Making policy changes on the domestic level: a critical exposition of the Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)
Posted: 9 February, 2021 Filed under: Oludayo Olufowobi | Tags: affirmative action, charity approach, Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, CRPD, disability, Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities, domestic level, economic empowerment, human rights, inclusion, inclusivity, infrastructural deficits, legislation, Nigeria, poverty, PWDs, SDGs, Sustainable Development Goals, United Nations Leave a comment
Author: Oludayo Olufowobi
Law student, University of Lagos
Fifteen percent of the world population experience some form of disability, with between 110 million and 190 million people experiencing significant disabilities. Persons with disabilities are more susceptible to experiencing more adverse socio-economic or living conditions compared to others. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) aims to bridge this gap. At the domestic level, persons with disabilities are most times subjected to live as second-class citizens. Discriminatory practices in our society and deficits in inclusive infrastructure exacerbate this problem. It is against this premise that this article seeks to explore the peculiarities of the Nigerian landscape, taking into account its plaguing insecurity, infrastructural deficits, and lapses in the protection of the human rights of persons with disabilities. There is a focus on the Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition Act) 2018 vis-a-vis the government’s quest to realise the objectives of the CRPD.
The ‘forgotten tribe’: Persons with disabilities in Ethiopia and the State’s response to COVID-19
Posted: 25 June, 2020 Filed under: Dagnachew B. Wakene | Tags: ableism, African Disability Rights Protocol (ADP), COVID-19, CRPD, Declaration of State of Emergency, disability, Ethiopia, international disability treaty, Marrakesh Treaty, pandemic, persons with disabilities, PWDs, right to life, social distancing, suicide 3 Comments
Author: Dagnachew B. Wakene
Institute for International and Comparative Law (ICLA), Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria
A person with visual impairment residing in Dire Dawa – Ethiopia’s second largest city in the Eastern part of the country – was recently reported to have set himself on fire in broad daylight and in public, apparently attempting to commit suicide. His reason, as later affirmed by his neighbors and acquaintances, was that he was entirely segregated, deserted by society, including friends who, pre-COVID-19, would assist him as his guides, give him a hand to run errands and go out-and-about his daily routines. Now, owing to the COVID-19 era mantra of ‘social distancing’, no one would approach the blind man altogether, hence instilling in him a feeling of despair, abandonment, lack of self-worth, so much so that he no longer saw the need to continue living thus decided to set himself alight right there on the streets of Dire Dawa. He was rushed to the hospital afterwards, but only in vain. The man died a few days later while on treatment.
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