Vol. 565 No. 1
79 Mr. Stanton asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the way in which he is working at European and United Nations level to advance the objectives of the European Year of People with Disabilities; the various international and European conventions and declarations that have or are being considered; the positions taken by the Government in respect of such conventions or declarations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9826/03]
As the Deputy is aware, primary responsibility for advancing the objectives of the European Year of People with Disabilities at the international and European Union levels rests with the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform. A number of other Ministers also have responsibilities relating to people with disabilities. Ireland is committed to promoting and protecting the human rights of persons with disabilities and the Government will work with like minded countries in international fora to address this issue.
Persons with disabilities are entitled to all the fundamental human rights set out in international human rights instruments on the same basis as every other human being. The General Assembly established the foundation for the promotion and protection of human rights in 1948 when it proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This proclaimed that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights, and that everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in it, without distinction of any kind.
This approach is also central to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Together they form the most comprehensive international code of binding legal provisions in the area of human rights. The two covenants develop and supplement the provisions of the Universal Declaration, and the three instruments together make up what has come to be known as the International Bill of Human Rights.
Following on from the two covenants, other human rights instruments have been drafted to address specific forms of discrimination faced by different groups. These instruments elaborate in more detail the rights set out in the International Bill of Human Rights and also affirm certain rights not specified in those documents. The other main human rights instruments are the Convention Against Torture, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and the Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. The rights contained in these instruments also apply fully to persons with disabilities.
A number of the instruments have specific references to disability rights. These include Article 23 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Convention Against Torture contains standards which are to be used for preventing disability. The optional protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, which was adopted by the General Assembly in 1999, specifically deals with the issue of women with disabilities.
