Recognising Human Rights in Different Cultural Contexts

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xix

   PDF

2. Introduction

   • Emily Julia Kakoullis, Kelley Johnson

   Pages 1-16

3. Culture, Disability and the CRPD

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 17-17

      PDF

   2. Legal Culture and the CRPD

      • Gerard Quinn

      Pages 19-44

   3. Anthropology, Disability and the CRPD

      • James G. Rice

      Pages 45-62

   4. Recognising Cultural Diversity: Implications for Persons with Disabilities

      • Kelley Johnson

      Pages 63-78

   5. A Personal Reflection on Indigeneity, Colonisation and the CRPD

      • Huhana Hickey

      Pages 79-93

4. The Ratification Process: To Be or Not to Be?

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 95-95

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   2. The Failure of the United States to Ratify the CRPD

      • Arlene S. Kanter

      Pages 97-132

   3. The Long Road to Ratification: Ireland and the CRPD

      • Eilionóir Flynn

      Pages 133-156

   4. A Consultative Culture? The Ratification Process for the CRPD in Cyprus

      • Emily Julia Kakoullis

      Pages 157-177

   5. A Janus-Faced Affair: Sri Lanka’s Ratification of the CRPD

      • Dinesha Samararatne

      Pages 179-199

5. Making Disability Human Rights Happen? Cultural Challenges to Implementing the CRPD

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 201-201

      PDF

   2. The ‘Transposition’ of Article 12 of the CRPD in China and Its Potential Impact on Chinese Legal Capacity Law and Culture

      • Huang Yi

      Pages 203-225

   3. Implementation of Article 19 of the CRPD in Hungary and Its Impact on the Deinstitutionalisation Process So Far

      • Magdi Birtha

      Pages 227-256

   4. Implementing Article 19 of the CRPD in Nordic Welfare States: The Culture of Welfare and the CRPD

      • Ciara Brennan, Rannveig Traustadóttir

      Pages 257-268

   5. Article 30 of the CRPD as a Vehicle for Social Transformation: Harnessing the CRPD’s Potential for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities

      • Matthew S. Smith, Michael Ashley Stein

      Pages 269-294

6. Monitoring the CRPD: Resolving Conflicting Interests?

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 295-295

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   2. Was Ratification of the CRPD the High Watermark for United Kingdom Disability Rights? Ten Years of Monitoring Implementation of the CRPD

      • Neil Crowther, Liz Sayce OBE

      Pages 297-332

   3. The Role of Disabled People’s Organisations in Promoting the CRPD in Indonesia

      • Dina Afrianty

      Pages 333-352

This book explores the journey of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) as it is interpreted and translated from International Human Rights Law into domestic law and policy in different cultural contexts. Beginning with reflections on ‘culture’, ‘disability’ and ‘human rights’ from different disciplinary perspectives, the work is then organised as ‘snapshots’ of the journey of the CRPD from the international level to the domestic; the process of ratification, the process of implementation, and then the process of monitoring the CRPD’s implementation in States Parties cultural contexts. Leading global contributors provide cutting-edge accounts of the interactions between the CRPD and diverse cultures, revealing variations in the way that the concept of ‘culture’ is defined. This collection will appeal to academics and students in Law and Socio-Legal Studies, Disability Studies, Policy Studies and Social Work, Sociology, Anthropology; and those training to be service providers with persons with disabilities.

• CRPD
• Socio-Legal Studies
• Policy Studies
• Disability Law
• Inclusion
• UN human rights law
• Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
• United Nations
• disability studies

“This is an excellent edited collection, which will be a very useful resource for undergraduate and postgraduate students, and academics, plus DPOs and state policy makers. Its range of case- study examples provide a detailed critical account of the CRPD, its transformative potential, and the importance of state and local contexts and cultures, and the involvement of people with disabilities, in its adoption.” (Edward Hall, British Journal of Learning Disabilities, July 9, 2021) ​‘Without a human rights-based culture the aims of the CRPD cannot be achieved. This compelling book gives insights into a multi-cultural analysis of implementation and monitoring processes relating to the human rights of persons with disabilities. It is a valuable, cutting-edge contribution to the evolving area of Comparative International Law and Policy.’ (Professor Theresia Degener, Protestant University of Applied Studies, Germany)‘We have long needed critical engagement with the cultural assumptions about human rights and disability. This book addresses that need by unpacking the contextual specificity of each of these concepts—culture, disability and rights. The book is a valuable resource for anyone seeking to advance the rights of persons with disabilities in whatever setting they are hoping to influence. Perspectives and examples beyond the usual Global North voices are a particularly useful contribution from this collection.’ (Professor Karen R Fisher, UNSW, Australia)
‘When the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was accepted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2006, the work of human rights was only just beginning. This varied and fascinating book reveals some of the ways in which national contexts and cultures adopted and implemented the Convention into local use. We need urgently to understand the complexity of implementing disability equality, and this collection is of inestimable help in that task.’ (Professor Tom Shakespeare, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine)
‘An important addition to the field of disability rights, highlighting the role of culture(s)—legal, social, and identity—on international law-making processes, interpretation and implementation. With “snapshots” of the journey of the CRPD post-ratification across and within nations, Recognising Human Rights in Different Cultural Contexts provides a first of its kind look into dynamics and embedded values that affect the struggle for human rights of persons with disabilities.’ (Assistant Professor Maya Sabatello, Columbia University)
‘Culture can be a powerful influence on the way in which international law is adopted or resisted, and this book acts as a timely reminder of its importance. Drawing on evidence from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the authors provide a sensitive, unique and insightful portrayal of the intersection between legislative directive and its translation into practice in different cultural contexts, within and between societies. It is a thought-provoking and interesting book that addresses complexity and diversity but in itself is well-structured and inclusive in its approach.’ (Professor Pauline Heslop, University of Bristol)

• School of Law and Politics, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK

  Emily Julia Kakoullis

• Social Policy Research Centre, UNSW, Sydney, Australia

  Kelley Johnson

Dr Emily Julia Kakoullis is a Lecturer in Human Rights Law at the School of Law and Politics at Cardiff University in the UK. She has worked as a Researcher at the University of Exeter, University of Bristol and University of Maastricht. Prior to a career in academia Kakoullis worked as a Legal Researcher at the Ministry of Justice in the UK and for a disability non-governmental organisation in Cyprus.


Professor Kelley Johnson holds Honorary Professorial appointments at Deakin University and University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Australia. She is an internationally known scholar who has been a researcher and advocate with persons with disabilities for more than 20 years in Australia and internationally.

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