Support Human Rights for Prisoners with Disabilities!
Why Prison Activists should support ratification the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)
Anyone who has ever been in prison or supported someone inside knows that prisons in the US are inhumane and often profoundly disabling. Whether due to no healthcare or bad healthcare, violence, stress, poor food and housing conditions, or aging inside, many people become disabled while in prison. Others who go in with a chronic illness or disability get worse...or do not survive prison at all.
What is the CRPD?
The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) is an international treaty that asserts the human and civil rights of people with disabilities (PWDs) and the obligations of governments to promote, protect and ensure those rights. The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention in December 2006 and in March 2007 nations of the world began to sign this new treaty. As with any international law, such as the Geneva Conventions on the treatment of political prisoners, each individual country must sign and ratify it for it to become binding. But even for nations that do not sign on, these treaties are looked to as international standards to be respected. As such, international laws such as the CRPD can become important tools for activists to fight for the rights of our people.
There are 8 guiding principles for the CRPD:
Respect for the inherent dignity, individual autonomy including the freedom to make one's own choices, and independence of PWDs
Non-discrimination
Full and effective participation and inclusion in all aspects of society
Respect for difference and acceptance of persons with disabilities as part of human diversity and humanity
Equality of opportunity
Accessibility
Equality between men and women
Respect for the evolving capacities of children with disabilities and respect for the right of children with disabilities to preserve their identities
What You Can Do
In 2008 in prisons throughout the US, prisoners with disabilities are routinely denied access to prison programs and appropriate and necessary treatments, forcibly restrained or medicated against their will, among other human rights violations. We, former prisoners and prison activists, urge you and your organizations to support efforts to get the US Government to ratify this new convention. We believe it can be an important tool for demanding humane conditions and protecting human rights for prisoners with disabilities, and for holding prisons accountable for violations of these rights.
Sign and distribute the petition to Zalmay Mamozy Khalilzad, the Permanent US Ambassador to the United Nations.
For more information:
UN Convention- Full text: UN Enable - Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
CCWP, 1540 Market Street #490, SF, CA 94102. California Coalition for Women Prisoners (http://www.womenprisoners.org). 415-255-7036 ext.4
Stop Force, c/o Hazen, 340 Hudson Ave., Albany NY 12210. Stop Force 315-528-3385
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