9. Human rights model

Contents: Disability as a human rights issue, origins and development, basis for the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

The human rights model views disability as a matter of rights, participation and state obligations. It forms the basis for the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD) (PDF) and calls for self-determination, inclusion and equality in all areas of life.

This model can be traced back to the debate on the rights of people with disabilities as a human rights issue in the 1990s, as initiated by the Forum of Disabled Lawyers in Germany. It also reflects the influence of international disability movements, which fought for their own rights under the slogan "Nothing about us without us" (Hirschberger, 2022, p. 102).