Human rights of persons with disabilities in international and EU law

Abstract

The present Working Paper derives from the 'Workshop on Human Rights of Persons with Disabilities in International and EU Law' organised by the Human Rights Working Group of the European University Institute (EUI) and the Academy of European Law (AEL), and held at the EUI in Florence, Italy, on 27 April 2012. The workshop brought together a diverse group of leading academics, practitioners, and civil society members, in the field of human rights of persons with disabilities. The five individual papers of participants in the workshop assembled within the present Working Paper reflect a rich plurality of visions that analyse the 2006 United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the significance of this ground-breaking instrument for international law and particularly human rights law, as well as its relationship with and its impact on EU Law. Ultimately, the examined key legal issues are evaluated in terms of their potentials and limitations for persons with disabilities themselves and the States and societies they live in.