Disability ,Rights of disabled person ,Rights of minorities and efforts of international community for giving a rights to minorities.

1. Rights of Persons
With Disability in
India
Presented by:
Prof. Sima Dhokane
Department of
Botany

2. Definition of Disability
Disability is a broad term. It generally refers to any person suffering from physical, cognitive, mental,
sensory, emotional, developmental problems, or some combination of any of these problems.

3. Rights of Persons with Disability in India
1)The principles of International Law of human rights of disabled persons are reflected in
Indian Constitution by way of provisions dealing with Fundamental Rights as well as Articles
on Directive Principles of State Policy.
2)The Constitution does not provide for any specific provision dealing with the rights of
disabled persons.
3)However, Entry 9 of the State List in the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution refers to –
Relief of the disabled and unemployable.
4)Apart from the constitutional provisions, the Government of India enacted specific
legislations for the protection and augmentation of the Rights of the Disabled.

4. Laws Relating to Disabled
1)In order to discharge its international and constitutional obligations, the government of India has
enacted a number of legislations concerning the rights of differently abled persons. Among the
various legislations, the most important of them are: The Indian Lunacy Act 1912, The Lepers Act,
1899.
2)Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act
1995 National Trust for Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and
Multiple Disabilities Act 1999.
3)Rehabilitation Council of India Act 1992 The Mental Health Act 1987. Under the Persons with
Disabilities Act 1995, disability means, any person suffering not less than 40% of any disability as
certified by a medical authority.
4)The provisions of the Act further include disability as Blindness; Low Vision; LeprosyCured;
Hearing Impairment; Loco-motor disability; Mental Retardation and Mental illness as part and
partial of the concept of disability.
5)In order to ensure its commitment for the development of the rights of disabled, India has signed
and ratified the UN Convention and Protocol on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 2006.

5. The Minorities and Human Rights
1)Human rights being the inalienable rights of humanity, need protection at all times
either by the state or by international comity.
2) However, many a times, among the various vulnerable groups, minority’s rights are
not given due respect and relegated to secondary position.
3)The International and national scenario is subtly examined.

6. The Efforts of the International Community
1)legal protection for minorities began with the system of minority rights created
under the Union of Nations through special agreements with Central and Eastern
European states.
2)However, until the adoption of the Charter of UN, there was no specific legal
instrument in international law dealing with the rights of minorities.
3)Though the Charter and some of the Conventions of human rights recognized the
rights of the minorities, until the end of Cold War, the issue of minority’s rights was
not given due consideration and recognition by the comity of nations.
4)It is after the Cold War, in the third phase of globalization and liberalization in late
sixties and early seventies, the rights of minorities too gained currency internationally.
5)Even now, after the adoption of a number of instruments on human rights, there is
no uniform standard definition of ‘minority.’
6)Lack of a uniform standard definition, led the UN Sub-Commission on Prevention
of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities to formulate an acceptable definition.

7. 7)According to Mr. Francesco Capootori, Special Rapporteur of the Sub Commission, a
minority is, “a group numerically inferior to the rest of the population of a state, in a
non-dominant position, whose members-being nationals of the State-possess ethnic,
religious or linguistic characteristics differing from those of the rest of the population
and show, if only implicitly, a sense of solidarity, directed towards preserving their
culture, traditions, religion or language.”
8)In spite of crystallization of number of legal regulations through various Connections,
Agreements by the principles of international law, the protection of minorities has been
slow and fragmented due to definitional differences.
9)Among the various instruments, the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment
of the Crime of Genocide 1948 is the first one to address the protection of minorities
through genocide without using the term minorities.
10)Apart from the above convention, the following legal instruments have provisions
addressing the various aspects relating to the rights of minorities.

8. According to Article 2 of the Declaration, in general, minorities possess the
following rights:
1)To enjoy their own culture, to profess and practice their own religion, and to use
their own language, in private and public freely without any discrimination and
interference by the state or any group;
2) To participate effectively, cultural, religious, social, economic and public life;
3)To Participate in the decision making process of the State effectively especially
any act or acts which affect them either directly or indirectly;
4)To establish and to maintain institutions of their own; and
5)To establish contacts freely with in themselves and other groups of minorities
within and outside the State