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Chapter 4: Disability Rights Training Resources

Overview

Various training materials and courses will be required for the creation of an international disability rights monitoring programme in order to effectively gather data and provide information about international human rights mechanisms. This chapter of the report assesses the available human rights training resources which could be used or adapted to build capacity for disability rights monitoring and for engagement with human rights mechanisms. What is referred to as 'human rights training' or 'human rights education' is inevitably a learning experience for everyone involved – the participants and those facilitating the training session. Participants with an interest in attending sessions on disability rights and international human rights mechanisms will have knowledge and experience to share. The training course examples described below suggest knowledge that would be useful for human rights monitoring and the courses are envisioned as collaborative sessions, both drawing on and developing the expertise of participants and facilitators.

While every effort was made to conduct a thorough investigation into human rights training resources, we did not intend to undertake a complete inventory. Disability-related training resources were prioritized and researched in detail. Then, significant examples of more general human rights training resources were reviewed to provide a picture of available print resources, Internet resources and training courses aimed at various audiences: audiences of different ages and knowledge levels, and audiences with expertise in human rights advocacy, law, government, journalism, or community work.

The training resources that were analyzed were organized according to the content and purpose of each resource and its intended audience. Felisa Tibbitts, director of Human Rights Education Associates, has suggested three general models for human rights education: a values and awareness model, an accountability model, and a transformational model.100 These models provide considerations for assessing how various forms of human rights education contribute to social transformation. The models were helpful in determining which resources would be useful in facilitating human rights monitoring.

The values and awareness model refers to human rights education that is designed to convey basic human rights knowledge to raise awareness and change public values. Public awareness campaigns, school curricula, and introductory human rights information sessions for various audiences are examples of values and awareness models. The goal is to increase understanding of human rights and enable people to apply a critical human rights framework, but there is little emphasis on skills development.

The accountability model encompasses human rights education for people already directly or indirectly associated with guaranteeing human rights through their profession. The education focuses on highlighting the human rights dimensions of their work: the ways in which professional responsibilities involve either directly monitoring human rights violations and advocating with the necessary authorities or taking special care to protect the rights of people (especially vulnerable populations) for whom they have some responsibility.101 Thus, human rights education in the accountability model would include training for human rights monitors, for judges and police, as well as for social justice advocates and community workers who have both direct and indirect involvement with human rights. Training is focused on specialized areas and emphasizes skills development.

In the transformational model, education is focused on empowering individuals to both recognize human rights abuses and to take action to prevent them. This type of education may be complemented with leadership development, conflict resolution training, vocational training, employment, and informal networks. Participants are assumed to have personal experiences of discrimination and unequal treatment that can be seen as human rights violations. Examples of this model include education activities in refugee camps, in post-conflict societies, with victims of domestic abuse, with groups serving the poor, and in advocacy organizations.

Various disability organizations and N.G.O.s are engaged in disability rights training. Most of this activity would be categorized as either values and awareness education or transformational. This training is particularly useful for awareness raising for political action.

The research for this report focused on accountability models. This focus aided the identification of resources and models useful for developing skills and expertise related to monitoring in the five areas of focus. The results confirmed a clear need for disability-specific human rights training resources and for training sessions for disability rights monitors.

With an awareness of the need for further disability rights training resources, this section will outline suggested training courses, refer to materials and courses on more general human rights topics, and indicate how those resources might be used or adapted. The section concludes with key concepts relating to the format and implementation of training sessions, including reference to “train the trainer” models where individuals who participate in training are encouraged to conduct training in their home communities.

Disability Rights Training and the Five Areas of Focus for Monitoring

As noted in earlier sections of this report, D.R.P.I. is organized around the five areas of focus identified at the Almåsa Seminar: individual violations of disability rights, legislation and legislative frameworks, case law, government programmes and practices, and media imagery and coverage.

Since the five areas of focus are not distinct categories and will overlap in many ways, training programmes for monitors could have substantial common elements regardless of the emphasis of monitoring activities. Given the broad scope of the areas identified for monitoring, training efforts could start with individuals, including people with disabilities themselves, who are recruited to monitor violations of the equal effective enjoyment of human rights by people with disabilities. Training could then be expanded to encompass individuals not active in monitoring, again prioritizing training for people with disabilities, as well as for human rights advocates, social workers and community workers, and key players in the development of legislation and government policy, enforcement of laws, provision of government services, and in media communications.

