Annual Report - National Human Rights Commission

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Rights of the Disabled
5.1 A distinction is frequently drawn between Civil and Political Rights – seen
as justiciable and forming the starting point of any democratic state and its political
and civic life – and Economic, Social and Cultural Rights that are seen as nonjusticiable
and whose realisation is believed to be possible over a period of time
due to the resources required for their implementation. However, traditional ideas
about the nature of rights and the corresponding obligations have been under
challenge for a long time, and a more sophisticated understanding of the nature
of the rights and the attached obligations has emerged within the United Nations
and in various countries including India. For example the Committee on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) has clarified that some aspects
of economic, social and cultural rights especially the obligation of nondiscrimination
is directly implementable. Whereas the jurisprudence on social,
economic and cultural rights in India over the last two decades has gone much
beyond the concerns of non-discrimination. In many cases the Supreme Court
has established a harmonious relation between the fundamental right to life and
the so-called, non-justiciable rights under the directive policy of the State. Infact
the logic of economic capacity has been put to defence paving the way for the
protection of all life related rights without distinction of immediate or progressive
nature of realisation.
5.2 This trend is best demonstrated through the laws enacted by the Government
of India for the protection and promotion of rights of persons with disabilities.
During the 1970s a distinct self-advocacy movement of people with disabilities
started a sustained campaign demanding protection and recognition of their human
rights. Towards this end, it sought enactment of a comprehensive legislation
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