The rights of all people who have an impairment, illness, injury or health condition and who face barriers to being included in society are recognised by the UN Disability Convention. This means the Convention is for and about the human rights of people with mental health conditions, people with learning disabilities, deaf people, people with sensory impairments, people with physical impairments, people with autism, people with epilepsy and people who are HIV positive.
The UK Government, in partnership with the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is responsible for making sure the Convention is implemented and that disabled people are involved in monitoring progress towards full implementation.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission and the Scottish Human Rights Commission have been designated as independent bodies to promote, protect and monitor the implementation of the UN Disability Convention (the Convention) in Scotland.
Find out more about the Convention including our guide to the Convention for disabled people and disabled people's organisations.
All the work we do on the Convention in Scotland is done jointly with the Scottish Human Rights Commission. Together we promote and raise awareness of the Convention and gather evidence about how the Convention is being implemented; at all times working with and involving disabled people and Disabled People’s Organisations.
Find out more about our recent and current work including seminars and publications, below. This information is also available in easy read.
Easy read word version
Easy read PDF
Online seminar series – save the dates
As part of our ongoing promotion and monitoring role and based on what disabled people have shared with us so far, we are holding a series of four free online seminars that will relate the Disability Convention to the key issues facing disabled people in Scotland. The series will begin with an exploration of disability equality and human rights in the context of public spending cuts and welfare reform. Later seminars will consider issues such as access to justice, independent living and children and young people.
Each seminar will only last an hour and will be between 12pm and 1pm so you can watch or listen, and join in over your lunchtime sandwiches. You can be part of the live online seminars on your own or you may want to see if any of your colleagues or friends want to get involved too and join as a small group.
The seminars aim to be both informative (about how to use the Disability Convention) and discursive (an opportunity to influence what needs to happen to implement the Convention in Scotland). The seminar will be transcribed live by a palantypist on the same website showing the seminar.
To join the seminar use the following link that will open as a ‘pop up’ box displaying a video frame: Seminar Series on Disability Convention The video you will see will be the seminar broadcasting live from Edinburgh.
No prior registration or ‘log in’ details will be required to access the seminar but you need to check that your computer has functioning video and audio capability.
Although you don't need to register for the seminar, please let us know if you plan to join in so that we can make sure that you're familiar with the website we are using to broadcast the seminar, provide any information you need in an accessible format and keep you informed of any changes to the programme. You can do this be emailing hello@scottishhumanrights.com or telephoning 0131 240 2985
Save these dates:
To take part you will need access to an internet connection. If this is not possible for you, please contact us and we will do our best to help find access to a shared facility.
The seminar series will have the Twitter hashtag #crpdseminar
The Commissions submitted written and oral evidence to the UK Parliament Joint Committee on Human Rights Inquiry into Independent Living. This involved staff and Commissioners attending the evidence sessions in the Houses of Parliament and answering questions about human rights put to them from members of the House of Commons and House of Lords. We subsequently answered a series of follow up written questions raised by the JCHR.
Download submission to Joint Committee Inquiry on Independent Living
In response to a request from the United Nations Human Rights Council, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is preparing a thematic study on the participation of disabled people in political and public life. The OHCHR invited relevant stakeholders, including National Human Rights Institutions such as the EHRC, to contribute information that may be relevant to this study.
The SHRC and EHRC prepared a joint response providing information about the participation of disabled people in political and public life in Scotland. The OHCHR will present its final report to the Human Rights Council in March 2012.
On 28 March 2011, the Equality and Human Rights Commission and the Scottish Human Rights Commission, hosted an involvement event to raise awareness of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities (the Convention).
The event benefited from support from Inclusion Scotland and the Scottish Council for Voluntary Services bringing together disabled people and those working with or for disabled peoples organisations who wanted to learn more about the Convention and be involved in making it a reality.
Lively discussions took place in Inverness, Oban and Inverurie and many more people joined in the debate online from their homes and offices. The event was also broadcast over the internet. Presentations, questions and discussions from the day, can still be accessed by going to a special website arranged to allow online and remote involvement by disabled people across Scotland. Access eventcasts at https://www.video3uk.com/uncrpd, and by using the the username uncrpdguest@video3.co.uk and the password welcome.
A report is also available of what disabled people told us needs to happen to allow disabled people to enjoy their human rights. If you would like a copy of this report in an alternative format please contact the EHRC helpline.
We held our first joint awareness raising and involvement event in Glasgow on 22 January 2010. The event was supported by the Scottish Government and the UK Government Office for Disability Issues (ODI). It was attended by 90 people, primarily people with disabilities, as well as disabled peoples organisations and other civil society organisations working to promote the rights of people with disabilities.
The event consisted of information sharing presentations describing what the Convention is, how it works and how it can be used and what the roles of Government and the human rights commissions are. Download Event Report.