Three Training Models

Keeping in mind the current need for disability rights training resources, the research into training resources, many of which will be referred to below, suggests three general training models: an introduction to human rights and disability rights, training on disability rights and where the rights of people with disabilities are situated within the context of the international and regional human rights systems, and training for in-the-field disability rights monitors.

It is essential that people with disabilities are involved in leading training sessions in all of the suggested training programmes. As well, a factual basis for the types of violations experienced by people with disabilities is an important component of any disability rights training session. Where human rights reports cover disability rights issues, they are useful resources for presenting examples. The reports of Mental Disability Rights International102 and a report by Amnesty International on mental disability rights in Bulgaria103 could be used as training resources. As well, the annual report produced by the Disability Awareness in Action Human Rights Project provides statistical information on the disability rights cases on the DAA database and would be a practical resource.104

Each suggested training model should also address dual discrimination, for example, human rights concerns specific to the ways in which disability intersects with sex, age, and racial discrimination.

1) An Introduction to Human Rights and Disability Rights

This model would provide an introductory understanding and awareness of the human rights of people with disabilities for those unfamiliar with a rights framework, especially the application of a rights framework to disability issues. It is important to situate the equal effective enjoyment of all human rights by people with disabilities within the existing human rights context. The rights of people with disabilities are not distinct from the workings of the general international human rights system or an 'add-on' to this system, but an integral part of ensuring the full enjoyment of human rights by all. This type of introductory course could also provide basic information about the need to report violations, the purpose of reporting human rights violations, and how to do so.

The introductory training model could cover:

  • the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, its history and its articles, along with discussion of the principles of universality, indivisibility and non-discrimination
  • overview of relevant binding human rights treaties
  • factual examples of human rights issues facing people with disabilities and discussion of how and why people with disabilities are subject to human rights violations
  • introduction to the Standard Rules for the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities
  • discussion of government responsibility for human rights standards
  • basic information on reporting human rights violations

While the disability-related content would require further development, there are a few useful examples of introductory human rights training resources that could potentially be expanded or adapted for such a course.

  • Inclusion International has produced a plain language slide series and computer slide series that are used by the organization as a disability rights education tool.105 The slide presentations introduce the concept of the human rights of people with disabilities, define discrimination and exclusion, explain the role of the United Nations and the recent UN Commission on Human Rights resolutions on disability rights, and suggest actions for governments, individuals, families and communities.
  • Human Rights Explained is an online public resource produced by the government of Australia that provides information for a general audience on topics such as 'human rights and you', 'what are human rights?' and 'the global view of human rights' as well as references for further reading.106
  • For an example of a manual designed for a 'grassroots' audience, see Claiming Our Rights, a flexible, culturally relevant women's human rights education model produced by the Sisterhood is Global Institute.107
  • The report titled Training of Trainers in the Monitoring and Implementation of the Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities108 could provide ideas for developing a training resource on the Standard Rules. This report describes and evaluates a three and one half day training programme which included lecture-conferences, group work and planning sessions, as well as study tours.

A version of this introductory disability rights training model would likely be the most appropriate training model for journalists. A media training course could focus on the elements listed above, with locally and nationally relevant examples, and include the possibility that participants write disability rights focused articles for the course. The Training Manual for Media and Disability Rights published by Disability Awareness in Action is a manual for a three-day media training seminar.109 The manual provides guidance on conducting the seminar as well as step-by-step details on the seminar’s content, including clear goals for each session and suggested training methods.

Other resources for training journalists are available through the National Center on Disability and Journalism110 in the United States. The Center works to educate journalists and educators about disability reporting issues. Resources produced by the Center include tips for interviewing people with disabilities, educational exercises to raise awareness about disability issues in news reporting, a style guide of disability terms, and disability curricula for use in college and university classrooms as well as with journalist education organizations.

2) Disability Rights and the International and Regional Human Rights Systems

Assuming a basic understanding of the issues suggested as topics for the first training model, a more advanced training course would provide detail on the international and regional human rights systems. This knowledge would provide the global human rights context: international human rights law and the reporting and complaints mechanisms available for enforcing the equal effective enjoyment of all human rights by people with disabilities. An understanding of the international human rights system and of how monitoring data could be used will assist disability rights monitors in data collection. This training model would also be particularly useful for disability rights advocates, other human rights advocates, lawyers, judges, and government officials. Many options exist for structuring the training sessions; for example, all participants could be engaged long-term by covering the suggested topics progressively through several training sessions rather than introducing all the material in one or two longer training sessions.

