in English - Handicap International

- Affirmative action as a means to insuring the social inclusion of people with
disabilities, and the enjoyment of equal opportunities.
- Accessibility, in physical environments, to information and communications,
and to services.
This paradigm has been developing since the end of the last century and has
continued developing in the first years of the 21st century. The human rights
approach has been increasingly present in the normative structures of different
countries, but its application—especially in developing nations—has been
limited.
The Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities
(United Nations, 1993) are inspired by this model, but since they are not
obligatory, States may either apply them or not. The Convention on the Rights
of Persons with Disabilities, which the United Nations approved on December
13, 2006, is also based on the human rights model. Its advantage, however, is
that its provisions are binding; in other words, States Parties will be obligated to
apply them.
When this important Convention enters into force (after having been ratified
by at least 20 countries), the human rights paradigm will have a legal basis
for obligatory universal application. Thus, this paradigm will be the one that
predominates legally, over the biological model and the traditional view of
disabilities, which continue exerting the greatest influence in our societies and
on policies and actions related to disabilities.
We should also be aware of other rules such as the Inter-American Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities,
approved by the Organization of American States (OAS) in Guatemala in June
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