Human Rights Model of Disability

The Human Rights Model of Disability asserts that every person, including those with disabilities, deserves their human rights and dignity protected by the law. It emerged in the 2000s as an attempt to address the critique of the social model of disability introduced in the 1980s during the rise of disability rights activism. This chapter, therefore, uses an analysis of the relevant scientific literature on the human rights and other disability models, including review articles, as a main source. It also takes into account international human rights law documents, such as main human rights treaties and reports. The first part outlines the emergence of the Human Rights Model of Disability. It briefly discusses the history of the disability model concept, the development of the specific term for the Human Rights Model of Disability, and points out the lack of consistency in how both scholars and human rights practitioners address this model nowadays. The second section explains the scope and role of the Human Rights Model of Disability, emphasizing its focus on design and implementation of disability policy, rather than on the concept of disability. The third part describes the six main characteristics of the Human Rights Model of Disability. These include its rights-based approach, the focus on prevention policy and development, the recognition of impairment as a natural part of human diversity, and the recognition of multiple layers of identity and their importance in shaping the experiences of people with disabilities. The last section, in turn, depicts the main strains of critique toward the Human Rights Model of Disability in terms of its epistemic value and its operational side and implementation.