This training model would review (in more or less detail, depending upon the audience):

  • information on the United Nations human rights related bodies (treaty monitoring bodies, Commission on Human Rights and its thematic mechanisms, Economic and Social Council, etc.)
  • State reporting procedures under various relevant treaties and parallel reports from N.G.O.s
  • Concluding Observations from treaty monitoring bodies and other statements such as General Comments and guidelines
  • regional human rights bodies and their relationship to the United Nations
  • relevant regional human rights treaties, treaty bodies, and complaint mechanisms
  • the increasing obligations of non-State actors (e.g. corporations)
  • the types of violations that can be reported
  • national information, where relevant, about ombudsmen, national complaint mechanisms, where to obtain assistance with a complaint, and complaints procedure
  • an understanding of why it is important that complaints be filed and pursued

Several useful references for this human rights law training were identified:

  • What is Monitoring is a manual produced by Human Rights Information and Documentation Systems International (H.U.R.I.D.O.C.S.).111 The initial sections of the manual introduce the concept of human rights monitoring, international human rights instruments, and monitoring by the U.N. and other intergovernmental organizations.
  • Minority Rights Group International has produced a manual for the U.N. human rights system that focuses the reader on aspects of the system which are particularly relevant for a specific group, in this case, minorities. The manual provides an overview of the applicable international standards, relevant General Comments, monitoring procedures, State reporting, complaint mechanisms, and other U.N. resources, including the relevant commissions and sub-commissions.112
  • Women’s Human Rights Step by Step is a guide designed to encourage women’s organizations to use human rights law in their work. It is a good example of an introduction to a human rights framework and early chapters review the international and regional human rights systems. The book also covers national human rights systems, human rights advocacy efforts, documenting human rights violations, and presents a step-by-step guide for designing an advocacy strategy.113 Much of the information is useful beyond women’s rights advocacy and the guide is a well designed model.
  • The Torture Reporting Handbook provides guidance in reporting and submitting complaints to international bodies and mechanisms.114 The handbook has a chapter on what you can hope to achieve by reporting human rights violations (in this instance torture, but the content of the chapter can be applied more generally). It also has general information about preparing and submitting a communication to an international body and basic facts about many of the treaty monitoring bodies.
  • The Landmines Survivors Network coordinates human rights education and leadership training hosted by the International Campaign to Ban Landmines. This programme, called 'Raising the Voices', focuses on disability rights advocacy skills for participation at the annual meetings of State parties to the Convention on the Prohibition of the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of antipersonnel mines and on their destruction.115 The training sessions review the international standards related to disability, the international treaty process, and advocacy skills.

3) Adapting Disability Rights and Human Rights Systems Training for Specific Audiences

Depending on the particular audience, specific components could be added to training sessions on the regional and international human rights systems. Additional course topics are listed below for NGOs and activists; law students, lawyers and judges and legal decision-makers; government members and officials; and professionals such as police officers and social workers. Useful training resources are also listed.

Non-Governmental Organizations, Activists and Civil Society Groups

In addition to the course topics for the international and regional human rights training mentioned above, further information could be provided on:

  • how international human rights standards are relevant to their current, ongoing work and how a human rights framework might increase the impact of their activities
  • networking and collaboration

The manuals referred to as general resources for this training model, could be supplemented with specific resources for NGOs. Ripple in Still Water: Reflections by Activists on Local- and National-Level Work on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights116 is a digest of information and experiences particularly relevant and useful to local- and national-level economic, social and cultural rights activism. Ripple in Still Water developed from a 1996 workshop held by the International Human Rights Internship Program (I.H.R.I.P.). The document has several relevant sections including a discussion of applying a human rights approach to economic, social and cultural rights and strategies and tools for activism including working with intergovernmental bodies, and national policy work, legislative advocacy and litigation.

Another resource published by the I.H.R.I.P. along with the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (Forum Asia) is Circle of Rights – Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Activism: A Training Resource.117 This resource is 660 pages in length with 30 modules of information about the substance of economic, social and cultural rights and about strategies and tools to protect and promote those rights. The topics include a history and overview of economic, social and cultural rights, and understanding specific rights. Training methodologies for effectively conveying information on economic, social and cultural rights are suggested. Contributors to Circle of Rights include a large number of activists from around the world.

