The Universal Declaration of Human rights is based on faith in human rights and fundamental freedoms, and on the principles of peace, of the dignity and worth of the human person and of social justice. There are situations where application of these rights and freedoms need extra attention and care.
When the Privileged Take Their Rights and Abilities For Granted
The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Disabled Persons, signed in 2005, describes the principles for assuring that persons with disabilities will be assisted in accessing what able-bodied people take for granted.
- The right to get food and goods of all kinds
- The right to travel to work or school or play
- The right to fill a job position should they meet requirements of the job description
- The right to entertainment
Awareness Is the Key
When able-bodied people are unaware of the effort required for a disabled person to participate in the activities of normal living, the risk arises to mistake equality for fairness. The principle of equality is that no individual be treated as less than another. Fairness takes a further step forward and ensures that the special characteristics of the individual are taken into consideration. The UN’s declarations are shaped with this consciousness.
Disabled Persons Are Not the Same as Able-Bodied Persons
Until an able-bodied person becomes fully aware of the advantages of being able-bodied and the disadvantages being disabled, it is not possible to understand the frustration and discouragement of the disabled population. Even the simplest activity of getting groceries becomes a complex activity if there are accessibility issues:
- steps in front of the entrance
- doors that do not open
- rows that are too narrow
- displays that impede passage
- shelving too high
- baskets that are too heavy or too awkward to push
Differences Must Be Taken into Consideration When Rules are Enforced
Differences in abilities must be taken into consideration when rules are enforced. If a rule disadvantages someone in a vulnerable population, then extra care must be brought to bear in the circumstances of its application. This is clearly the case described in the Ottawa Citizen, Sunday May 17, 2009. Hugh Adami reported on the case of Briton Amos, a disabled student at the University of Ottawa who was fined at parking meters on campus.
The stringent enforcement of parking on campus and other institutions goes against the municipality’s guidelines to allow a four-hour grace period for vehicles displaying the wheelchair sign in the window. Unable to come to resolution about the parking tickets, Amos was then prevented from renewing his car license by the province of Ontario, Ministry of Transportation. His car is his lifeline to getting around the city to do his work and running his errands, and getting to school in inclement weather.
As well as being a full-time student in the International Development and Globalization program, Amos has started a not-for-profit organization called Humanitarian Mobility International that ships used wheelchairs to war-torn parts of the world and regions struck by environmental disaster. He is partnering with the United Nations in his work, supplying wheelchairs to individuals who would be completely immobile without them.
The UN Declares That Disabled Persons Have Special Needs
Section eight of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Disabled Persons states that “disabled persons are entitled to have their special needs taken into consideration at all stages of economic and social planning”. Acknowledging that disabled persons have special needs respects that the fact that in order for them to have equal access to activities and services that the able-bodied take for granted, their special needs must be addressed. This is not favoritism. It is humanitarian.
 |
