Right to Non-discrimination as a ‘Silver Bullet’ Towards Achieving Inclusive Education for Persons with Disabilities in Africa

In Africa, there are concerns about the high levels of civil, political, social, economic and cultural rights abuses. Persons with disabilities are confronted with increased abuses and marginalisation on a daily basis. They are entrapped in poverty and lack development as a result of existing barriers and challenges that slow down their pace of progress in the enjoyment of human rights. Among such barriers are lack of physical access to public buildings and transportation, lack of access to employment opportunities, lack of access to information and communication technology, lack of access to inclusive education, discrimination, stigmatisation, exclusion, sexual abuse and unequal opportunities. Inclusive education has been identified as a strategy for addressing most of the challenges. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has non-discrimination and inclusion as part of its guiding principles, while the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights restated the duty to respect fellow humans without discrimination. This chapter interrogates the principle of non-discrimination as a ‘silver bullet’ to inclusive education for persons with disabilities and argues that the adoption of specific measures by way of special treatment, the granting of quotas for admission, will not be reckoned as discrimination while practising inclusive learning. The non-discrimination principle, if implemented, will promote, protect and ensure progress towards inclusive education in Africa, which is an antidote to reducing poverty while fostering human dignity and equal opportunities. In conclusion, the non-discrimination principle should be given a broad interpretation to ensure that inclusive education remains a vehicle for meaningful participation and integration into society and the promotion of the inherent dignity of persons with disabilities.