ...

CRPD 24(1) States Parties recognize the right of persons with disabilities to education...

(2) In realizing this right, States Parties shall ensure that:

CRC 28 States Parties recognize the right of the child to education, and with a view to achieving this right progressively and on the basis of equal opportunity, they shall, in particular:

a. Make primary education compulsory and available free to all;

b. Encourage the development of different forms of secondary education, including general and vocational education, make them available and accessible to every child and take appropriate measures such as the introduction of free education and offering financial assistance in case of need...

ACHR 17(1) Every individual shall have the right to education.

ECHR Protocol No.1, 2 No person shall be denied the right to education...

See also:

• CRC 23(3): "States Parties shall promote, in the spirit of international cooperation, the exchange of appropriate information in the field of preventive health care and of medical, psychological and functional treatment of disabled children, including dissemination of and access to information concerning methods of rehabilitation, education and vocational services, with the aim of enabling States Parties to improve their capabilities and skills and to widen their experience in these areas."
• African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, art. 11(1): "Every child shall have the right to an education. (2) The education of the child shall be directed to: (a) the promotion and development of the child's personality, talents and mental and physical abilities to their fullest potential"
• European Charter on Fundamental Rights, art. 14: "Everyone has the right to education and to have access to vocational and continuing training"

CESCR:  Recognizing that “persons with disabilities can best be educated within the general education system.” “States should ensure that teachers are trained to educate children with disabilities within regular schools and that the necessary equipment and support are available to bring persons with disabilities up to the same level of education as their non-disabled peers.” [GC 5, para. 35]

CRC Committee:  Condemning the practice of institutionalizing children with disabilities, lack of support to families, and the limited inclusion of children with disabilities in the educational system in Kazakhstan and Ukraine. [CRC/C/15/ADD.213 (CRC, 2003), para. 54; CRC/C/15/ADD.191 (CRC, 2002), para. 53]

CRC Committee:  Criticizing the limited number of trained teachers to work with children with disabilities, insufficient efforts made to facilitate the children’s inclusion into the educational system, and inadequate resources allocated to special education in India, Rwanda, and Zambia. [CRC/C/15/ADD.228 (CRC, 2004), para. 56; CRC/C/15/ADD.234 (CRC, 2004), para. 46; CRC/C/15/ADD.206 (CRC, 2003), para. 52]

CRC Committee:  Calling for the integration of children with disabilities into the regular educational system and for increased resources for special education in Kyrgyzstan.  [CRC/C/15/Add.244 (CRC, 2004), para. 48]

See also:

• States should recognize the principle of equal primary, secondary and tertiary educational opportunities for children, youth and adults with disabilities, in integrated settings. They should ensure that the education of persons with disabilities is an integral part of the educational system. [Standard Rules, 6].

• People in a social care home are told that they are not capable of getting a job.
• A person with intellectual disabilities is placed under guardianship, and the guardian does not allow him to continue to be employed.
• An employer refuses to hire a woman even though she is the best applicant for the job because she has suffered from depression in the past.
• People with intellectual disabilities are 'employed' in a workshop where they are given menial tasks to do all day for which they receive 'pocket money' at the end of the week.

ICESCR 6 (1) The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right to work, which includes the right of everyone to the opportunity to gain his living by work which he freely chooses or accepts, and will take appropriate steps to safeguard this right. (2) The steps to be taken by a State Party . . . shall include technical and vocational guidance and training programmes, policies and techniques to achieve steady economic, social and cultural development and full and productive employment under conditions safeguarding fundamental political and economic freedoms to the individual.

CRPD 27(1) States Parties recognize the right of persons with disabilities to work, on an equal basis with others; this includes the right to the opportunity to gain a living by work freely chosen or accepted in a labour market and work environment that is open, inclusive and accessible to persons with disabilities...

ACHR 15 Every individual shall have the right to work under equitable and satisfactory conditions . . .

ESC 1 – The right to work

See also:

• European Union Charter, art. 15: "Everyone has the right to engage in work and to pursue a freely chosen or accepted occupation."
• European Directive on Equal Treatment in Employment, Council Directive 2000/78/EC

CESCR:  “The ‘right of everyone to the opportunity to gain his living by work which he freely chooses or accepts’ (Art 6(1)) is not realized where the only real opportunity open to disabled workers is to work in so-called ‘sheltered’ facilities under substandard conditions. Arrangements whereby persons with a certain category of disability are effectively confined to certain occupations or the production of certain good may violate this right.” [GC 5, para 21]

See also:

• States should actively support the integration of persons with disabilities into open employment. This active support should occur through a variety of measures such as vocational training, incentive-oriented quota schemes...financial assistance to enterprises employing workers with disabilities. States should also encourage employers to make reasonable adjustments to accommodate persons with disabilities. [Standard Rules, Rule 7].
• Council of the European Resolution—asking Member States to 'continue efforts to remove barriers to the integration and participation of people with disabilities in the labour market, by enforcing equal treatment measures and improving integration and participation at all levels of the education and training system' [2003/C175/01].