Consensus Paper

Right to Home and Family

[In converting the following bullet points into legal text the slippery slope of personal law will have to be climbed insofar as a number of the disqualifications on marriage as also disability being a ground for divorce have been incorporated in personal laws which apply to specific religious groups.

The provision prohibiting sterilization can be more easily incorporated in the legislation as there is no legal permission for the same and the one case which reached the Mumbai High Court resulted in the court prohibiting the sterilization]

Provisions for New Law

• Ensure that people with disability have the right to marriage, family, parenthood, and relationships on an equal basis with others.
• Ensure non discriminatory procedures for people with disability to raise children of biological origin or adopt children according to their choice. It must also ensure support measures and necessary assistance to raise children.
• Ensure people with disability retain their fertility
• Ensure the right of children with disability to live with their families, and not be separated from their parents or families

Changes in other Laws

• Ensure that people with disability have the right to marriage, family, parenthood, and relationships on an equal basis with others.
• Ensure non discriminatory procedures for people with disability to raise children of biological origin or adopt children according to their choice. It must also ensure support measures and necessary assistance to raise children.

Programs (Mandatory)

• Ensure awareness, training and services to provide education in family planning on an equal basis with other members in the community

Liberty of Movement

[Whilst the first bullet point is about the obligations which can be placed and assumed by the appropriate governments ; the second can only be ensured by further international law interventions be it General Comments of the Treaty Body or contracts between States. The Committee can thus only urge the Government to take those further steps].

Provisions for New Law

• Ensure that there are universal designs and accessible processes for issuing of identity cards, voter ID cards, Bank pass books and ATM cards, Credit Cards, Pan Numbers, Drivers License, Passport, ration cards, BPL cards, medical and health insurance cards, to people with disability on an equal basis with all other citizens. Disability should not be a ground for denial of visa/passport or any other such document that proves ones nationality or residence within the nation.
• Ensure that People with disability have the right to acquire or change nationality on an equal basis with others and would not be deprived of the right on the basis of disability.

Right to Exercise franchise, Stand for Election and hold Public Office

[Since this right has primarily been recognized or denied in other laws, whilst the recognition of this right may happen in this law, its realization will be ensured only by introducing requisite amendments in the other laws which regulate the political rights, be it changing the rules of residence to give voting rights to persons with disabilities in institutions or modifying the rules for exercising postal ballots to give participation rights to house bound persons with disabilities].

Provisions for New Law

• Recognize persons with disability as equal participants in political life-as voters, leaders, reformers at all levels (From Panchayat to parliament)
• The topic of home bound PDs to be seriously addressed in the new Act. There must be a way of registering home bound PDs and their family members and some public mechanism of tracking their survival and well being.
• Address the topic of institutionalised PDs seriously. They are farthest away from democratic process. There must be a way of registering them, and a public mechanism of tracking their survival and well being.

Changes in Other Laws

• Recognize persons with disability as equal participants in political life-as voters, leaders, reformers at all levels ( From Panchayat to parliament)
• The topic of home bound PDs to be seriously addressed in the new Act. There must be a way of registering home bound PDs and their family members and some public mechanism of tracking their survival and well being.
• Address the topic of institutionalised PDs seriously. They are farthest away from democratic process. There must be a way of registering them, and a public mechanism of tracking their survival and well being.
• Provide for reservation of a certain percentage of PDs in political spheres at all levels.... including in local governance (as in the precedent of SC/ST seats, women in each election)
• Dismantle laws excluding PDs on basis of disability from contracting, voting, employment, marriage