Various programmes are available for training on international human rights law and the international human rights system. The Canadian Human Rights Foundation118 offers human rights training courses in various regions and an annual course in Montréal, the International Human Rights Training Program (I.H.R.T.P.). The I.H.R.T.P. is a three-week training session for participants from around the world. Participants are human rights workers looking to increase their understanding of human rights and of the essential role of human rights education in effecting change. The Canadian Human Rights Foundation also has partners in Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, and Africa and has offered human rights education training in those regions, including human rights advocacy and monitoring courses.

Forum Asia119 and I.N.T.E.R.I.G.H.T.S.120 have developed a training programme for activists in the South Asian region on the use of international human rights law. The training focuses on the use of international human rights mechanisms and the application of international human rights law at the national level. Human rights advocates are then supported in preparing and disseminating parallel reports to the U.N. treaty monitoring bodies, in using extra-conventional mechanisms such as Special Rapporteurs, and in using international and comparative law before national courts.

The International Service for Human Rights (I.S.H.R.) is specialized in monitoring United Nations meetings concerning human rights.121 They conduct an annual training course at the United Nations in Geneva, which coincides with the sessions of the U.N. Commission on Human Rights. I.S.H.R. also holds other regional training sessions in cooperation with partner organizations. The training is to enable human rights activists to make effective use of the U.N. and other international human rights procedures. The focus is on the procedures of the Commission on Human Rights and the U.N. treaty bodies and addresses theoretical aspects of international human rights and international humanitarian law.

Law Students, Lawyers and Judges and Decision-Makers

In addition to the course topics for the international and regional human rights training mentioned above, training for legal professions could provide further information on:

  • the historical development of the law relating to human rights and the structure, major institutions, and jurisprudence of the international and regional human rights systems
  • how to construct and advocate effective legal and policy arguments using international human rights law
  • the constitutional protection and national human rights laws in the participants’ countries

A human rights training resource specifically for legal professionals has recently been published by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Human Rights in the Administration of Justice, part of the O.H.C.H.R.’s Professional Training Series, is a manual for judges, prosecutors and lawyers.122 A facilitator’s guide for training workshops using the new manual is also being developed. The manual is extensive and provides introductory information on international human rights law and the role of the legal profession, as well as information on applying human rights law in specific situations such as arrest, pre-trial and detention, trials, and states of emergency. Chapters also cover the rights of the child, women’s rights, fundamental freedoms, nondiscrimination and equality, redress for victims of crime, and economic, social and cultural rights. This is useful information for those making legal decisions in the area of human rights, not only judges, but also decision-makers within national human rights institutions.

Another useful resource for human rights training for legal professionals is the Model Human Rights Curriculum for Commonwealth Law Schools123 produced by the Commonwealth Legal Education Association. The model curriculum covers basic concepts of human rights, international protection of human rights, regional protection of human rights, the Commonwealth and the protection of human rights, domestic protection of human rights in the Commonwealth, human rights and small States in the Commonwealth, and specific rights. Disability rights are not included, but could be added to the curriculum under the 'specific rights' heading.

There is also a specific resource discussing the law and mental disability rights. An issue of the New York Law School Journal of International and Comparative Law presents proceedings and papers from a symposium dedicated to exploring issues in monitoring mental disability rights.124

Government Members and Officials

In addition to the course topics for the international and regional human rights training mentioned above, further information could be provided on:

  • government accountability and responsibility
  • the meaning and use of the Standard Rules

Amnesty International produced a 12 Point Guide for Good Practice in the Training and Education for Human Rights of Government Officials.125 The eight-page guide provides an outline of the fundamental elements of training for government officials and emphasizes the need for government human rights training to be part of an overall human rights strategy and to involve N.G.O.s at every stage.

The report on the Training of Trainers in Monitoring the Implementation of the Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities126, mentioned above, is a starting point for training on the Standard Rules.

Professionals

In addition to the course topics for the international and regional human rights training mentioned above, further information could be provided on:

  • material relevant to their specific profession and daily work

Useful human rights training resources specific to certain professional groups have been produced by the United Nations:

  • Human Rights and Social Work127 is a manual for professionals, which starts with an overview of the historical development of human rights and an introduction to the basic human rights instruments and the international human rights system. The manual then provides “issues for practice reality” including discussion of particular themes, dilemmas facing social workers, teaching considerations, and eight case vignettes. Disability is among the many issues addressed.
  • Human Rights and Law Enforcement is a similar, but more detailed, manual for police and other law enforcement officials.128 The manual provides more information on conducting training sessions and then reviews fundamental human rights concepts and institutions. The bulk of the manual examines police duties and functions in a human rights framework, including reference to groups requiring special protection, although people with disabilities are not included in those topics. The annexes include a model outline for a human rights course for police, a pre-course questionnaire, a post-course examination and a post-course evaluation.

