The movement for disability rights promotes equal rights and opportunities for people with mental or physical disabilities. Inspired by the Civil Rights Movement and other social changes of the 1960s, people with disabilities and their allies began agitating for change. By the 1970s, world leaders started to reconsider the ways in which societies could better support persons with disabilities.

Progress in the last few decades has shown that the international community has not only reconceptualized the ways in which society can better support disabled persons, but also the ways in which rhetoric is shaped around these issues.

Protestors in Washington D.C. advocating for disability rights, 1990 (image by Tom Olin via New Mobility)

Primary Source Documents

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Declaration on the Rights of Disabled Persons, 1975

Prior to the 1960s, global leaders viewed disabilities as issues of charity or social welfare rather than of human rights. As a result, they often overlooked the many societal obstacles faced by persons with disabilities. By the early 1970s, however, the United Nations began making attempts to ensure that people with mental or physical disabilities were guaranteed the same rights as everyone else, including those in the Universal Declaration on Human Rights.

With the adoption of the Declaration of the Rights of Disabled Persons in 1975, the global community indicated that it considered disability issues to be a priority in human rights initiatives. Read document >

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities, 1999

The Organization of American States (OAS) adopted the Inter-American Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities in 1999. It is one in a series of documents by the OAS to protect human rights in the Americas. Read document >

Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 2006

The UN General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2006 to protect the rights and dignity of people with mental and/or physical disabilities. Its articles include protection for the rights to education, justice, and accessibility to facilities and services, among others.

This convention expanded and formalized the Declaration on the Rights of Disabled Persons of 1975. It furthers the understanding that people with disabilities are not to be considered the responsibility of charity or social welfare, but rather that people with disabilities are individuals with agency. The document also acknowledges that although people with disabilities are included in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, they still experience discrimination in many aspects of their lives. Read document >