IDDC submission on the General Comment on Article 27

The International Disability and Development Consortium (IDDC) is a grouping of civil society organisations coming together around a common objective: promoting inclusive international development and humanitarian action with a special focus on the full and effective enjoyment of human rights by all persons with disabilities. A broad consortium, our membership includes organisations of persons with disabilites, non-governmental development organisations, national networks, and international member-based networks.

IDDC welcomes the opportunity to provide input to the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (Committee) for its General Comment on the rights to work and employment. IDDC shares the Committee’s concerns that multiple barriers exist which impede the full enjoyment of the right to work by persons with disabilities. Globally, persons with disabilities face lower employment rates and lower market participation than their peers, which in turn contributes to perpetuating a cycle of poverty, inequality, and exclusion.

The right to work is a fundamental right and essential for realising many other rights, including ensuring the economic independence of persons with disabilities and their families and allowing them to live in dignity. The inclusion of persons with disabilities in the labour market is crucial to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular SDG8 and SDG10.

We welcome the Committee’s initiative to draft the General Comment on Article 27 and its holistic interpretation of the different elements of this article. Based on IDDC members experience in policy, research and programmes, this submission provides suggestions for points that we feel would benefit from further clarification or detail in the Committee’s General Comment.

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