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Other documents
Draft Article 3: Definitions

• Fourth Review and appraisal of the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons
  General Assembly 58th session, A/58/61, 26 December 2002
• Report of the Interregional Seminar and Symposium on International Norms and Standards relating to Disability (Hong Kong Report)
  Hong Kong, China 13 - 17 December 1999
  http://www.worldenable.net/hongkong99/hkreport9907.htm
• Report of the United Nations Consultative Expert Group Meeting on International Norms and Standards relating to Disability (Berkeley Report)
  University of California at Berkeley, USA, 8-12 December 1998
  http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/enable/disberk0.htm
• Panel III: New and emerging approaches to definitions of disability *
  “Towards a Human Rights Disability Taxonomy”, paper presented by Dr. Scott Brown (Panel III, Second Session of the Ad Hoc Committee)
  Second Session of the Ad Hoc Committee on a Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, New York, 16 to 27 June 2003
  http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/enable/rights/contrib-scbrown.htm

* This document is a contribution considered as reliable but is not an official document. The views expressed may not reflect those of the United Nations.

Fourth Review and appraisal, para. 5 (b), (c)

(“Universal design”:)

“A key component of universal design is to embrace diversity.”

(“Disability”:)

“The new usage of disability as an umbrella term reflects growing recognition that the search for a comprehensive definition for disability to identify a truly disabled population is probably fruitless. In a narrow sense, the concept of the new universe of disability expands the population with disabilities to include persons with various conditions such as HIV/AIDS and attention deficit disorder. In a broader sense, the concept recognizes the applicability of disability concerns to persons marginalized on the basis of gender, race, poverty, aboriginal status or a variety of other factors.”

Hong Kong Report, Cluster 3: Approaches to definitions of disability

A review of the various categories of definitions of disability is discussed in this part of the report. The first category of ‘definitions’ frames disability largely through the individual and through individual deficits. (i.e. biological/medical model; functional or rehabilitation model). The second category focuses not on the individual, but on the social, economic, political and legal conditions that result in disability. (i.e. environmental model; human rights model).
The importance of a definition was put in perspective in the report, and the report cautioned against the use of value-laden language. Where a definition is needed, the report favoured environmental or human rights definitions.

Berkeley Report, Historical overview, Definition of disability

After describing the evolution of thinking about disability issues, the report noted the difficulties in defining disability in a manner which would reflect the social dimensions of disability, avoid the construction of persons with disabilities as abnormal or inferior, and reflect the fact that disability was frequently dependent on context. At the same time it recognised the need to define or describe disability for certain purposes.
The report identified existing definitions as a starting-point for a definition. These included the definition contained in the 1993 report of Mr Despouy, the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Disability of the Sub-commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, definitions contained in the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Hong Kong Disability Discrimination Ordinance, and in the Inter-American Convention on the Human Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Panel III, Second Session of the Ad Hoc Committee

With regards to accommodation and universal design, the paper addresses the ‘false’ dichotomy of “fixing” the environment (i.e. accommodations) versus creating environments that is accessible by all (i.e. universal design).

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