People with disabilities in countries worldwide are suffering serious human rights abuses, according to new research from an independent NGO, the Human Rights Measurement Initiative (HRMI). Data released today gives scores for a range of human rights for 203 countries and territories, and includes specific data on the treatment of disabled people for a sample of 30 diverse countries.
Human rights experts in those countries noted that disabled people are far more at risk of rights violations than the general population, and experience violations of both their everyday quality of life rights, and their civil and political rights.
In nearly every country in the sample, disabled people are missing out on their rights to education, food, health, housing, and work.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, experts said that people with disabilities are marginalised by the government who makes no effort to implement conditions that would allow them to enjoy their human rights.
In the United States and Singapore, experts noted the impact of the death penalty being used against disabled people.
Children in the United Kingdom, United States, China, and Taiwan were reported to be at serious risk of missing out on their right to education, and of being mistreated in schools.
‘All disabled people have the right to live good lives,’ said HRMI Co-Executive Director, Thalia Kehoe Rowden, who is also disabled. ‘It is shocking how governments in so many countries are failing to ensure all their people can enjoy a good quality of life, and are free from ill-treatment. In this year’s data, it was also striking how difficult it can be for disabled people to fully participate in society, and express themselves.’
In Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Vanuatu, the United Kingdom, and Singapore, experts reported specifically that disabled people were excluded from political and public life, limiting their participation in policy-making.
All HRMI’s data are freely available to the public on RightsTracker.org and are updated annually. Since 2017, HRMI has used a range of award-winning, peer-reviewed, robust methodologies to produce human rights data for the common good. HRMI is an independent, non-profit NGO headquartered in New Zealand. HRMI’s data are used by a wide range of people and organisations, including Amnesty International, the World Bank, and the United Nations.