The rights of people with disabilities.

EasyRead version of:Report of the Special Rapporteuron the rights of persons with disabilities.

Support services for peoplewith disabilities.

What is in this report Page

1. About this report 1

2. What the Special Rapporteur 3did in 2016

3. Why it is important to support 5people with disabilities

4. Your rights to have support 11

5. The most important things 15to think about

6. Making sure people with disabilities 18get the support they need

7. Conclusions 22

8. What happens next? 24

9. What the words mean 27

Sometimes we need to use new ordifficult words.

These words are in bold and there is a list ofwhat they mean at the end of this report.

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1. About this report

Every year the Special Rapporteur writesreports for the United Nations abouthuman rights and people with disabilities.

The United Nations is a group of countriesthat work together to make the world asafer place for everyone.

The Special Rapporteur is CatalinaDevadas-Aguilar. She helps countriesunderstand how to make sure people withdisabilities can get their human rights.

This is an EasyRead version of the SpecialRapporteur’s report about:

● what she has done since March 2016

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● what support people with disabilitiesneed for getting their human rights

● how to make sure that people withdisabilities have the support theyneed.

With her report the Special Rapporteurwants to make sure that all countriesfollow the United Nations DisabilityConvention.

She explains how countries can givepeople with disabilities the support thatthey want and need for getting theirhuman rights. Human rights areimportant for living a good life.

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2. What the SpecialRapporteur did

Since March 2016 the Special Rapporteur:

● visited Zambia to find out what life islike for people with disabilities livingthere

● talked about rights and people withdisabilities at conferences andmeetings in different countries

● wrote letters and reports about whatare the problems and best solutions forpeople with disabilities. There areEasyRead versions of some reports

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● helped people understand that it isimportant that all laws and policieswork for people with disabilities.

The Special Rapporteur spoke togovernments, organisations and peoplewith disabilities’ groups and visiteddifferent countries to learn about thesupport that people with disabilitiesshould have and the services that exist.

This report is about what she found outabout people with disabilities beingsupported in their communities.

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3. Why it is important tosupport people withdisabilities

All people are very different from eachother but everyone needs support sometimes. Support is a normal part ofeveryone’s life.

When we talk about support we meanhelp:

● to do every day things

● to be involved in the community

● to make decisions

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● to say what we think

● to be safe.

Good support helps people with disabilitiesto be independent and get their humanrights.

This might be support from your familyor friends.

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It can also be from services that help withthings like:

● getting up, washing, dressing andeating

● understanding the information andcommunicating

● getting a home and taking care of thehousework

● making decisions and choices forthemselves

● getting involved in the communityusing the same services as otherpeople. For example, schools, colleges,housing or transport.

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There are one billion people withdisabilities in the world or 15 in every 100of all the people alive today.

The Special Rapporteur is worried thatonly a few people with disabilities havesupport. Most people with disabilities arenot getting the support services that theyneed.

Without support it becomes hard forpeople with disabilities to do the thingsthat other people do.

Without support people with disabilitiesgo through difficulties and can be put indanger. They find it difficult to take part inthe community.

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Families are the first source of support foreveryone. This is why it is so importantthat families get support as well.

In the past, it was thought that peoplewith disabilities needed medicaltreatment as if they are ill. People withdisabilities were not allowed to takecontrol over their lives.

Many people who run services still thinkthe best way to support people withdisabilities is in big institutions likehospitals.

This means they are forced to live awayfrom their families and communities.

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Things must change and countries needplans and policies to make sure peoplewith disabilities get the respect theyshould have.

The Special Rapporteur said countriesneed laws that give people withdisabilities their human rights.

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4. Your rights to have support

Being supported is a human right andthere are international laws about this.Many countries have agreed to followthese laws.

The United Nations Disability Conventionis the main law that they should follow.

When countries sign the United NationsDisability Convention they say they willmake sure people with disabilities have achoice of different support services.

The United Nations Disability Conventionsays all people with disabilities should beinvolved in decisions about their lives.

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This includes deciding what support theyneed to:

● do the same things that otherpeople do

● be involved in their communities

● stay safe

● have information about support orequipment that can help them bemore independent.

The United Nations Disability Conventionsays all countries must have their ownlaws to give people support to makedecisions and have a big say in their lives.

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It is harder for some people withdisabilities to get the right type ofsupport.

For example:

● women or girls

● children with disabilities

● older people

● other groups of people that often getleft out. For example, people who havehad to leave their own countries, smallgroups of people from different ethnicgroups or prisoners.

