4(A). The right to live in the community
Article 19 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) sets out that each person, irrespective of their disability or level of impairment, has the right to live in the community. The right is no longer a political goal or a policy nicety; it is an enforceable human right. The CRPD is binding international law for all countries which have ratified it and can be relied upon in court in many domestic jurisdictions. Article 19 of the CRPD sets out governments’ obligations as follows:
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Living independently and being included in the community States Parties to this Convention recognize the equal right of all persons with disabilities to live in the community, with choices equal to others, and shall take effective and appropriate measures to facilitate full enjoyment by persons with disabilities of this right and their full inclusion and participation in the community, including by ensuring that: a. Persons with disabilities have the opportunity to choose their place of residence and where and with whom they live on an equal basis with others and are not obliged to live in a particular living arrangement; b. Persons with disabilities have access to a range of in-home, residential and other community support services, including personal assistance necessary to support living and inclusion in the community, and to prevent isolation or segregation from the community; c. Community services and facilities for the general population are available on an equal basis to persons with disabilities and are responsive to their needs. |
The obligation therefore is that States must take “effective and appropriate measures” (not just reasonable or inexpensive ones) to make sure that people with disabilities enjoy “full inclusion and participation in the community” (not just minimal or reasonable participation). To achieve this, Article 19 sets out three elements:
Paragraph (a) requires that people with disabilities must be provided with a genuine choice about where and with whom they live on an equal basis with others. This reflects the provision in Article 12 of the Convention on the right to legal capacity, which is an issue explored in the arguments pool below.
Paragraph (b) is the obligation on States to provide disability-specific support services, and as the text says, these services must be provided to “prevent isolation or segregation from the community”. There are two aspects to this. Firstly, services must be provided to prevent people with disabilities from being segregated in institutions. Secondly, these services must also prevent the isolation of people with disabilities who physically live in the community. The second limb refers to individualised services and could relate to the provision of transportation, for example, or in-home assistance.
Paragraph (c) points out that general public services must be made available and accessible to people with disabilities. Examples of this include access to job placement services, mobile libraries, accessible transportation, healthcare and the provision of accessible information for people with intellectual disabilities and so on.