On the 30th of March 2007, Ireland signed the United Nations’ “Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities“, the day it was opened for signature. The UN says that “There were 82 signatories to the Convention, 44 signatories to the Optional Protocol, and 1 ratification of the Convention. This is the highest number of signatories in history to a UN Convention on its opening day. It is the first comprehensive human rights treaty of the 21st century and is the first human rights convention to be open for signature by regional integration organisations.” It highlights that “The Convention was negotiated during eight sessions of an Ad Hoc Committee of the General Assembly from 2002 to 2006, making it  the fastest negotiated human rights treaty.”

The UN affirms that the convention “(It) takes to a new height the movement from viewing persons with disabilities as “objects”  of charity, medical treatment and social protection towards viewing persons with disabilities as “subjects” with rights, who are capable of claiming those rights and making decisions for their lives based on their free and informed consent as well as being active members of society.”

It is really worth reading this Convention, of which Ireland is a signatory, – and compare its content with the way that the Irish Government and Health Services treat persons with disabilities.

In its Preamble under (c), the Convention states that it reaffirms “… the universality, indivisibility, interdependence and interrelatedness of all human rights and fundamental freedoms and the need for persons with disabilities to be guaranteed their full enjoyment without discrimination”. There are many, many and more detailed sections where the Convention clarifies how this is supposed to be done. One section I find to be of particular significance is the one where the signing parties recognise under (m) in the preamble

“(…) the valued existing and potential contributions made by persons with disabilities to the overall well-being and diversity of their communities, and that the promotion of the full enjoyment by persons with disabilities of their human rights and fundamental freedoms and of full participation by persons with disabilities will result in their enhanced sense of belonging and in significant advances in the human, social and economic development of society and the eradication of poverty.”

and, under (v) recognise that

“the importance of accessibility to the physical, social, economic and cultural environment, to health and education and to information and communication, in enabling persons with disabilities to fully enjoy all human rights and fundamental freedoms.”

Here are my questions:

How can a Government sign this Convention and at the same time deny its citizens adequate and timely access to neuro rehabilitation services? How can it allow its Health Officials to deny persons with very severe acquired brain injuries their dignity and universal human rights by talking about them as offering a “bad return on investment”? How can a Government stand by when persons with severe brain injuries are injured a second time when they are in hospitals – where these injuries are caused by inadequate facilities and care? And there are many more questions like these that could be asked.

As the UN says, persons with disabilities are not the objects of our charity, they are subjects with rights whose physical integrity, independence, and contribution to society have to be protected and recognised.

How many people do you know who have contributed as much to change, to the life of their families and friends, to their school, their university, public debate and to society in general as Pádraig – while he has been in a state of minimal conscience, very gradually and very slowly starting again to eat, move, and communicate? – Is this being recognised and valued by the health service, the government, the administration – as postulated by the Convention?

Pádraig today had another double session on the tilt table early in the morning. While I was on the way to Dublin, Pat joined the session and said that it is truly wonderful to see how the physio therapists worked with Pádraig. When she returned later in the afternoon, the alarm was ringing. When she checked, a bit in a panic hoping it wasn’t anything too serious, she realised that Pádraig was so fast asleep that his pulse had gone below 60 – which is when the alarms go off. The morning session had truly exhausted him and sent him into a deep recovery sleep. Notwithstanding, Pat managed to get him into his wheelchair with the help of a nurse, and out into the warm late summer sunshine on the roof garden, high up over Hamburg!

I’ll have an early start tomorrow morning, back on the road again, first to Galway, then to Limerick. Looking forward to the half marathon on Saturday.

Don’t forget to support Donal Earls who will be running his first ever half marathon for Pádraig on Saturday!