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They might miss out because they do notknow about services. But often services donot know how to support them properly.

Services must get rid of discrimination andmake sure all people with disabilities canget good, safe support in their localcommunity.

Governments must also make surefamilies who care for someone with adisability get the support they need.

Some types of support can be providedfree of charge while others cost a lot ofmoney. That is why Governments need toplan enough money to make sure peoplewith disabilities keep getting the supportthey need.

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5. The most important thingsto think about

Countries that sign the United NationsDisability Convention must think about 4things:

1. Have enough support services withstaff who know how to support peoplewith disabilities.

2. Make sure all people with disabilitiesknow about support services and canafford to use them.

3. People should choose whether to usesupport services or not. But countriesshould make sure they have differenttypes of services so people can findsupport that is right for them.

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4. People with disabilities must beinvolved in planning and controllingtheir own support. This includesindividual funding where people knowhow much their support costs andchoose how the money is spent.

5. Make sure that support services are ofgood quality and safe.

Also, countries that use the 2030 Agendashould make sure that persons withdisabilities get the support they need.

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The 2030 Agenda is a plan that says whatall countries should do together to:

● give people a good life

● save the planet from damage.

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6. Making sure people withdisabilities get the supportthey need

People with disabilities should havesupport to:

● make decisions

● communicate

● get around

● live in their own homes and go out intothe community

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● use services that other people use. Forexample, schools, colleges, housing ortransport.

The United Nations Disability Conventionsays countries that sign it must:

● Have laws and policies to give allpeople with disabilities the samechance to use support services andassistive technology (switches or otherequipment that help you communicateor use things).

● Check that those that provide supportgive good, safe support. Governmentsmust also check that people get goodsupport when they pay for it withindividual funding.

● Involve people with disabilities andtheir organisations in decisions aboutplanning and checking supportservices. This includes children withdisabilities.

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● Make sure services do not discriminateagainst people with disabilities. Givepeople support to decide where andhow they want to live.

● Plan how to have enough money tomake sure people with disabilities keepgetting the support they need.

● Work with other countries andgovernments to think about humanrights when they plan or pay forservices for people with disabilities.

● Have a way to make sure people getthe support they need and check thatpeople are safe.

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7. Conclusion

Countries have to make sure that peoplewith disabilities have support services.

Support helps people with disabilities toget the same human rights as everyoneelse and live a good life.

It is important to ask people withdisabilities how they want to be supportedand what they need. They know best whatworks for them.

The Special Rapporteur is worried thatnot enough is being done to make surepeople with disabilities are gettingsupport.

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If they do not have good support services,people with disabilities have less chanceto do what they want or need to do.

Without support people go throughdifficulties and can be put in danger.

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8. What happens next?

The Special Rapporteur says these thingswill help countries have good supportservices for people with disabilities:

● laws to make sure people withdisabilities can get different typesof support

● local and national plans for goodsupport in the community. Not largehospitals away from their homes andfamilies

● enough money to make sure servicescan keep supporting people

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● social protection to give everyone thesame chances in life

● individual funding to give people withdisabilities choice and control

● services that do not discriminate

● people that check regularly if theservices give good, safe support

● involving people with disabilities indecisions about support services

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● enough money to spend on havingmore services and making them better

● work with other countries to stopdiscrimination and learn how tosupport people with disabilities.

The Special Rapporteur says the UnitedNations should think about good supportfor people with disabilities in everything itdoes.

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9. What the words mean

2030 Agenda - a plan that says what all countries should dotogether to give people a good life and save the planet fromdamage. The 2030 Agenda will be the most importantdocument for the next 15 years

Assistive technology - switches or other equipment that helpyou communicate or use things

Discrimination – treating someone worse than other peoplebecause of who they are or where they come from

Human Rights – basic rights and freedoms that should happenfor every person in the world

Independent – not being controlled by other people or havingthe possibility to do things that you want

International law – a set of rules that was commonly agreed onby many countries

Rights – things that should happen for every person

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Social protection - things that give everyone the same chancesin life. For example, having enough food, basic healthcare, goingto school or money to help pay for things

Special Rapporteur – a person working for the UN who helpscountries understand what they need to do to make sure peopleget their rights

Support - help to be involved and do every day things

United Nations (UN) – a group of 193 different countries thatwork together to try to make the world a better and safer placefor everyone

United Nations Disability Convention – a set of rules thatcountries have to follow to give people with disabilities thesame human rights as everyone else

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