and girls with disabilities were beaten at home, 25% of women with
intellectual disabilities had been raped, and six percent of disabled
women had been forcibly sterilized;^15- Research indicates that violence against children with disabilities
occurs at annual rates at least 1.7 times greater than for their non-
disabled peers;^16 - Ninety percent of children with disabilities in developing counties do not
attend school, according to UNESCO;^17 - The global literacy rate for adults with disabilities was as low as three
percent, and one percent for women with disabilities, according to a
1998 UNDP study;^18 - Unemployment amongst disabled persons is as high as 80% in some
countries.^19
Louise Arbour, the United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights and former
Supreme Court of Canada Justice, told the Ad Hoc Committee on January 27, 2006,
when it was moving towards the final phase of its negotiations:
There is no doubt that the existing human rights system was meant to
promote and protect the rights of persons with disabilities. There is also
no doubt that the existing standards and mechanisms have in fact,
failed to provide adequate protection in the specific case of persons
with disabilities. It is clearly time for the United Nations to remedy this
shortcoming.^20The CRPD broke new ground with the inclusion in its negotiation of persons directly
affected by the treaty. Civil society participated at an unprecedented level for such a
negotiation, with over 400 representatives pre-registered at some meetings.^21 The Ad
Hoc Committee tasked an Expert Working Group with developing a comprehensive
(^15) Ibid.
(^16) Ibid.
(^17) Ibid.
(^18) Ibid.
(^19) Ibid.
(^20) Louise Arbour, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, “Statement at the General Assembly Ad Hoc
Committee”, 7th Session (January 27, 2006), online
< 21 http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/enable/rights/ahc7stathchr.htm>.
Supra note 2 at 328.