International Standards and Rights

A rights-based approach is quickly replacing the social welfare and charity models of disability. People with disabilities have the same rights as others in society. These basic human rights of disabled persons were recently affirmed by the United Nations when it adopted, in December 2006, the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The Convention adds further international support and takes the case of disability as a human rights issue even further than prior UN instruments dealing with disability.

The ILO has, for decades, promoted equal rights and equal opportunities for disabled persons in the workplace through advocacy and technical cooperation. For a history and compilation of international legal instruments related to disability and the workplace, refer to the ILO publication The Right to Decent Work of Persons with Disabilities.

Most recently, the ILO project, Promoting the Employability and Employment of People with Disabilities through Effective Legislation (PEPDEL) has created an opportunity for develop guidelines and training materials and to provide technical and financial resources to help countries adopt a human rights approach to disability in the workplace.

In these Web pages you can access the ILO standards and information about United Nations instruments to promote the rights and equal participation of people with disabilities. For more information about national level laws and policies, consult the menu items, National Laws and Information and Publications. Also see “Other Resources” within these pages.  

ILO Standards

UN Instruments

Other Resources

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