Introduction
Hello, my name is Suzy Rosen Singleton. As a deaf attorney, I’m here to discuss a critical international treaty called the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities (CRPD) and its significance for the deaf community.
Historically people with disabilities were viewed as needing charity, medical treatment and social protection. The CRPD was introduced in the UN to change that model, to view us as people with human rights, providing us with equality of opportunity and the capability of fully participating in society making decisions for ourselves. In developing the CRPD, the UN decided to make real the South African motto, “nothing about us without us” by allowing for the first time ever, active participation on the UN floor by international disability organizations including the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD).
The CRPD was adopted in December 2006 and opened for signature on March 2007. The U.S., under then President George W. Bush, decided not to fully participate in the development of the CRPD because that Administration was generally opposed to international treaties. When a country signs and ratifies (approves) a convention, it becomes a legal promise and guides the actions of the government. It often leads the government to adapt and change its own laws to support the principles of the convention.
The Value of CRPD
Why is the CRPD important, when we already have civil rights laws such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and many others?
First, the ADA and other disability laws do not have deaf-specific language; the CRPD recognizes sign language and deaf culture as human rights, and includes language such as “deaf culture”, “linguistic identity”, and “deaf community.”
Secondly, should the CRPD be ratified, the CRPD may be a tool for developing new policy and strengthening policy guidance for deaf education and bilingual rights given the unique text in this treaty about deaf culture and linguistic identity of the deaf community.
Third, the U.S. is currently excluded from the International Committee formed to enforce the requirements of the CRPD throughout the world. If the CRPD is ratified in the U.S., the U.S. will be able to join the global community in efforts to promote, protect, and ensure full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities, and to promote respect for their inherent dignity.
Discussing CRPD Contents
The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) is a comprehensive document addressing equal opportunity and accessibility for vital areas of our lives such as employment, education, health care, transportation, and recreation. Unprecedented in disability legislation, the CRPD includes specific references to the deaf community, sign language, and deaf culture. I will focus on these four particular provisions, although much more about accessibility rights are covered for our community through the general language of the 50 articles (provisions) of the CRPD for all people with disabilities.
Article 9 focuses on general accessibility to enable independent living and full participation in society, and specifically says that professional sign language interpreters should be provided to ensure accessibility to facilities such as schools, housing, and hospitals. Such obligations are covered in the U.S. by Title II and III of the ADA as well as Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. Such U.S. laws use the word “qualified” rather than “professional” for sign language interpreters. Legal requirements and reality in the U.S. do greatly differ, and the under enforcement of such legal requirements may be addressed further by the CRPD.
Article 21 focuses on the rights to freedom of expression and opinion, and access to information, and specifically requires States to recognize and promote sign language, and to provide official interactions in sign language and other accessible formats. In the U.S. the ADA covers such obligations, as well as Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 for federal agencies, and the Telecommunications Act of 1996 requires virtually all television-broadcast programming to be captioned. However, unlike the CRPD, there is no language in existing Federal law that requires the recognition and promotion of sign language.
Article 24 mandates that educational systems are non-discriminatory at all levels, including lifelong learning. The three key provisions for the deaf community in this Article are:
First, the learning of sign language and promotion of the linguistic identity of the deaf community are required to ensure full and equal participation by the deaf community in education and members of the community at large.
Second, education of deaf or deaf-blind individuals and children must be provided in the most appropriate languages and modes and means of communication, in environments that maximize not only academic but also social development. In other words, direct communication in sign language and the existence of a “critical mass” of peers and role models are mandated in educational systems.
Third, qualified teachers and staff who are themselves deaf, and others fluent in sign language, are to be employed to work in all levels of education and are to be trained appropriately. Such training must include disability awareness and the use of appropriate communication modes and educational techniques and materials to support deaf students.
Article 30 addresses the right to equal access to cultural life, such as TV, films, theater, and performances. Specifically, the CRPD states that sign language and deaf culture are important aspects of a specific cultural and linguistic identity that must be recognized and supported. Title II and III of the ADA cover such obligations as well as the Telecommunications Act of 1996 which require virtually all televised programming to be captioned. Additionally, the Communication and Video Accessibility Act covers internet captioning if such programming has been initially broadcasted on television. Nevertheless, the deaf community still faces great obstacles in accessing cultural life in the U.S. For instance, entertainment venues such as sports stadiums and movie theaters are now facing heavy litigation regarding accessibility issues, and the CRPD can help bolster such efforts to require accessibility for the deaf community, since the CRPD recognizes accessing such recreational activities as affirmative rights. Moreover, the language of the CRPD goes beyond the ADA with the explicit intent to protect and promote the concept of “deaf culture”; this explicit intent to do so is absent in existing U.S. laws.
Where we are now? (As of May 2012)
At this time 153 countries (out of 196) have signed the CRPD and 106 countries have ratified (adopted) the CRPD. The CRPD has led a revolution in attitudes towards people with disabilities globally, evolving from seeing us as physically defective to understanding that the barriers are not of the body but in the environment. As a deaf person, the disability is not of the ear, but making sure that the deaf individual has access to sign language and captioned information in the environment, be it home, work or school. President Barack Obama recognized the importance of CRPD as a global human right for people with disabilities, signing the CRPD on July 30, 2009. The Obama Administration is now preparing a package of information about the CRPD for the Senate, which must vote to ratify by at least 2/3 of its members. This will be tough, as there are many Senators who are resistant to adopting international treaties. It will be likely that there will be an attachment of reservations, declarations and understandings (RUDs) to limit the possibility of raising the ceiling on our rights set out by U.S. law, which is conventional in adopting international human rights treaties. Such RUDs will imply that there are no additional burdens and/or obligations imposed by the ratification of the CRPD. Disability organizations are now diligent in developing political strategies in order to accomplish the goal of CRPD ratification.
Closing Thoughts:
We have a potential tool at hand for an extreme paradigm shift right here in America. Only upon ratification can we require that the spirit and language of the CRPD be enforced in the U.S. At this time, the White House has not submitted the CRPD to the U.S. Senate for formal ratification. Once that happens, the community may take individual or collective action to request support for ratification. Organizations strongly supportive of ratification of the CRPD include the National Association of the Deaf (NAD), the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD), and the United States International Council on Disabilities (USICD). You may want to remain vigilant in monitoring your preferred disability organization’s website for updates if you would like to assist in encouraging ratification of the CRPD once the treaty package is available for consideration by the U.S. Senate. [Update as of May 17, 2012, the White House has transmitted the CRPD treaty package to the U.S. Senate for its ratification. Disability organizations may have model letters and contact information available on their websites for your information and perusal.]
For further reference:
The CRPD has 50 articles which address the rights of all persons with disabilities, including deaf and hard of hearing individuals, in many other settings not discussed here. To learn about the other rights covered, you may read the CRPD in its entirety at www.un.org/disabilities.www.un.org/disabilities
Brief Biography:
My name is Suzy Rosen Singleton. As a third generation member of a deaf family, I am an attorney licensed to practice in Washington, DC, and I have practiced disability law since 1992. In the year 2008, I launched a new campus ombuds office at Gallaudet University, which provides an informal, confidential, neutral, and independent conflict management resource for the campus community. Prior to that, I served as the counsel for government affairs for the National Association of the Deaf as well as a special education law officer for the U.S. Department of Education. For more information about the ombuds office, please visit the office website at http://ombuds.gallaudet.edu.http://ombuds.gallaudet.edu