DPI was founded on the principle that persons with disabilities have the same human rights as everyone else, and that these rights have been systematically denied through barriers of policy, environment and attitude.
The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities does not create new rights: it clarifies how existing human rights apply in the context of disability, identifies where adaptations must be made for persons with disabilities to exercise their rights, and sets out the measures States must take. It is both a human-rights treaty and a development tool.
DPI’s human-rights priorities
- Political participation — the right to take part in public life and in law and policy reform, recognised by the Convention as a pre-requisite for the enjoyment of other rights.
- The rights of women and girls with disabilities, who face multiple and intersecting discrimination.
- The rights of persons with disabilities in situations of risk and humanitarian emergencies, including refugees and displaced persons with disabilities.
- Freedom from violence, exploitation and abuse.
- Peace — DPI has affirmed since 1982 that war is the greatest threat to human rights, and that dialogue must be given priority.