4) Training Programmes for Monitors

To effectively monitor the human rights situation of people with disabilities, monitors need to be knowledgeable in three areas: disability rights, human rights law, and methods of evidence collection and verification. They need excellent interviewing and communication skills and to be sensitized to the ethical issues involved in monitoring human rights violations. In order to conduct effective monitoring, monitors must understand the underlying disability rights issues to know what to look for and know what kinds of issues need to be identified. This third and most specific training model builds on the training models described above and adds elements that focus on specific skills for monitoring of disability rights.

In researching training for human rights monitors, D.R.P.I. contacted several human rights monitoring and training organizations to inquire about the types of resources used. We determined that most human rights monitoring organizations do not have standard training sessions or materials, but provide training that is specific to each monitoring mission and in many cases employ individuals who already have necessary skills, such as experience in cross-cultural communication.129

Generally, training for human rights monitors includes:

  • project and organizational background including relevant policies and guidelines and a review of the project objectives
  • information on fact-finding, data collection, and report writing
  • interviewing skills
  • knowledge of confidentiality and ethical considerations
  • methods of addressing fieldwork stress and emotional responses
  • discussion of specific human rights violations
  • review of relevant human rights law
  • use of specific monitoring tools

Several effective training resources have been developed for training human rights monitors:

  • The United Nations has produced a Tr aining Manual on Human Rights Monitoring.130 This is an extensive manual almost 500 pages in length. Numerous topics are reviewed in detail. After a review of the framework of the international human rights system and international human rights standards, Part Three introduces the basic principles of monitoring and then outlines monitoring procedures in detail including information gathering, interviewing, and monitoring specific human rights or in specific settings (detentions centres, refugee camps, legal trials, etc.). Part Four of the manual focuses on human rights reporting. The equal effective enjoyment of human rights by people with disabilities is not sufficiently covered in this manual, but the general information on the monitoring function and procedures can be applied or adapted to disability rights.
  • Human Rights Education Associates recently offered a distance learning course on human rights monitoring using the U.N. Training Manual on Human Rights Monitoring.131 The course involved 60 hours of reading, online working groups, interaction with students and instructors/facilitators and assignments, and was offered over a three-month period. The course aimed to provide participants with practical guidance on how to monitor human rights.
  • H.U.R.I.D.O.C.’s What is Monitoring manual provides a basic introduction to human rights monitoring, international standards, and monitoring organizations, as well as information on how to monitor: collecting data, monitoring various situations and particular cases, and analyzing data.132
  • The Handbook on Fact-Finding and Documentation of Human Rights Violations discusses the basics of investigation and systematic recording of information on human rights violations.133

An in-person training course or distance education model could be developed using these resources with an added disability rights component to review relevant human rights law provisions, provide discussion of specific violations, and other specialized information.

Key Concepts for Disability Rights Training

The Human Rights Education Handbook: Effective Practices for Learning Action and Change provides an overview of key considerations in the design of human rights education programmes.134 It includes an introduction to human rights education and practical information on facilitation, the components of human rights education, methodologies, advice for planning presentations and evaluating programmes, and lists of resources including lists of methods, techniques, and activities. See also Human Rights Training: A Manual on Human Rights Training Methodology by the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.135

From the review of current training materials, the following considerations are important to the development of disability rights training resources:

  • Adequate consideration should be given to tailoring information for specific audiences, including providing for the accessibility needs of trainers and participants.
  • Factual information from human rights reports can provide concrete examples of violations of the equal enjoyment of human rights by people with disabilities and may be especially useful in discussing the kinds of issues to be identified by monitors.
  • An introductory training model on disability rights and on international human rights law can be adapted for particular audiences, including N.G.O.s and activists, law students, lawyers, judges, government members and officials, and various professionals such as police officers social workers, and journalists.
  • Trainers should plan for ongoing assessment of the effectiveness of training sessions and adapt as needed, responding to expertise of the participants, their diversity and cultural backgrounds, and experimenting with various training formats.
  • “Train the Trainer” models, where individuals who receive training are encouraged to conduct training in their home communities, can have a wide impact.
  • The effectiveness of individuals who are working as disability rights monitors can be enhanced by ensuring they have a thorough understanding of disability rights and the international human rights system, particularly the individual complaints procedures.

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