Disability and Human Rights: Toward a Cultural Foundation

[...]a renewed interest was certainly spurred by the approval, in 2006, of the United Nations' Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), a milestone for disability rights, quoted and discussed by most of the authors in this special issue. [...]the UNCRPD stands out as a gr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of literary & cultural disability studies 2017-10, Vol.11 (3), p.243-248
Main Authors: Greco, Gian Maria, Di Giovanni, Elena
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
African Culture
Albinism
Critical Theory
Cultural studies
Disability studies
Disorders
Foundations
Gender Issues
Handicapped accessibility
Human rights
Interdisciplinary aspects
Learning disabilities
People with disabilities
Theory
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Summary:[...]a renewed interest was certainly spurred by the approval, in 2006, of the United Nations' Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), a milestone for disability rights, quoted and discussed by most of the authors in this special issue. [...]the UNCRPD stands out as a great achievement in a wider process that has been intensifying over the last decade: since its approval, specific laws and guidelines have been developed in many countries, with committees and task forces being established for the advocacy of disability rights. The universalist presumption-founded on a legalistic approach-of human rights as panacea for all social inequalities has long proven to be largely ineffective, to such an extent that some scholars have been proclaiming "the end of human rights" (Luban 14). [...]cultural studies can help build and disseminate a new interpretation of human rights and revitalize their function and role. [...]the contemporary debate on disability and human rights still faces most of the limitations and controversies proper to the whole legalistic approach, often assuming disability as a neutral and universal concept. Critical disability studies can help debunk the colonialist and paternalistic traits of the legalistically based human rights theory. [...]it provides a fresh foundation where human rights are socially situated, grounded on the multidimensionality of humanity, providing a fertile terrain for the dialogical construction of a common narration of human struggles.
ISSN:1757-6458
1757-6466
DOI:10.3828/jlcds.2017.20