Article 33 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: a new bridge to bring human rights law to the domestic level and create a dynamic of change

Abstract

This thesis looks at Article 33 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Article 33 requires states to set up a framework, located both within and outside of government, to guide and monitor the implementation of the CRPD. It is a novel development in international law, which generally leaves implementation up to the states. This thesis looks at the history of human rights law and past reform efforts, to put Article 33 in the proper context. The problems with implementing human rights treaties, and the development of human rights law are documented. Past reform efforts, such as the effort to reform the UN human rights treaty body system, are studied to better understand the difficulties in improving human rights law. The development of National Human Rights Institutions is also looked at in great detail, as their rise in numbers is crucial to the creation of Article 33. It then looks at the development of Article 33, to determine why it took the form that it did. Finally, the use of Article 33 by states is studied, with an eye to determining how Article 33 can change the relationship between states and international human rights law, and how it can improve the implementation of human rights treaties.