Justice Rajendra Babu, India NHRC
March 2008: The Chairman of India's National Human Rights Commission says education and employment are two key areas to increase access and participation for people with disabilities.
In October 2007, India became one of the first nations to ratify the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. However, turning those rights into a reality for the nation’s 22 million disabled people is a monumental challenge.
For Justice Rajendra Babu, Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), changing community attitudes is an important starting point.
“The basic right of each person is equality,” he says. “For too long, nationally and internationally, our approach has been based on charity. We need to move beyond this idea.”
Justice Babu nominates two critical areas to increase access and participation – employment and education. Currently more than two thirds of people with disabilities are unemployed and over half are unable to access education.
A recent law requires three per cent of public sector jobs to be reserved for people with disabilities. However, many employers fail to comply. Following an analysis of 1,500 complaints it had received, the NCHR produced a handbook for employers to address common questions and stereotypes.
“It is important to show employers that people with disabilities can make a significant contribution in the workplace; some may require adjustments to do the job and others may not,” says Justice Babu.
A former Chief Justice of India’s Supreme Court, in his university days Justice Babu was a reader for a fellow classmate who was blind. He was deeply impressed by his friend’s prodigious skills, concentration and memory.
“It impressed on me the importance of seeing a person’s ability, not their disability,” he said.
“However, people commonly think that if disabled students are integrated into regular classes then it will be to the disadvantage of other students. That is a negative attitude we must overcome.”
Removing barriers to school education, particularly for students with sight and hearing impairments, is a major focus of the NHRC.
It is also running capacity building training for disability advocates and advocating for an independent Department of Disability and Development to be established to guide policy development and law reform.
In the short-term, the NHRC will continue to work with state and union governments, disability NGOs and other civil society organisations to implement the obligations set out in the UN Convention.
“We need to work cooperatively with each other to understand the issues and develop effective strategies to bring people with disabilities into the mainstream,” said Justice Babu.
Find out more
Promoting and Protecting the Rights of People with Disabilities
Presentation to APF 12th Annual Meeting, September 2007
