Although the UNCRPD is the guarantor for the rights of persons with disabilities, it is critiqued for conceptualizations of individualized rights, in stable contexts where rights are state-protected. We investigate how disability rights can be advanced in unstable and crisis-affected contexts in the Global South, using the case of Lebanon, which has experienced multi-layered crises. We argue that, in a disablist and unstable state, any progress made is threatened by the absence of institutionalization of rights, and interrogate the limitations of the UNCRPD. Through a critical policy review and interviews with self-advocates and disability activists, we suggest a new model of action for disability rights affirmation in such unstable contexts by strengthening community governance, initiatives and networks; solidarity and joint actions between disability and wider civil society groups; international advocacy; and the political identity of the disability movement.
Khawam, Grace Akerkar, Supriya
School of Architecture
Year of publication: 2023Date of RADAR deposit: 2024-02-13
"This is a draft chapter/article. The final version is available in Research handbook on disability policy / edited by Sally Robinson and Karen R. Fisher, published in 2023, Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd. http://dx.doi.org/https://doi.org/10.4337/9781800373655. The material cannot be used for any other purpose without further permission of the publisher, and is for private use only."