Bringing Human Rights Home

Access to Justice and the Role of Local Actors Implementing the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Bibliographic Data

ID12930398
AuthorsDorien Claessen (0009-0004-7873-9427, corresponding author), Majda Lamkaddem (Utrecht University), Barbara Oomen (0000-0003-4033-8746, University of Applied Sciences Utrecht), Quirine Eijkman (Utrecht University)
Year2023
Volume16
Issue2
Pages554-571
Publication date2023-11-30
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Human Rights Practice (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1757-9619 • E-ISSN: 1757-9627
PublisherOxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1093/jhuman/huad053
OpenAlexW4389219208
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited14

Most European states have ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), but implementation varies at national and local levels with municipalities often playing a key role. Decentralization policies have often led to municipalities providing social support as well, but little attention has been paid to the accessibility of municipal support for persons with disabilities in the light of the CRPD. Therefore, this article presents the Dutch 2015 Social Support Act (SSA) as a case study. The SSA introduces the right to an assessment. This legal evaluation moment has far-reaching consequences for persons with disabilities as it serves as the gateway for access to reasonable accommodations under the CRPD. Dutch municipal councils implement their assessment systems in different ways, but social district teams are usually set up to execute the assessment under the mandate of the municipality. It is often the case that social workers fulfil both counselling and gatekeeping roles, despite the fact that they are not necessarily trained to combine these dual responsibilities. This article identifies impeding factors that influence the gaining of access to municipal social support at the level of the social system, the involved organizations and the individual professionals. It takes a legal-anthropological approach based on in-depth multidisciplinary interviews with experts in the field of disability rights advocacy, social policy and human rights, or with experiential expertise. The results indicate a lack of alignment between the SSA and the CRPD. The discussion gives recommendations for a broader implementation of the CRPD

Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities · Human rights · Mandate · Political science · Public relations · Healthcare innovation and challenges · Social Policy and Reform Studies · Social Work Education and Practice · Social Work · Law · Public Administration

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access